Chapters (73)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Prologue
- Part IAnnie
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Part IIHarry
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Part IIIAnnie
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Part IVHarry
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Part VAnnie
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Also by Linwood Barclay
- About the Publisher
“I don’t know what I’m saying.”
“You are a rational, brilliant woman, so I don’t think I need to make the case that in the real world, a doll or any other kind of toy is just that. It might have an emotional attachment, like the stuffed toys we had as kids, but they’re not evil. They’re not possessed. They are not taken over by some kind of spirit. I think what’s happening here is more obvious.”
Annie waited.
“You’re still processing what happened to John, still trying to find a way to deal with the tragedy of that young boy. A mind under stress does some pretty amazing things, Annie. And you’re worried about Charlie. Your anxiety surrounding him is manifesting itself in ways that are hard to understand.”
“Maybe so.”
“And Charlie has found something he really likes. He’s found a focus. These trains are probably a great way for him to think about something other than losing his father.”
“He says John lives in his little town.”
“Ah, I see. But, you know, it sounds like he’s dealing with it, in his own way. And you need to let him.”
“I don’t know.”
“Annie.” Maya’s tone said everything. Pull yourself together, for fuck’s sake.
“You’re probably right,” Annie said.
“Do you need your prescription renewed? I can phone it in to a local drugstore for you if you let me know which one.”
“I still have some,” Annie said. “If I run out, I’ll be in touch.”
“You going to be okay?”
“I’m going to be okay,” Annie said. “Thanks for this.”
They said their farewells, and Annie slowly closed the laptop, thinking, She’s wrong.
Across the road, Daniel was clearing the kitchen table of their dinner plates and asked his wife, “Can I interest you in a piece of pie?”
Dolores turned her head slowly to look at him. “What kind of pie?” she asked flatly.
“Peach. Got it in Fenelon. Your favorite place.”
“Do we have any ice cream?” she asked.
“There was some vanilla, but we might have used it all up.” He set the plates on the counter by the sink, went to the fridge. The freezer compartment took up the lower third. He gave the handle a firm tug and peered inside. “Here we go,” he said. He brought out a carton and peeled off the top. “Just enough.”
“Okay, then,” Dolores said without enthusiasm.
Daniel opened a cardboard bakery box and slid out the pie, carefully cut out two slices and placed them on plates, then dug out the last of the ice cream. There was enough for a good-sized scoop for Dolores’s slice. He put a small scoop next to his.
He brought the plates back to the table and sat down.