Evil Never Dies

It was Jessica.

Hayley picked up the call.

“I have an address.”

“Already?”

“Let’s just say I got a little help from a friend.”

“OK. I’m all ears—let’s have it.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Sitting across the street from the home of Scott Shaffer, number four on their list, Hayley looked through the binoculars and saw movement in the upstairs window.

She looked at the time. They had replayed what needed to be done over and over. It was supposed to take five minutes, seven tops. But Kitally had been inside the house for twelve minutes. “Hurry up, Kitally. Get in. Get out. That’s the rule.” She never should have agreed to let her handle this one, but Kitally had made it clear that she was tired of always being on the outside looking in. And besides, she was the one who knew about making bombs.

Just when Hayley thought about texting her and calling the whole thing off, she saw Kitally jump over the side gate and run across the street toward her. She jumped into the passenger seat and said, “Go!”

As they drove off, they heard an explosion. In the rearview mirror, she saw part of the roof land on the front lawn.

“I thought you said it would be a small explosion.”

“That was a small explosion.”

“His roof just came off.”

“That was two shingles at the most. It was perfect.”

“Nobody was in there, right?”

“Nobody was in there,” Kitally repeated. “Not so fun sitting in the car waiting and not knowing what’s happening, is it?”

Hayley didn’t respond.

“When they find all of those stolen goods in his place, they are going to put Scott Shaffer away for a very long time.”

Hayley could only hope. They had gone to a lot of work for this one. They had stolen Shaffer’s backpack from the backseat of his car and then taken assorted debris from his garage—everything Kitally would need to make a bomb. Tonight was the night Shaffer usually went to a club or drove the streets until he found some unsuspecting young woman to get into his car. And then he raped her and dropped her off.

“I really hope this works,” Hayley said.

“If it doesn’t,” Kitally said, “I’ll go back to sharpening knives and let you do what you do best.”

“Mind if I borrow your car for a while?” Hayley asked when she pulled up in front of the house.

“What for?”

“I just have one more thing I need to take care of.”

“Are you sure you don’t need my help?”

“Positive. This one’s mine.”

“And after this, we’re done with all of this craziness, right?”

“Absolutely.”

Hayley pulled her ski mask over her face and took out her tension wrench, worked it within the lock until she heard a click, then snuck quietly through the door. She’d been watching Nora Belle for a while now, and she knew her routine. The only thing Hayley regretted was that Nora Belle had gotten in another beating. The good news was that the man with the red hair and Naomi were able to scare the Ghost off before the old man took too many blows.

Hayley glanced at the couch, saw the Ghost’s boyfriend passed out and snoring loud enough to wake the dead. She walked slowly down the narrow hallway. The boards were creaky, but the snoring would take care of that. She eased open the door to the bedroom, and there on the bed was Nora Belle, sleeping peacefully.

After locking the door behind her, she stepped to the side of the bed and watched the Ghost sleep. Hayley pushed her sleeves to her elbows, then climbed atop her on the bed and made herself comfortable.

Nora Belle’s eyes shot open. “Who the fuck are you?”

“I’m the Phantom,” Hayley said, and then she started pummeling her, hitting Nora Belle’s face with such force and so often that very soon all she was aware of were the crunch of bone beneath her fists and the spray of blood on her face. Nora Belle bucked beneath her, but she was trapped beneath layers of sheets and blankets.

Hayley wouldn’t stop. She drew back and hit her again and again until her knuckles began to hurt.

When she at last stopped to examine her aching knuckles, Nora Belle laughed wetly beneath her. A number of her front teeth were broken. Her nose would never look the same. “Not so easy, is it?”

Hayley reached over to the bedside table, grabbed hold of a lamp, and bashed her over the head with it.

That silenced her. Finally. Hayley felt for a pulse. She was still alive.

Hayley walked into the closet, gathered all the white sneakers she could find and shoved them into a duffel bag.

Finished with the shoes, she turned about to survey her work.

Satisfied, she headed back the way she came, walked past the boyfriend, and slipped out the front door. After she delivered the shoes to the homeless, she told Naomi and friends the Ghost’s full name and where she lived. They assured Hayley they would take care of the rest. Hayley didn’t know what that meant exactly, but it was out of her hands now.

It was later than shit by the time she made it back to Kitally’s house. Tommy was sitting on the front stoop waiting for her. If not for the front light being on, she wouldn’t have known it was him.

“Where have you been?” he asked.

“Out and about.”

“Doing what?”

“Walking. Thinking. The usual. What’s up?”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about you lately, and I wanted to talk. I heard from Lizzy that you were thinking about moving away.”

“It’s true. Once I’m sure Be

He ignored the question, his expression bleak. “Were you ever going to talk to me about this harebrained idea of yours to move away?”

“Sure . . . eventually I would have gotten around to it.”

He looked into her eyes and held her gaze. “You have no idea how I feel about you, do you?”

“Tommy, you wear your feelings and emotions on your sleeve. Of course I know how you feel. But here’s the problem. You have no idea who I am. I’m bad news, Tommy. I’ve done things I can never talk to you or anyone else about. Things I don’t even like to think about myself. And the thing is . . . I don’t know if I can stop, or if I want to.”

“I love you, Hayley. Whatever it is you’re going through, I want to help you.”

“I care about you, Tommy, you know I do. But whatever you think we’ve got going . . . it’s over.” She pushed herself to her feet and walked to the door. “I can’t let you into my life.”

“I know you better than you think,” Tommy said. “I know you’re all screwed up, but I’m never giving up on you, Hayley. You might not be able to see it yet, but I can. I can see the light shining out from inside of you. It’s bright. Blinding, even. Even tonight, when you first laid eyes on me, I saw it all—your strength and goodness, your compassion, your need to help others because nobody was there to help you when you needed it.”

“Go home, Tommy.”

“Sure, I’ll go.” He stood. “But if you do decide to move away, no matter where you end up, I’ll be somewhere close, waiting for you to understand that me and you are going to spend the rest of our lives together.”

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

All the girls—Hayley, Jessica, Kitally, and Brittany—had come to Lizzy’s new house to paint the baby’s room. The problem was, they wouldn’t let Lizzy help. Sniffing paint while eight months pregnant was not advised. Instead of arguing with them, Lizzy kept herself busy in the kitchen, but she made sure to check in and bark orders every once in a while just to keep them on their toes.