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Back Parting Shot Save as PDF
Chapters (68)
  1. Dedication
  2. Title Page
  3. Contents
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Thirteen
  16. Fourteen
  17. Fifteen
  18. Sixteen
  19. Seventeen
  20. Eighteen
  21. Nineteen
  22. Twenty
  23. Twenty-One
  24. Twenty-Two
  25. Twenty-Three
  26. Twenty-Four
  27. Twenty-Five
  28. Twenty-Six
  29. Twenty-Seven
  30. Twenty-Eight
  31. Twenty-Nine
  32. Thirty
  33. Thirty-One
  34. Thirty-Two
  35. Thirty-Three
  36. Thirty-Four
  37. Thirty-Five
  38. Thirty-Six
  39. Thirty-Seven
  40. Thirty-Eight
  41. Thirty-Nine
  42. Forty
  43. Forty-One
  44. Forty-Two
  45. Forty-Three
  46. Forty-Four
  47. Forty-Five
  48. Forty-Six
  49. Forty-Seven
  50. Forty-Eight
  51. Forty-Nine
  52. Fifty
  53. Fifty-One
  54. Fifty-Two
  55. Fifty-Three
  56. Fifty-Four
  57. Fifty-Five
  58. Fifty-Six
  59. Fifty-Seven
  60. Fifty-Eight
  61. Fifty-Nine
  62. Sixty
  63. Sixty-One
  64. Sixty-Two
  65. Sixty-Three
  66. Sixty-Four
  67. Sixty-Five
  68. Copyright

“It was the middle of the night.” Duckworth grimaced. The park next to the falls the town was named for was getting something of a reputation for horrific crimes.

“If you don’t know anything, then what point is there in talking to Craig? He upsets very easily.”

Duckworth hesitated. “There’s been another incident.”

“Oh dear me.”

He raised a palm. “Not as serious as what happened to Craig. And it may not be related. But I’d like to speak with your son just the same. Maybe, since the last time we spoke, he’s remembered something else.”

Ruth Pierce nodded resignedly. “All right, then. If you have to do it, you have to do it.”

“I want to thank you for the scone. I really shouldn’t have had it, but it was irresistible. The coffee, too.”

“It’s nice to have someone to talk to.”

“Do you get out?” he asked her.

“Oh, yes. I mean, Craig can be left home alone. And sometimes I take him for drives. He likes to go for drives. If we’re out in the daytime, he’ll wear something on his head, so people can’t see him. He’s even been going out some on his own, but only late at night, when no one can see him and he doesn’t have to cover himself up. But I worry when he does that. If he has an accident or something, what will people think when they see him? When he’s with me, I can sort of run interference. You know what I mean?”

“Sure,” said Duckworth.

Given that Pierce was known to be a sex offender—although not an actual convicted one—Duckworth pondered the wisdom of him going out at night on his own. Although he didn’t quite pose the threat he might once have.

“The best news is, he’s feeling a little more confident,” Ruth said. “He’s getting interested in things again, like hobbies. He’s been ordering little gadgets off the Internet.”

Duckworth stood and waited for Ruth to get to her feet.

“I’ll try not to be too long,” he said as he started to leave the kitchen.

The woman reached out and gently took his arm.

“There’s something you need to know before you see him.”

“What’s that?”

“First of all, he’s gotten a little . . . I don’t want to say crazy. But considering everything, he sometimes becomes quite . . . irreverent.”

“And what else?”

She let out a long breath.

“The last of the bandages have come off.”

Eighteen

EIGHTEEN

THE Gaffneys were frantic.

All evidence pointed to the fact that Brian had walked right out of the hospital. A nurse was pretty sure she had seen him pass her station in his clothes, but Albert wanted them to be sure his son had not been transferred to some other part of the building or possibly sent to a lab or something for further tests.