“What could take the skin off a man and leave the flesh?” Wil wanted to know.
He, too, felt sickened at the hideous corpse. Wil had seen death many times in his years as a cop and detective, but never anything like this. There was something strange about it, beyond the missing skin. It took Wil only a moment to realize what it was.
“There’s no blood,” he whispered. “It’s like he was skinned alive, but . . .”
“Let’s get out of here,” Samantha begged.
“Agreed,” Wil said. He took Samantha’s hand and walked back upstairs with her. Outside, they took a moment to collect themselves.
“What’s going on?” Samantha asked in a quiet voice.
“I sure as hell don’t know yet,” Wil told her. “Henley was murdered, that’s obvious. But I can’t imagine how it was done so . . . cleanly.”
Samantha looked at the basement window.
“To think Julie might have been down there.”
“She’s safe with you,” Wil said. “Come on, let’s go back home again. We aren’t going to learn anything here.”
They started for the car.
“Get the scared look out of your eyes,” Wil ordered. “You don’t want Julie asking a lot of questions.”
Samantha breathed in deeply, gave Wil’s hand a tight squeeze, then held her head high. By the time she reached the car, she was smiling.
“What took you guys so long?”
“Oh, the man was home after all,” Wil said quickly. “He wanted to chat a bit.”
Wil and Samantha got back in the car and drove off. Bored with drawing, Julie put her head down on the seat. The instant she closed her eyes, a horrifying image filled her mind. She saw a man lying on a floor, his skin hideously peeled away. Julie sat up straight and stared at the back of Samantha’s head.
“That man is dead, isn’t he?”
Samantha gasped. Wil’s head jerked up, a surprised look reflected in the rearview mirror.
“Julie, how do you know that?” Samantha asked. She had been unable to get an image of Henley’s body from her mind.
“I just . . . know. Is it true?”
Samantha sighed, looking at Wil. He nodded slightly.
“I’m afraid so,” Samantha said. “We found him in his basement. We don’t know how it happened.”
Julie looked down at her lap.
“I didn’t do it.”
“Nobody said you did!” Samantha cried.
“Of course not,” Wil agreed. “Honey, you couldn’t possibly have done what happened to that man.”
“What happened?”
“He was . . .” Samantha paused.
“He was beaten,” Wil said. “A little girl like you couldn’t do that to a big man like Henley.”
Samantha thought for a few moments, then said, “You know, his death may have nothing to do with us. Maybe he was in trouble.”
Wil nodded. “That’s right. He could have owed money to someone.”
Julie didn’t say anything for the rest of the drive. She knew they were just trying to make her feel better. She no longer had any desire to play or look out at the scenery, so she put her head down again in an attempt to fall asleep.
Marty’s voice filled her mind a few moments later.
I know what happened to him.
He sounded as if he were shouting from the other end of a long tunnel. Julie stirred, but didn’t open her eyes or sit up.
Hello, Marty. What happened to him?
He was . . . touching something he shouldn’t have. But we can’t be certain no one else knew his secret.
What secret?
I can’t tell you. But it’s time for you to come to us, Julie. The others are on their way. You are farthest from us, and therefore your journey will be the most difficult.
I’m not leaving Samantha!
But she lied to you!
She didn’t lie. She just . . . just didn’t say everything. She’s trying to protect me.
Julie, she can’t protect you. You must join with the other children, or we’ll all die!
I’m not listening to you! I’m not going to die!
Come with us, Julie. You must come with us! You must come . . .
Julie sat up abruptly, shaking Marty’s voice out of her mind. He tried calling her, but she refused to answer him.
Samantha looked over the back of the seat. Julie was staring straight ahead, her lips pressed together.
“What’s the matter, sweetie?” Samantha asked. “You didn’t have another bad dream, did you?”
Julie shook her head. Samantha smiled kindly at her, and turned her eyes back to the road.
It was very late by the time they arrived home, and Julie announced she was tired. She went upstairs to her room and lay on the bed. She hadn’t given Henley much thought, but now she tried as hard as she could to bring him into her mind. But try as she might, she couldn’t conjure him up. Instead, a shadowy but familiar image appeared.