Zahn rocked harder, muttering to himself. “No more. No more.”

“All that blood,” Vince said, watching Zahn rub his hands harder against his thighs.

“You could imagine what happened to her, couldn’t you? The knife going into her body again and again. But Marissa was a friend. She didn’t have that coming to her, did she? She couldn’t have made someone so angry they would do that to her, could she?”

Zahn was perspiring now. His skin had taken on a waxy translucence, and his respiration had become quick and shallow.

Suddenly he stood up. “You have to go now, Vince,” he said quickly. “I’m terribly sorry. So sorry. You have to go now.”

Vince got up slowly. “Are you upset, Zander? I didn’t mean to upset you.”

He tried in vain to make eye contact with the man. Zahn shook his head, looking away, looking at the floor.

“No more. No more,” he said, his breathing picking up one beat and then another. “You have to stop. Stop now, Vince.”

“I’m sorry if I upset you, Zander,” he said. “I just want you to know that I know your story now. I understand why you had to kill her. I don’t judge you.”

That was it. In that instant Zahn went over the tipping point.

Vince watched as his eyes changed, his face changed. He seemed to suddenly get bigger, stronger, and dangerous. The rage erupted from him in a huge, hot explosion of emotion so big it seemed impossible that it had been contained within him.

Screaming, he lunged at Vince like a wild animal.

Chapter 45

45

“NO MORE!! NO MORE!! NO MORE!!”

The first blow caught Vince hard on the cheekbone. The second one hit his collarbone. He had to shove Zahn backward to ward off another. He kept his arms pushed out in front of him, hands spread wide, establishing space between them.

“No problem, Zander,” he said. “No problem. I’ll go, but you have to calm down first. I’m not leaving until you calm down.”

Stuck in his rage, Zahn wasn’t listening to him, and just kept shouting, his face red, the cords in his neck standing out. He now held his arms stiff and straight down at his sides, his hands balled into white-knuckled fists. It was as if his whole body were in a state of spasm, jerking and trembling.

“Zander! Zander!” Vince shouted, trying to break through the grasp of Zahn’s inner demon.

He grabbed Zahn by the upper arms and tried to hold him still, surprised at the strength in the man’s slight frame.

“NO MORE!! NO MORE!! NO MORE!!”

“Zander! Stop it! Listen to me! Listen to me!”

Vince gave him a hard shake. Zahn looked at him then with shock, as if seeing him for the first time.