Gingerbread Man

her own home. They went a few steps, before the shaking that had begun deep in the core of her made its way to the surface, and her breaths came faster.
    He led her around the house, toward the back yard. Out of a direct line of sight from either home. "Don't let it get you, Holly. Come on, it's all right."
    "I swear I saw that van, Vince. I swear I did. Just out of the corner of my eye, when we first pulled in. And I thought... I thought—"
    "I know. But Bethany's safe, she's fine. Everything's fine."
    She leaned back against the side of her house. Vince kept his hands on her shoulders as if to steady her, and she lifted her head. "It's not fine, Vince.
I'm
not fine. You know what's going on here as well as I do. That bastard who killed my sister isn't just free. He's here. He's right here in Dilmun."
    He stared into her eyes, and she felt him searching them. What he might be looking for, she didn't know. "We have no evidence of that. None."
    "Don't we?" She shook her head. "Well, it's either that, or I'm losing my mind. Imagining things. Seeing shadows that aren't there. Vans that don't exist." She pulled the sheet of paper from underneath her blouse. "This was on the living room floor, Vince."
    She saw him pale when he realized what the paper was. "We could have dropped it. Remember, it was in the files the other night."
    "You think we dropped it? You think something like this has been lying around my living room and I didn't see it? And Mom didn't see it?"
    "It could have slipped underneath a piece of furniture. Maybe the door being open made a breeze, and it..." He didn't finish. He had to know how lame his words sounded.
    "Either I'm completely insane," she said slowly, "or he's here. Messing with my head."
    "Or it's just coincidence, combined with incredible stress..."
    "You don't believe me."
    "I don't know what to believe right now."
    Holly pushed away from the house, away from his hands. "I’ll tell you what I believe. I'm through letting that bastard fuck with my family, with my mind."
    "Holly?"
    She turned, glaring at him. Her hands curled into fists at her sides, clenching so tightly her nails dug into her palms. "I'm not going to take it anymore." She looked beyond him, toward the road, and she shouted, "Do you hear me, you son of a bitch! It's over!"
    "Holly!" Vince reached out and grabbed her shoulders.
    The tears exploded from her. She fell into his arms and she let them come. Vince held her hard against him, his hands in her hair, his mouth near her ear. "It's all right. It's okay," he kept saying it over and over again. But it wasn't okay. She didn't think it would ever be okay again.

TEN
----

    VINCE HAD SEEN the change. In the car, she'd been feeling panicky, frightened. In the house, when she thought another child might be at risk, her entire demeanor had changed. She found her anger.
    It was good. Healthy. Oh, he didn't want her shouting challenges to a killer in the streets, but he was glad she'd found her strength. Maybe that was selfish, because it verified what he'd begun to suspect about her. He'd sensed that inner strength she hadn't tapped. Now he saw her finding it, grabbing hold.
    She was something, all right. He couldn't take his eyes off her. And when she collapsed, sobbing in his arms, he found himself feeling way more than he ought to. In fact he caught her face between his palms, turned it up to his, and came within a hair's breadth of kissing her.
    It was that close.
    Damn.
    He didn't know if she'd seen that van, or just imagined it. But he had to give her the benefit of the doubt.
    Though he thought some others might not be so inclined. In fact a short while later the chief showed up in response to Holly's call, and he looked downright skeptical. But he still promised to stay the night, just in case Holly's fears proved true.
    That settled, she led Vince outside, one hand on his arm, her emotional storm long past. "Chief Mallory promised to spend the night, and to keep a close eye on Bethany next door as well," she said. "Mom will be fine."
    "So, where are we going?"
    "We need to talk."
    He didn't realize there was more she wanted to say. "About what?"
    "Look, you told me you needed me to tell you everything about that day. The things that didn't make it into the report. I'm ready to do that. I'll rip my chest open and let you wade around in my blood, if it'll help us figure out who he is so we can put him away, once and for all. But we need to be
alone.
I don't want phones