lost a lot of blood, huh?’
Hunter didn’t reply.
‘Slowly, lift the edge of your trousers.’
‘I don’t have a backup weapon.’
‘I’ll check that for myself. Now lift them.’
Hunter did.
John grabbed Mollie by the hair and violently pushed her out of the way. She stumbled to the ground with a loud thump. ‘Go back to the corner, kneel and pray,’ he commanded. ‘I ain’t finished with you yet. Pray for your mother and for your sins, you little whore.’
Hunter could hear her desperate attempt to suppress her sobbing, as if the sound of her crying would enrage her father even more. John was too far away for Hunter to attempt any physical reaction at the moment. He had to think of something. While John’s gaze was on Mollie, Hunter took a shallow step forward.
‘You don’t have to do this,’ he said tentatively.
‘YES I DO,’ John shouted back. ‘I failed my task the first time, but the Lord has given me a second chance. A chance for me to redeem myself. And this time I won’t fall short.’
‘You failed your task because you didn’t understand it,’ Hunter replied in a secure voice, being careful not to match John’s aggressive tone, knowing it would only anger him further.
The doubt in John’s eyes was brief, but enough to give Hunter a chance to carry on.
Another shallow step. ‘You thought your task was to punish your daughter, to rid her of her affliction, or what you considered to be an affliction – the fact that she can sense other people’s pain.’
‘She’s got the devil inside her, that’s why she sees things – demoniac things.’ John’s aim never left Hunter.
‘No, she doesn’t. That’s where you got it wrong.’ Hunter knew John Woods was an extremely religious man. He had to play John’s game if he was to stand a chance of saving Mollie. ‘You misunderstood what God has asked of you. Your task wasn’t to punish her. It was to help her.’
A moment of uncertainty.
‘I understood God’s words clearly. He talks to me,’ John said confidently, stabbing his left index finger against his head. ‘She was a test from the moment she was born.’
‘Exactly,’ Hunter confirmed. ‘A test to see how you would cope with having such a special child. To see if you could understand.’
‘THERE’S NOTHING TO UNDERSTAND,’ John shouted back.
‘Yes, there is. It’s been part of our history since the beginning of time.’
A glimpse of curiosity washed over John’s face.
‘Think back to all the stories in the Bible. How many saints, how many people who only wished to do good were misunderstood, persecuted, even considered hell-sent and executed before they were finally seen for what they really were and given the credit they deserved? And that’s simply because people didn’t want to understand. Don’t make that same mistake with Mollie.’
‘There’s nothing special about having the devil inside you.’ John’s speech was becoming faster, more excited. ‘I was supposed to rid her of her curse, but I failed and I’ve lived in hell ever since. My task is now to see that she asks for forgiveness, and then send her to the only one who can forgive her.’
‘Your task is to kill her?’
‘Praise the Lord. The devil shall be no more.’
Hundred and Forty
The argument was slipping away from Hunter. If it did, he knew he and Mollie were as good as dead.
‘Why would God give you such a vain task when he’s omnipotent?’ he asked steadily. ‘Isn’t God almighty? Doesn’t God have the power to give and take life at the blink of an eye? If God wanted Mollie dead, why would he need you? A snap of his fingers and she’d be gone. And what would you have gained from that?’ Hunter paused for a split second and saw doubt flourish in John Woods’s eyes. He quickly pressed on. ‘Nothing. No knowledge, no experience, no lesson learned. A futile task that would’ve taken God a nanosecond to complete. My understanding is that God doesn’t hand out futile tasks.’
The concern in John’s face grew.
‘Your task was to understand your daughter. To help her control and comprehend the gift she’d been given. Who do you think gave her that gift in the first place, John? The devil doesn’t have that power.’
Another head whoosh. Hunter could feel the blood running down his arm. He could hear it dripping onto the floor and he felt his legs starting to lose their strength. He knew he didn’t have much time left.
‘She cursed her mother,’ John shot back with rage. ‘She told her she would die.’
‘No, she didn’t. She tried to prevent it, and if you had listened to her your wife would be here now. Don’t you see, John? Hidden in Mollie’s gift is the ability to help people. She can help prevent some people from suffering, but she can’t do it alone. She needs others to listen to her.’
‘Like you did?’
‘Yes, like I did. She was crying out for your help. And she still is. All she needed was your support, your understanding. Your task was to see beyond the masquerade. To overcome your own prejudice and find good in what you thought was evil.’
John shifted his weight from one leg to the other. He looked uncomfortable, doubtful of his actions. His grip on the gun slackened a fraction and Hunter ventured a new step forward, but John snapped back as if waking up from a dream.
‘NO.’ His shout was full of anger. ‘I followed the task as it was given to me. She has to die. Like all the others had to die.’
‘They had to die so I could find the devil child.’
And suddenly it dawned on Hunter. The blond girl in the living room – on her knees – her throat slit open. Claire Anderson – her throat slit open. The girls in the paper. Hunter read it so quickly he’d forgotten about them. They were all brunettes. They were all around Mollie’s age. And they all had been found naked, on their knees, hands tied in a prayer position with their throats cut open. John Woods had been in LA for days searching for Mollie. His frustration and anger exploding inside him as he failed to locate her. He projected his hatred onto girls that looked like her. He was killing Mollie over and over again. But more than that, John did believe his daughter was special, that she could sense other people’s suffering. He knew she was a good person. He knew she would always try to help. He killed those girls not only because they looked like Mollie, but so Mollie would sense it. He was flushing her out. John Woods was the Slasher.
‘And die she will,’ John said, lifting his gun. ‘And so will you.’
Hunter saw the determination in John’s eyes as he tightened his finger around the trigger.
Game over.
Hundred and Forty-One
The thunderous gunshot was muffled by the torrential rain that drummed the windows. The wall behind him was splashed with blood, bits of flesh and skin. The air was instantly filled with the smell of cordite.
Hunter’s body slumped forward, but in a last charge of strength he managed to hold onto the wall with his good arm. The combination of the loss of blood and the adrenalin of the moment gave him an incredible headrush and he lost his balance for an instant. As his eyes regained focus, he saw John Woods fall to his knees. Blood dripping from the gunshot wound in his right hand that’d obliterated three of his fingers. His mouth was half open, his eyes staring up in horror. Only then Hunter saw her. Mollie was holding Hunter’s gun John had kicked to the side. He saw her cock the hammer, ready for a second shot.
