He tried to make sense of them, tried to put them into sentences, but found it hard to focus, hard to concentrate.

Mental deterioration.

“No. No, that’s not it.”

Fear and madness and pain.

And madness.

And pain.

Stay on track, Timothy. Focus!

“But how, when there’s a dead body in my bed?”

He took a deep breath and stared at the mirror. He hadn’t wanted to come upstairs because of Julianne’s corpse in his bedroom just down the hall, but this was where he kept the lotions and anti-itch creams.

And truthfully, part of him wanted to make sure she was still there, that she hadn’t somehow moved from where he’d left her.

He saw that she had not. Not even a little.

Now, he stood naked in front of the mirror and squeezed some aloe vera gel onto his palm.

It felt cool and tingly to the touch as he slathered it across his arm. He also spread some on his stomach and over his legs where more sores had begun to appear. He probably used too much because it ended up being globby and gooey even after he spread it out, but it did calm down the itching a bit—at least enough for him to shift his attention to preparing for the book signing.

As he gazed at himself in the mirror, it struck him that he was deteriorating quickly. He hadn’t realized how much scratching he’d been doing and how much the sores with those tiny black fibers in them had spread. That’s what happens when the bugs get under the skin. They can spread anywhere.

“Alright, it’s time,” he said. “Get dressed, Timothy. Get ready.” He wasn’t sure why he spoke the words aloud.

Focus!

Timothy steeled himself and then walked into the bedroom to get his clothes.

From research for his novels, he knew that corpses will typically give off a strong odor after twenty-four to thirty-six hours, but if the air is warm enough, it can start much sooner. So, when he brought her up here, he’d kept the window open and let the weather that had winter in its throat leak into the room. He didn’t have perfume, but he did have some cologne, which he sprayed onto her wrists and cheeks as a security measure, a way to help. Just in case.

Thankfully, the bad odors had not yet come.

But he didn’t sniff her closely because he knew they were on their way.

He found a black turtleneck long enough to cover the length of his arms and the scratches on his neck from when he was nervous before his fight with Julianne, and tugged it on.

You must not let anyone see. You must not let anyone know.