Gingerbread Man

But she sent her mother a pleading look. They didn't talk about that time, that place. They just didn't. Her mother was breaking a sacred, if unspoken, vow by even mentioning it.
    "How long have you been living here?" Vince asked.
    "Gosh, must be going on five years now."
    "And where in Syracuse did you live?"
    Holly set her cup down on the table. Hard. Her mother, who had been about to answer him, closed her mouth and they both looked at Holly, brows raised. "Will you two excuse me for a minute?" She got to her feet. "I just... uh... I'll be back." Holly hurried into the restroom, closed the door behind her, stood there, and realized she'd counted again. She'd counted the steps to the restroom, and she had no idea if it had been aloud or not.
    She braced her hands on the sink, and stared into the mirror. "Okay, so what's going on with you, huh?" she asked her reflection.
    "You okay, Holly?" a small voice asked.
    Holly turned to see Bethany Stevens standing there looking up at her with eyes big enough to swim in.
    Holly swallowed hard, and plastered a smile on her face. "Hey, you. What are you doing out of school?"
    "Half day today. Good thing, too. It's tough this year."
    "Yeah, I'll bet. I heard you got Mrs. Predmore."
    Bethany nodded. "She's not mean or anything. Just gives lots of homework."
    "Second grade is like that."
    Bethany came up to the sink, turned on the tap, and washed her hands. "Me and Mom decided to have lunch out. Dad had to go out of town this week, so it's just us." The little girl stood on tiptoes to look into the mirror, fussed a bit with her long blonde hair.
    "So, have you decided yet?" Holly asked. "About the Halloween party?"
    Beth shrugged. "What do you think, Holly? Do
you
think I'm too old to dress up for Halloween?"
    Holly smiled, and wished for the times something so small was the major dilemma of the day. "Bethany, I still dress up for Halloween," she said.
    "I sure would like to see the inside of Reggie's place."
    Holly lifted her brows. "Me, too."
    "Mom says he used to have one of these parties every single year, before he moved away. She says they were the best parties anywhere, when she was a kid."
    "My aunt Jen told me the same thing. That spooky old house of his has to be the best place around for a Halloween party."
    "Yeah." Bethany nodded hard. "Maybe I will go. If you really think I'm not too old."
    "You're definitely not too old."
    Bethany smiled up at her. "Will you help me figure out a costume?"
    "We will put together the best costume Dilmun has ever seen." She clasped Bethany's hand, led her to the door, and they walked out together.
    Halfway to the table, Bethany looked up with her bright blue eyes and said, "Having you next door is like having my very own older sister. I always wanted one, you know."
    Holly's smile froze in place as Bethany turned and ran to join her mom at their corner booth.

FOUR
----

    HIM.
IT'S HIM! What the hell is he doing here? I know his face. He's the cop who found the bodies. His face was splashed all over the papers. And now he's here. Jesus, sweet Jesus, does he know? Is he onto me?
    Oh, God, he's talking to
her
of all people!
    Okay, wait. I need to get a grip, here. He may not know anything at all about me. About her, maybe, but that's okay. That's okay, that won't tell him a fucking thing. It would explain his coming out here. Talking to her. But that's all. Maybe that's all.
    Son of a bitch found my place. Found my sugarpie and her goddamn brother before I could put them to rest. Of course, the boy wouldn't have gone beside her. He didn't belong. He got in the way.
    Holly is a basket case. She's crazy. He'll find that out soon enough. She won't be any help to him at all. She's fucking crazy. Everyone knows it.
    But why is he here? Why is he lying about what he's doing here?
    To protect the crazy bitch, maybe. Yeah. Yeah, that could be it. He has to know I won't let her talk to him.
He figures if I know what he's really after, I'll have to shut her up, just in case. But she may not know, either. If she did, she 'd have run her mouth about it long before now, wouldn't she? Fucking ungrateful little brats usually did if you let them.
    Still, that nosy cop might not know a damn thing. Not yet. Not yet.
    But what if he does?
    Hell, I've got to be sure.
    * * *
    HOLLY DIDN'T GO straight home from work. She started to. She walked along her usual route, back through the strip, where the shops were mostly closed now, all the way down to the