I nodded. “I think he’s been watching us ever since we arrived at the island. I had a feeling, after I had that fight with Nitro and left you guys, I had a feeling of being watched. I thought it was the dolls…having their eyes on me. But now I think it was probably Solano. It makes sense he would follow me, doesn’t it? He didn’t want me stumbling across Miguel’s body, or Lucinda and Rosa.”

“But you found Rosa.”

“And he realized he could no longer just wait and hide and hope we left. We knew something happened, we would call the police. So he went in the cabin after Rosa and I left to get more weapons or whatever he needed. That’s when he must have taken the doll. I don’t know why he would. Maybe it was special to him. His favorite. Actually, I think it was—the way he put makeup on it, bathed it. Anyway, he’s crazy. It doesn’t matter why he took it. He just did.”

“He never attacked us though. When we split up, it was just Jesus, Pita, and me. Why not attack us then?”

“That’s still three against one, and he’s an old man. Besides, he would have known by then the storm was coming. He would have known we were staying on the island overnight. Probably figured he’d try to knock us off one by one.”

“He didn’t attack you or Pita. You had first watch. Why not attack you? Why wait for Jesus and Nitro?”

“Maybe he hadn’t worked up the nerve yet. Or maybe he was waiting for us to all go to sleep. But when Nitro and Jesus went out, he realized we were keeping watches, and he had to act.”

Elizaveta considered this. “These are many ‘maybes,’ Jack.”

“It’s speculation, yeah,” I said. “But, hey, if you got something better, something that doesn’t involve ghosts or animated dolls, please tell me, I’m all ears.”

1957

1

María sat in the front of the trajinera, watching the trees and colorful flowers float pass on the banks of the canal. Angela was seated next to her, watching the scenery too. She wasn’t the real Angela that Sister Lupita stole. She was a new one that her father had purchased for her the day before.

“What’s that, Angela?” she said. “You want to go swimming?”

“Can we?” she asked.

“Do you know how to swim?”

“Not really. But I can learn.”

“I guess I can learn too.”

María turned to look at her mother, and her father behind her, pushing the boat with a long pole. They returned her look, puzzled. They couldn’t hear her speaking to Angela. María and Angela were using their special voices that only each of them could hear.

She said out loud: “I want to go swimming.”