‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’ Amy asked with the enthusiasm she’d always had.
She was growing up to be so bright, and Mason couldn’t be more thankful that she hadn’t turned out like most teenagers. Not yet, at least. ‘It is.’
‘So… pizza?’ Amy said, gesturing at the menu. ‘That’s not why you’re here. Are you coming home today?’
Mason didn’t know how to respond. The truth was brutal, but… ‘I should. It is my house, after all. Don’t you think?’
Amy nodded, watching him as if expecting something more.
Mason studied her expression. ‘You know something.’
‘No more than you,’ said Amy. ‘I was on the stairs last night. I heard every word you both said. You know, it’s okay to tell Mom to take a chill pill. For what it’s worth, I appreciate you, Dad.’
One of the things Mason loved most about his daughter was that she always saw the more simplistic side of things. She was the type of person to look past the metaphor and cut straight to the point of it. ‘Thanks. So… has she mentioned me?’
‘Who?’
‘Your mom.’
‘Oh, no. Well…’
Mason’s ears pricked. ‘What?’
Amy held her temples with stiffened fingers. ‘She wanted to tell you in her own time.’
‘What?’
‘Joshua is moving in already. That’s why I want you there.’ She stared down at her lap. ‘I don’t like that she’s replacing you already, Dad. I don’t want this.’
‘Wait, slow down… Joshua is moving in?’
‘You didn’t know?’
‘No, I… the fucking Pilates instructor?’
‘Language, Dad.’ Amy had been trying to wean him off his bad language as of late, but it was hard to keep a lid on it right now.
‘Sorry,’ he said. The last thing he’d expected from today was to find out that his wife had been having an affair. For now, he could try to stifle his anger, but could see himself losing his temper when he got home.
8
Sandra strode down the drive with the phone to her ear, ignoring the rain. ‘She’s just returned. Thanks for your time.’ As soon as she hung up the phone, she checked that Amy was okay and sent her inside the house.
‘She was with me,’ said Mason.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
‘What am I doing?’ he yelled. ‘What are you doing, moving a new goddamn boyfriend in already? It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours!’
Sandra went red in the face as the rain matted her hair to her forehead. Her tone suddenly lowered. ‘I’ve been wanting to end this for a while.’
Mason pushed past her and headed up the drive, overtaking Amy. ‘Is he here now?’
‘Mason. No, Mason,’ Sandra beckoned from behind, but with no effect.
Furious, determined to find the guy and do some real damage, Mason stormed inside the house and searched from room to room while Sandra screamed at him.
‘Get out or I’ll call the police!’
‘Right,’ said Mason. ‘Call my ex-colleagues and tell them I’ve stepped foot inside my own house. Good move.’ And he went on searching the rooms. Deep inside, he felt as though he didn’t really want to find Joshua. As if finding him would be confirmation of his wife’s infidelity. On the other hand, seeing him would remove all doubt, and he could no longer be played for a fool.
‘He isn’t here, Mason! For God’s sake!’ Sandra screamed at him and edged him out of the house as much as she could manage.
‘Whatever.’ Mason was just beginning to believe her when he heard the grumble of a car’s engine outside. A quick peer through the window showed that it was Joshua’s car. He stormed outside and marched towards it with his fists clenched.
‘Joshua!’ Sandra screamed–a warning call, which did nothing.
From the corner of his eye, Mason saw another car pull up, but he only had eyes for Joshua. Before the new boyfriend had a chance to get out of his car, Mason opened the door and dragged him out. He pinned him against the side and planted a fist into the guy’s stomach. He let out a little oof.
‘Stop it!’ He heard Amy yelling somewhere behind him, but it wasn’t enough.
Mason mashed the guy in the face, once, twice. Each delicious punch painted his knuckles red with nasal blood, and he could feel the rage consuming him. As a fifth punch landed, he felt a strong grip around his arms as somebody pulled him back.
‘Calm down, buddy. Cool it.’
Joshua slumped to the floor, cowering down and holding his bloody face.
Mason wrangled out of the grip and spun around to see Bill, realising it must have been his car he saw pull up behind. ‘Get off of me!’
‘Mason. Mason! Calm down… Look at the girl.’
Mason looked to his daughter and felt a wave of shame. She had tears in her eyes and was shaking, drenched in the rain and embarrassed about the spectacle she just saw. He had always tried to remain the more stable parent. He couldn’t imagine how helpless she must have been feeling right then.
‘Come on. Let’s get you out of here.’ Bill showed him to the car.
