UNSHAVEN, UNKEMPT, HIS FRAYED JACKET HANGING LOOSELY over grease-stained pants, Charlie shuffled in. Dark circles ringed his red, strained eyes, and he spoke slowly, as if no one were in the room but the two of us.
“Don’t you worry, miss,” he said. “I told you I’d protect you.”
Susan stepped directly in front of him. She was accustomed to guns and criminals. “What do you think you’re doing, sir?” she stared at him, ignoring the gun.
Charlie stepped back and closed the observation room door, shoving a chair under the doorknob. “Step back, ma’am. Don’t interfere. I’m here to help.”
Susan spoke calmly, as if men wandered in carrying guns all the time. “Well, you have to put the gun away. There are children—”
Charlie scowled as he aimed the gun right at her. “Who are you? Mind your business. I’ve got to talk to Miss Zoe.”
I ran over and stood between them. “Charlie, what are you doing? You can’t just point a gun at people. These are my friends.”
He waved the gun toward the window. “Let’s go over there and talk, Miss Zoe.” Charlie limped along, guiding me back across the room, wheezing as he stepped around chairs. Women huddled close, wide-eyed and silent.
“What the hell is this, Charlie?” I asked. “What’s the gun for?”
“Protection, miss. I told you. You’re in danger. But don’t worry. I’m here for you and the little girl.”
Behind him, Susan pointed and waved, trying to send me some message I couldn’t decode.
“You’ll scare the children, Charlie. Put the gun away.”
“I can’t do that, miss. I followed you all the way over here. I believe you’re next, see. It could happen any time. Just sit down and listen to what I have to say.”
The gun pointed at my belly. No one had ever pointed a gun at me before. The muzzle looked cold and indifferent. I watched it warily and sat.
Coughing and hacking, Charlie peered through the glass at the children. Then he perched on the windowsill, facing me. I looked past him, searching for Molly, locating her in line for the vaulting horse, her back to us.
“The rest of you just go about your normal business,” Charlie commanded. “And nobody open that door.”
Nobody moved. Women whispered, the tape of “Jingle Bells” repeated automatically, my heart pounded, and Charlie wheezed. But nobody moved.
“Please don’t be afraid of me, miss,” Charlie instructed. “The gun’s for your protection. I can’t sit by and watch anymore. I told you I’d protect you, and I will.”
Behind Charlie, Gretchen and Davinder formed a wall around Susan, who was making hand signals at the observation window. She pointed at Charlie, miming that he had a gun. I prayed that if any of the instructors could see her, they’d get the message and get help.
“Miss, you haven’t been careful. You’ve let evil get too close. I warned you—I told you he disguises himself. Why didn’t you listen? He isn’t sure how much I know, or I wouldn’t be here. But I’ve seen things, his comings and goings. I’m the handyman. I have all the keys, see. And I have his brainwaves, see. I fixed the wiring. Reversed it, so I could read his thoughts, find out his plans.”
I tried to make my voice sound calm. As long as he kept talking, he wouldn’t hurt anyone. “You know his plans?”
He wheezed, then coughed deeply. Fire burned deep in his eyes. Sweat droplets swelled on his forehead. He leaned forward and enunciated more carefully, as if that would help me understand.
“I’ve told you. He won’t stop. He’s killed all those girls and he needs more. A fresh supply for his work.”
Sitting behind Charlie, Leslie began to twitch. Her eyebrow flicked spasmodically. Her knee bounced involuntarily. I wondered if she was having a seizure. I looked at Karen. Her lips mouthed a silent question. “Who is he?”
“All those young women. Dead. So much waste—”
“Who’s dead? What young women are dead?” Leslie cut in. “What’s he saying?”
Charlie didn’t respond. He went on, “See, the women weren’t blood. They had false bonds, no true connections. That’s why they had to die.”
Leslie asked again, “Who? Who had to die? Answer me—”
I shook my head, trying to quiet her. Karen touched her arm. Behind them, blocked by Davinder, Susan continued miming that we’d been visited by a man with a gun.
Charlie continued. “But the work’s not done yet. Life and death, love and hate, Satan and the Lord God. Everything’s the same to him. He spits at it all, pastes it all together as a circle. His work is evil, Miss Zoe. And evil feeds on itself, begets more evil. It’s an endless cycle. He’ll go on killing until somebody stops him.”
Leslie panted, “He means Tamara? The nannies? They’re dead? How does he know that?”
Charlie gazed through the window. I looked out and saw Molly take a running jump and leap over the horse, clearing it by inches. Landing, she turned to see if I was watching.
Amazingly, I was. I even smiled and gave her a thumbs-up, just as if nothing were wrong. She grinned proudly and was moving on to the parallel bars when, beside me, Karen suddenly stiffened. Somebody shrieked. And Leslie tackled Charlie from behind, grabbing for the gun.
“You sonofafuckingbitch! You killed them—”
Fearless, maddened, she clawed at him. When the gun went off, the bang was deafening.