of disbelief on their faces, I laid the story out piece by piece. By the time I was done, Elsie’s gray eyes were wider than I believed they could ever stretch. Kelly had her hand to her mouth, her own eyes wide. Tyler looked sick.
Joshua had pulled himself up with a groan, but even he stood motionless.
“Why do you want Daniel?” Elsie finally asked in a small voice.
“Because,” I said, “ten minutes before I left, he came out on the porch and told me not to go. He said, I’d have to kill him again if I did.”
I saw the confusion on their faces.
“Yeah, I didn’t understand it either until the thing was gone. One of the shots hit Zachary’s body.”
I looked at Elsie. “That boy knows things he shouldn’t. I don’t understand how. I really don’t care how. What I do care about is what else he knows. That’s what I’m going to find out tonight.”
I stared down at her.
“Now are you going to get him or am I?”
She stepped back. “I will. Give me a minute with him, okay?”
I nodded and waited until the door swung shut behind her before turning to Joshua.
“You know how to use this thing?” I asked, holding the rifle up. He looked uncertain.
“It’s loaded,” I told him. “Just work the lever, point it at whatever you want to kill, and pull the trigger.”
I paused and gave him a strained smile. “As long as that isn’t me.”
“This is unreal,” Kelly said as I handed him the gun.
“No, it’s quite real. I’ll take you down tomorrow morning. You can have all the reality you want.”
I let my gaze wander from face to face. “Until then, we are on an all-night watch. I want two people at a time out here on the porch. Neither is to leave the other’s sight for any reason. Tyler, you go back inside and figure out the rotation. Get someone out here with Joshua. Two hours, two people, got it?”
He gave me a thumbs-up sign. “Got it.”
The door to the station swung open. Light spilled into the yard. Daniel stood framed in another golden halo, this one compliments of Coleman for sure.
“Hello, Daniel,” I said.
“Hello, Mr. William,” he answered, his voice as solemn and somber as a graveyard.
The rest exchanged quick looks. Tyler motioned for Kelly to follow him and both disappeared inside.
Joshua took up a station at the other end of the porch. I found a seat on the steps where I could see him. Daniel walked over, his feet bare and silent on the wooden planks.
He sat down next to me and stared off into the night.
“Grandma says you want to know what I know,” he said softly, and then turned toward me.
“Where do you want me to start?”
In my simple way of processing events, questions are like on-off switches. When they’re in the off position, you wander around in the dark. Flip them over, and like the coyote in the Looney Tunes cartoons, a bulb clicks on and sheds light on the answer.
When Daniel asked me where I wanted him to start, the light that clicked on didn’t illuminate the issues. It just opened the door to another room filled with more switches and presented an equally thorny problem. Just how does one go about telling a six-year-old what the word prescient means much less that the whole concept is absolutely weird?
The door opened and Elsie stepped out. Daniel looked as if he wanted to go to her. For that matter, the old woman appeared just as ready to whack me across the head and let him. She kept her distance though. The smell of Johnny Walker swirled in her wake. I shot a curious glance at her and saw a mug in her hand.
She wrinkled her nose at me and sat back in one of the rocking chairs.
I turned back to the boy, feeling her gray eyes on my back.
“What I want to know is this. This morning, you said Zachary reminded you of bats. When I was upstairs, you dropped in to tell me the bad things were getting ready to start. Tonight, you tell me if I go back to the boat, I’ll have to kill him again. Where is that coming from
Joshua had pulled himself up with a groan, but even he stood motionless.
“Why do you want Daniel?” Elsie finally asked in a small voice.
“Because,” I said, “ten minutes before I left, he came out on the porch and told me not to go. He said, I’d have to kill him again if I did.”
I saw the confusion on their faces.
“Yeah, I didn’t understand it either until the thing was gone. One of the shots hit Zachary’s body.”
I looked at Elsie. “That boy knows things he shouldn’t. I don’t understand how. I really don’t care how. What I do care about is what else he knows. That’s what I’m going to find out tonight.”
I stared down at her.
“Now are you going to get him or am I?”
She stepped back. “I will. Give me a minute with him, okay?”
I nodded and waited until the door swung shut behind her before turning to Joshua.
“You know how to use this thing?” I asked, holding the rifle up. He looked uncertain.
“It’s loaded,” I told him. “Just work the lever, point it at whatever you want to kill, and pull the trigger.”
I paused and gave him a strained smile. “As long as that isn’t me.”
“This is unreal,” Kelly said as I handed him the gun.
“No, it’s quite real. I’ll take you down tomorrow morning. You can have all the reality you want.”
I let my gaze wander from face to face. “Until then, we are on an all-night watch. I want two people at a time out here on the porch. Neither is to leave the other’s sight for any reason. Tyler, you go back inside and figure out the rotation. Get someone out here with Joshua. Two hours, two people, got it?”
He gave me a thumbs-up sign. “Got it.”
The door to the station swung open. Light spilled into the yard. Daniel stood framed in another golden halo, this one compliments of Coleman for sure.
“Hello, Daniel,” I said.
“Hello, Mr. William,” he answered, his voice as solemn and somber as a graveyard.
The rest exchanged quick looks. Tyler motioned for Kelly to follow him and both disappeared inside.
Joshua took up a station at the other end of the porch. I found a seat on the steps where I could see him. Daniel walked over, his feet bare and silent on the wooden planks.
He sat down next to me and stared off into the night.
“Grandma says you want to know what I know,” he said softly, and then turned toward me.
“Where do you want me to start?”
In my simple way of processing events, questions are like on-off switches. When they’re in the off position, you wander around in the dark. Flip them over, and like the coyote in the Looney Tunes cartoons, a bulb clicks on and sheds light on the answer.
When Daniel asked me where I wanted him to start, the light that clicked on didn’t illuminate the issues. It just opened the door to another room filled with more switches and presented an equally thorny problem. Just how does one go about telling a six-year-old what the word prescient means much less that the whole concept is absolutely weird?
The door opened and Elsie stepped out. Daniel looked as if he wanted to go to her. For that matter, the old woman appeared just as ready to whack me across the head and let him. She kept her distance though. The smell of Johnny Walker swirled in her wake. I shot a curious glance at her and saw a mug in her hand.
She wrinkled her nose at me and sat back in one of the rocking chairs.
I turned back to the boy, feeling her gray eyes on my back.
“What I want to know is this. This morning, you said Zachary reminded you of bats. When I was upstairs, you dropped in to tell me the bad things were getting ready to start. Tonight, you tell me if I go back to the boat, I’ll have to kill him again. Where is that coming from
Similar Books
