Carolina Moon

liquid notes that ran like tears.
    “I didn’t know I was going to kill her. That just … happened. I’d snuck some of my daddy’s whiskey. Drink like a man, you know? My mind was a little fuzzy.”
    “You were only twelve. How could you want such a thing?”
    He circled the clearing, not really coming closer, just stalking, a patient, anticipatory cat and mouse. “I used to watch the two of you, skinny-dipping, or sprawled out here on your bellies telling secrets. So’d your old man,” he said with a grin. “You might say I was inspired by him. He wanted you. Your old man wanted to fuck you, all right, but he didn’t have the guts. I was better than him, better than any of them. I proved it that night. I was a man that night.”
    Town mayor, proud father, devoted husband, loyal friend. What kind of madness could hide so well? “You raped and murdered a child. That made you a man?”
    “All my life I heard, ‘Be a man, Dwight.’” The amusement died out of his eyes so they turned cold and blank. “For Christ’s sake, be a man. Can’t be a man if you’re a virgin, can you? And no girl would look twice at me. I fixed that. That night changed my life. Look at me now.”
    He spread his arms, stepped closer, watching her. “I got confidence, got myself in shape, and didn’t I end up with the prettiest girl in Progress? I got respect. A beautiful wife, a son. I got position. It all started that night.”
    “All those other girls.”
    “Why not? You can’t imagine what it’s like—or maybe you can. Yeah, maybe you can. You know how to feel it, don’t you? Their fear. While it’s happening I’m the most important person in the world to them. I am the world to them. There’s a hell of a kick to that.”
    She thought of running. The idea whipped in and out of her mind. And she saw the gleam in his eyes, saw he was waiting for her to do just that. Deliberately she slowed her breathing, opened herself. There was the blankness again, like a pit, but around the edges was a kind of ugly hunger.
    Recognizing it, anticipating it, was the only weapon she had. “You didn’t even know them. Dwight, they were strangers to you.”
    “I just imagine they’re Hope, and it’s that first night all over again. They’re nothing but tramps and losers until I make them into her.”
    “It wasn’t the same with Sherry.”
    “I didn’t want to wait.” He shrugged. “Lissy isn’t much on sex these days. Can’t blame her. And that sexy little teacher, she wanted it. Wanted it from Wade though, stupid bitch. Well, she got it from me. She wasn’t quite right though. Not quite. Faith’s perfect.”
    He saw Tory jolt. “Yeah, you’ve gotten pretty tight with Faith, haven’t you? I plan to be pretty tight with her myself. I was going to wait till August for her, got my little ritual, you know. But I’ll have to move things up. Oh, she’ll be late, by the way. I talked Lissy into going over to see her, and I know my girl. She’ll keep Faith occupied just long enough.” “They’ll know this time, Dwight. You won’t be able to pass it off on someone else.”
    “Your father sure did cooperate, didn’t he? Did I mention I was the one who killed your mother? Gave her a call, told her I was a friend and her loving husband was on his way to get her. It just seemed like a nice touch, one that kept the cops on his ass and let me sit back and watch with my concerned-mayor attitude.”
    “She was nothing to you.”
    “None of them was. Except Hope. And don’t you worry about me. Nobody’ll look to me. I’m an upstanding citizen, and right now I’m out at the mall buying a teddy bear for my unborn child. A big yellow bear. Lissy’s just going to love it.”
    “I could never really feel you,” she murmured. “Because there’s nothing there to feel. You’re almost blank inside.”
    “I wondered about that. Gave me some bad moments. I took your hand today, a kind of test, just to see. You got nothing from me. But you’re going to feel me, before we’re done. Why don’t you run, the way she did? You know how she ran, and called out. I’ll give you a chance.”
    “No. I’ll give myself one.” Without an instant’s hesitation, she stabbed out with the stick, aiming for his eye.
    When he screamed, she ran as Hope had done.
    The moss tangled in her hair, slithering spider legs, and the ground sucked greedily at her feet. Her shoes slithered, tearing through soaked ferns as she batted viciously at