“I know you do,” he said before he returned to his place behind the decrepit man.
Zee watched all three people, her gaze darting from Natalie, to the old man, and finally back to Forrest. Waiting. Watching. The clowns had known all along where Forrest lived. They had danced and pointed, telling her which way to go when she was lost. It all made sense now. This was a circus, all right. And she was the only spectator.
“Ask him!” Forrest shouted, making Zee jump.
Nobody else moved.
The tip of the leather whip hit the old man’s shoulder, splitting him open. His cry of pain came out, sounding like the screams of a dozen people.
Natalie frowned.
Finally. Something.
The snap of the whip had worked this time. Natalie buried the rest of her food beneath a pile of straw and then crawled to the door of her cell, where she could get a better look at what was going on. “Stop it,” she said in a tiny voice.
Zee wasn’t sure if she was telling the old man to stop screaming or telling Forrest to stop hurting him.
“Leave him alone,” Natalie said, looking at Forrest now.
Forrest’s eyes narrowed. “Ask him the question.”
“Old man,” she began.
“His name is Dog.”
“Dog,” she said, “why did you beat and torture your only son?”
Dog grumbled and mumbled. Zee could tell that he was really trying to answer the question, which surprised her.
The whip snapped again, slitting open Dog’s other shoulder.
This time he howled.
It was the same piercing cry Zee had heard many times before. There was no other animal inside his cell. Dog was one and the same.
The expression on Natalie’s thin face was a mixture of horror and rage as she cried, “Dog! Look at me!”
The silence was deafening.
And once again Forrest raised his arm, ready to strike again.
Unable to take any more, it seemed, Natalie began to shake the bars as she shouted, “What did you do to your son?”
She shook the metal bars so hard, Zee thought she might break right through.
“He took her from me,” Dog said at last, his voice hoarse. The clarity of his words surprised everyone, including Forrest.
“Who did he take from you?” Natalie commanded.
“My wife.”
“You were jealous of your own son?”
Forrest looked tense.
Dog began to cry, his eyes like leaky faucets, his entire body trembling.
“You didn’t like the attention your wife gave your son,” Natalie said, “so you tortured him?”
Dog growled. Gone was the sadness. His eyes widened, and his nostrils flared. “She only loved him! Everything she did was for him! I hated him. I wished he was never born. But when I harmed her little boy, her prized possession, she grew angry. And that anger was directed at me . . . only me.”
Forrest looked at Natalie in confusion.
“He preferred your mother’s anger and hatred over nothing at all,” Natalie told him.
“Is that true?” he asked Dog.
Dog’s head bobbed.
Forrest’s expression changed suddenly, and Zee wasn’t sure what he was thinking as he furiously worked to unchain Dog. Once that was done, he shoved him back into his cell, shut the door with a clang, and secured it tightly.
“He could have had both,” Natalie said as Forrest blew out the lantern and walked away.
Forrest got as far as the steps before he turned and said, “What did you say?”
“Babies need a lot of care,” Natalie told him. “If your father had been patient, he could have had both your mother’s love and his son’s love.”
THIRTY-EIGHT
Not long after Colin had left, Jessie grabbed her purse. “Come on,” she said to Olivia. “Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?”
“To Woodland. I want to look Arlo Gatley in the eyes when they take him away.”
“Why?”
“It’s something I need to do.”
“What if he’s dangerous?”
“If the police haven’t arrived, I won’t get out of the car until he’s in handcuffs.” Jessie didn’t want to freak Olivia out, but there was no way she was going to leave Olivia home alone. “I always carry pepper spray,” Jessie told her, “and we can bring Higgins along for the ride, too.”
Olivia jumped up from the couch and grabbed the leash and a couple of treats for Higgins.
They had been on the highway for at least five minutes when Olivia turned to Jessie and said, “Are you all right?”
“Why do you ask?”
“You don’t look well, for one thing. I’m worried about you. The cut on the side of your face looks kind of puffy and swollen.”
“Don’t worry. I’m taking antibiotics. I feel fine.”
“I overheard some of your conversation with Colin, and I think he’s right,” Olivia said. “You should be concentrating on making sure you don’t go back to jail. I’m scared.”
Jessie’s heart sank. “I’m sorry I’ve worried you. I don’t want you to be scared, okay? Two different women have agreed to testify against Parker Koontz in court. Everything will be fine.”
“Promise?”
“Yes,” she said, wishing she felt as confident as she sounded. “But I also need to find Zee Gatley, okay? I have no idea if she is safe. She could be alone and scared. Now that her dad might be in trouble, she’ll need my help more than ever.”
“You’re right,” Olivia said. “She needs your help.”
Jessie smiled at Olivia. “You’re an amazing kid—you know that?”
“Yeah, so I’ve heard.”
They both chuckled. The rest of the ride was quiet, Jessie lost in her own thoughts and Olivia busy texting her friend.
As soon as Jessie turned down the familiar street, she saw lights flashing and pulled over to the side of the road.
“What’s going on?” Olivia asked.
“I’m too late.”
An officer had his hand on top of Arlo’s head, helping him into the back seat of the cruiser.
Higgins whimpered, the dog’s way of letting them know he needed to go to the bathroom.
Jessie pointed ahead. “The neighbors won’t mind if you take him to that empty lot over there.”
Olivia put the leash on Higgins and led him away while Jessie leaned against the hood of the car and watched three police vehicles drive slowly past. Arlo Gatley had been arrested as a possible murder suspect. She could see the neighbors peeking out windows, probably grabbing their phones and letting one another know that they’d been right all along and the bogeyman was finally gone.
Olivia was headed back her way when someone called out.
Jessie looked over her shoulder and watched the woman jog toward them.
“That’s Mrs. Goodman from the other day,” Olivia told Jessie. “You know, the lady I talked to, the one with all the kids, the one whose house I went into, and you freaked out because you thought—”
“I got it,” Jessie said, shushing her.
The woman was out of breath by the time she caught up to them. She introduced herself to Jessie and then said, “I can’t believe my luck in seeing you both here.” She had something in her hand, and she gave it to Olivia. It was the picture of Zee they had blown up.
“Not more than thirty minutes ago,” she said looking at Olivia, “my brother stopped by, saw the photo you’d accidentally left behind, and instantly recognized the man you were asking about. My brother and this guy attended the same elementary school.” She put her hands in the air. “What are the odds? First my brother stops by, and then to see you both here.”
The woman had Jessie’s full attention. “Do you have a name?”
She nodded. “Forrest Bloom.”
Jessie made a note on her phone.
“Is your brother still friends with him?”
“Oh no. I don’t think they were ever friends. According to my brother, Forrest was in class one day and gone the next. My brother said Forrest and his family used to live on a farm somewhere around here. I wish I could be more help.”
“You’ve been a great help,” Jessie said. “Would you mind if we exchanged numbers in case I think of any more questions or if I need to talk to your brother?”
“That’s fine.” They exchanged information, and then Jessie and Olivia headed for the car.
As soon as they were back home, Jessie grabbed her laptop.
“What are you doing now?” Olivia asked.