Oakwoods Park held special memories for Dennis. He had grown up playing in the woods away from the playground and picnic area where everything was neat and tidy. The wooded, wild part of the park was way more fun. He had spent hours in there playing war, and Indians, and pirates, and pretending he was a kidnapper. That was his favorite. He would kidnap some other kid and tie them up and scare the crap out of them. That was fun.

Out in these woods was where they had found the dead lady last year. Him and Cody had been chasing Tommy Crane and Wendy Morgan, and they had gone tumbling down a bank. Tommy had practically landed right on her. She was mostly buried, but her head was sticking out of the ground, and one hand with a finger almost chewed off by a dog.

When nobody was looking Dennis had snapped the finger off and stuck it in his pocket.

He walked through the woods now, looking for, and finding, a good spot to stash his stuff. He would camp there tonight, but he was going to have to steal a blanket because it was fucking cold and the ground and all the dead leaves on it were wet. He wouldn’t complain, though. He was a man now. He would suck it up.

The next thing he needed was a disguise. His picture was going to be all over the news, and the cops were going to be looking for him. With his red hair, he was going to be easy to spot.

He picked his way through the woods to the edge of the playground where a couple of kids were kicking a soccer ball back and forth. They looked like they were maybe fifth graders. Both of them were smaller than he was. The one was wearing a black baseball cap with the Raiders logo on the front.

“Hey!” he said, walking up to the boys. “Can I play?”

The kid with the cap looked up at him. “Who are you?”

“I’m the guy that’s gonna kick your ass. Gimme the ball.”

The other kid snatched the ball up off the ground and held it, ready to run.

“You better gimme the ball,” Dennis said. “I killed someone last night. I can kill you too, you little dick.”

The kid’s eyes got big and he took off running.

Dennis grabbed the other one by the arm with one hand and smacked him upside the head with the other.

The kid screamed like a girl. Dennis took his ball cap and knocked him to the ground, then turned and ran for the woods before somebody’s parents showed up.

That had been easy. But of course it was. He was a badass stone-cold killer now. Taking a hat off a kid was nothing.