“I changed my mind,” he said to Duane. “You are my friend.”

Then he shot him twice in the face and spun to return up the stairs.

And I raced after him.

++++

Timothy faced his father. “How many people have you killed?”

“The number doesn’t matter.”

There’s a number for everyone.

“Yes, it does!”

His dad passed the hammer back and forth threateningly between his hands.

“Did you kill Mom?”

“Oh, yes.”

“And Julianne? And Miranda?”

“I killed them all, Timothy. All the people around you who’ve been disappearing.”

Timothy felt a tide of grief wash through him. “But why?”

“It’s always been a part of me, and working for the FBI just made every death richer, purer, more satisfying.”

What? The FBI?

But at least that explained a few things—like how he got the camera that was in the house and how he managed to locate Blake’s email address.

“You’re sick,” Timothy said.

“Then I do not want to be well.”

++++

Tessa craned her neck to see who was in the backseat of the other car but still couldn’t make out the person’s face.

Screw it. I’m not staying here.

Bringing the gun with her, she climbed out and headed through the blowing snow toward the other vehicle.

++++

Timothy had an idea.

Morgellons. The bugs. Mental deterioration.

“You know about my condition?” he said to his father.

“Yes. You’re the one who’s sick.”

He may have watched you in the living room but he hasn’t watched you cut.

Timothy Sabian tugged off his shirt.

++++

Tessa could see that the novelist’s chest and stomach were laced with scars and open sores. His arms were crisscrossed with more wounds.

Though her mom would’ve said she was taking the Lord’s name in vain, she still found herself whispering, “Oh my God.”

As he stood there shirtless in the snowstorm, Timothy produced an X-ACTO knife from his pocket.

“Help me make them go away,” he said to the man. As Timothy walked forward, he drew the blade across his skin, leaving red, leaking streaks behind. “They just won’t go away. They’re getting worse.”

“Put down the knife.” The guy sounded rattled. It didn’t look like he’d noticed her yet.

“I just want to be free of the bugs.” Timothy passed the blade to his left hand and went to work on his right arm. “Always crawling. Always here. Always always always.”

“Stop it!”

“I have to get them out.”

++++

Tessa was scared watching him and wanted him to stop, but when she edged closer, she finally saw who was trapped in the backseat of that car.

A woman.

A woman she definitely knew.

Her mom.

79

Tessa rushed forward. “Mom?”

Her mother stared dumbstruck at her, then tried frantically to get out of the backseat, beating on and then kicking uselessly at the window.

“Get back!” Timothy warned Tessa.