Say Goodbye

Kimberly’s turn to be confused. “I thought you meant the house next door, the one with the big, wraparound covered patio…”

“That’s the one.”

“No girl lives there?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Does…does a girl visit sometimes?”

“No. Least not that I’ve seen. Though a man showed up about twenty minutes ago. Wearing a red baseball cap.”

The man felt pain first. That surprised him. It had been so long since he had felt anything co

But his side felt like it had caught on fire. He grabbed at it, startled to feel more pain, then encountered the shocking wetness of his own blood.

He turned to the boy. The kid pulled the trigger again.

This bullet caught him up high, in the shoulder. He twisted back, still standing, and heard another boom, felt another searing pain, and then heard another boom and another one.

His legs buckled. He slowly sank to the ground, staring at the gray pall of the ceiling. Was it his imagination, or were the shadows moving up there? He thought he saw the Burgerman’s face, and he whimpered.

The girl was screaming. Why was the stupid girl screaming if he was the one who’d been shot? He wished she would shut up. He wanted everyone to shut up. The girl, the gun, the terrible violence seeping into his brain.

And then he heard fresh yells, this time deep and authoritative. “Police, police. Hands up. Drop your weapon.”

The girl was screaming again, the old woman telling the boy, “Put it down, child. It’s okay, just put it down.”

He could feel his blood seeping out of him, into the floor. He could feel himself dying and he ought to know, as he’d seen it enough times. The way that first boy’s body had sagged, then collapsed all those years ago. And the girls, one by one, their blood ru

The girl had the gun now. He knew because the police were yelling at her, and the old woman was telling the boy to duck, duck, duck. The girl was trouble. He’d always known that. It was why he could never quite bring himself to kill her. Because she was trouble and the thrill was always bigger when he could force her into line.

Maybe she would shoot him, too. She would like that.

He wondered about the baby. His? Aaron’s? Another man’s? And he thought, in these last few seconds he had left, that he was glad he was dying. Before he ever saw the baby. Before he ruined its life.

Then a window suddenly shattered in the back of the kitchen. From the corner of his eye, he saw the girl turn to counter this fresh attack. A shape flew across the space, caught the girl at the knees, and crashed her to the ground.

A moment later, a bloodstained detective rose from the floor, the Colt in his hand.

“Brother,” the man whispered.

And Sal finally looked him in the eyes.

Kimberly couldn’t climb through the window. Instead, she had to wait until Mac moved the armoire and opened the back door. She had raced around the house, seeing the lone beam of flashlight on the kitchen, and had heard enough to understand what was going on. She’d aimed the rock in Gi

Now, as Mac flipped on the overhead light, she spied an old woman, hunched, panting in pain, confined to a kitchen chair, while a young boy with a blank expression kneeled at her feet. Gi

And Sal was bent over the body of a man sprawled in blood on the floor.

“Vincent,” Sal murmured. “Vi

He touched the man’s face, his fingers so gentle it hurt to watch.

“I’m sorry,” Sal whispered. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“Saw you…that day.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Wanted…to see Mom. Come…home. Saw you.”

“Shhh…shhh…shhh.”

“Good…son. In your uniform. Not me. You were right…about the Burgerman…Grinding naughty boys to dust.”

“Shhh…shhh…shhh.”

“Not strong…not like you. Hurt. Tired. Very tired.”

“It’s all right now. I’m here, Vi

“Azalea bush. Must find…azalea bush.”

“It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“I wish,” the man gasped. “I wish.”

The man died. Sal cradled his brother’s body in his arms, and wept.

EPILOGUE

IT TOOK EIGHT DAYS TO REMOVE ALL THE BODIES from Blood Mountain. Each corpse was carefully lowered onto a clean sheet, then wrapped up and carted down the mountain in a specially prepared litter. A team of forensic anthropologists came in to handle the load, setting up shop in the county morgue, where they could murmur at the wonderful condition of the mummified remains. Not many bodies were found after long-term exposure hanging in the woods. The potential for case studies was staggering.

Family members of missing girls were notified of the proper process for submitting DNA samples to match against the remains. A database was built. Testing began. People could expect to wait six to nine months for results.

Gi

The state prosecutor charged Gi

Gi

Interestingly enough, the only recording that survived was the one Kimberly had made from Aaron’s first anonymous phone call. Everything else appeared to have been destroyed in the fire at Dinchara’s residence. But the bodies remained, the thin, mummified forms testifying louder than words to just what one man had been able to do.

Sal had taken a leave of absence from work. Kimberly had called him twice. He never returned those calls. She heard through the grapevine that he was spending a great deal of time with his mother. The initial public outcry had been so great, with sensational details of the murder spree screaming across every headline, he and his mother had had to go into seclusion.

According to the rumor mill, Sal had filed papers requiring DNA testing of Gi

Kimberly wondered if it would be enough for them, or if they would simply lie awake, night after night, waiting for something terrible to happen down the hall.

Life went on. Harold recovered from his wound, returned to work with a medal from the governor and enormous fanfare. When Kimberly’s ERT presented him with his very own pair of custom-fit Limmer boots, he blushed like a schoolboy. And Rachel hugged him so hard the betting pool was already taking odds on a wedding date.

While Kimberly grew fat. Enormously, couldn’t-see-her-toes fat. True to her prediction, Mac had to tie her shoes for her. Which didn’t happen so much anymore, as she was officially on a leave of absence. With two weeks until her due date, she had to set up a nursery in their apartment in Sava