And then he brought it down hard just above her bent knee. The pain was immense, and she was thankful that it only hit meat. It wasnt a vicious blow, not one that he was using to seriously hurt her, but a rover of static-like shocks went blasting through her leg.

Youre tough, he said. Thats good. You and I…were going to have a lot of fun.

He licked his lips, using the hammer to trace a line from the bottom of her throat to just beneath her breasts.

I didnt want to kill them, he said. I thought they were actually going to give me the money. Started to talk real serious about it. But then the husband got all mouthy and scared. We got into a fight and I killed him. Shot him right in the throat and then in the head. Only had one bullet left for the wife. I put it in her belly and then clubbed her to death with the butt of the gun.

He looked almost remorseful here. But after a moment of what Kate thought might be his form of self-reflection, he shrugged. I had to get rough with Mercy. Punched her in the stomach then punched her in the face. She went out like a light. After that, it was easy. Walked right through the backyard with her over my shoulder and straight to my truck. I parked a pretty good distance away, on some dirt road in the middle of nowhere. Hell…a town like that, no one saw me come or go. I came in and left like a fucking ghost.

The exposition was almost gratuitous. But Kate had seen this before. He was trying to talk himself up. He was trying to convince himself that he was smart…that his smarts back in Deton (as well as his savagery, perhaps) had gotten him out of there without leaving a trace. If he could relive that high, he would probably convince himself that raping and killing and FBI agent was well within his wheelhouse, too.

So now the question is what to do with little Mercy. Do I just keep her? I dont want to kill her. Truth be told, killing her parents wasnt what I thought it would be. Id only killed once before…an old homeless drunk that tried to mug me. I dont enjoy it. But I had to. If I had have just left the Fullers house that night and

He was cut short by a sudden pounding noise. The entire floor felt as if it was shaking. For a brief moment, Kate wondered if the shoddy floor was actually collapsing.

What the hell? Jack said.

He looked to the right. Kates eyes followed his gaze and she saw the slight rise in the floor, as well as the old rusty hinge that was mostly embedded in the floor.