As they moved, Mason got one last look at Sandra. She hadn’t run to Mason, nor to their daughter, but to the bleeding coward on the floor, who had broken up a family.
9
It was a bad time for the car to break down.
Although the rain had stopped for the first time in days, Susan Chance could see another thick cloud crawling their way. Desperately seeking help, she stepped out of the car and tried to hail down one of the only cars she’d seen within the past hour.
‘Please stop,’ she whispered to herself, holding her thumb out as the car sped past and splashed a puddle up at her. ‘Damn!’
‘Mommy, I’m hungry.’ Tommy, her boy of six years, had cracked the window to lodge his complaint. It was as if it were the first time he’d announced it, although he’d been whining since they’d hit the road.
‘I’m working on it, Tommy. Roll the window up and wait for Mommy.’
In the distance, Susan saw an RV heading their way. Please be kind. She waved frantically and thanked God when the driver slowed to a stop. The rainwater on the windshield obscured her view of the driver, but she was so grateful for the help. She ran to the side and the window slid down.
‘Thanks so much for stopping,’ she said with her best smile.
‘No problem. You heading into the city?’ The man was strange-looking, bad teeth and thin, greasy strands of hair falling over his eyes. It wasn’t a trusting face, but it was the only one around for miles.
‘Yes. And… I have a young boy. I hope that’s okay?’
The man stuck his head out of the window and looked over at the car. Something didn’t seem right. He looked lost in the moment. Suddenly, he snapped back into it. ‘Of course. Climb on in.’
Susan grabbed Tommy and left the car with the hazard lights on, hoping she could return to it soon. Thunder cracked above them as they ran back to the RV and climbed in–Tommy in the middle, as he had a totally irrational fear of taking the door seat.
‘That’s it. I’ll get you there safely,’ the man said as they drove further down the empty road and towards San Francisco.
‘Thank you so much for this,’ Susan said, looking around the cab of the RV. Clipped to the vanity mirror was a picture of a young black girl. ‘Is this your daughter?’
The driver looked over at it. ‘Oh. Yeah. She got her looks from her mother. Skin colour too.’ He laughed. ‘She was black as well.’
‘Was?’ Susan asked, and could have slapped herself for doing so. She’d always had better manners than that. The desperation to avoid uneasy silences had taken over her at that point. ‘I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.’
The man smiled that black-and-yellow grin. ‘It’s all right. My wife died a few years back. She got the cancer, you see. It happens.’ There was no emotion in his voice. It was the same offbeat look that he’d had back w
hen he’d glanced at her car.
‘Sorry to hear that,’ Susan said, and could feel Tommy edging slightly over her way. Something was wrong, and she couldn’t tell what. ‘Would you be so kind as to drop us off at the nearest garage?’
‘Sure,’ the driver said. ‘Sure. So who’s this little fella?’
The clouds cracked and thunder rolled over, then the rain started up again in one long, heavy shower. It would have been cosy if they’d been at home rather than in a stranger’s RV, Susan thought. ‘This is Tommy. Say hello, Tommy.’
But Tommy was too shy, or too scared. It was hard to tell which. He only buried his face into his mother’s sweater.
‘Well, don’t be shy, boy,’ the driver told him. ‘I ain’t gonna bite you.’
‘…Hello.’ Tommy croaked it rather than said it, but it was better than no attempt at all.
‘You like the rain, boy?’
‘Not really.’ Tommy giggled awkwardly.
‘I don’t either. Makes everything squidgy.’ The driver went silent then, like he was focusing on the road.
Susan, trying to figure out how far down the route they were, was peering through the glass to catch a look at the signs, but it was impossible with the storm making a blur of the scenery.
‘What’s this?’ Tommy picked up a small jade hairclip out from between the seats.
‘That?’ The driver snatched it from him and threw it onto the dashboard. ‘That’s nothing. My damn wife keeps leaving things lying around.’
Susan’s eyes widened with alarm. ‘You said your wife had passed.’
‘Hmm? Oh, she did. I meant she kept leaving things lying around. I don’t have too many people ride up front with me, so nobody tends to tell me about the mess.’
Susan could hear the engine revving up and the needle on the speedometer flicking over. ‘Could you slow down, please? I think our turn is up here.’
‘Sure,’ said the driver, but he didn’t slow down at all.
Susan watched as he sped towards the crossroad, which led down into the city on the right. The left path, however, led up into the woods.
Totally ignoring her directions, the driver turned left.
10
‘Pardon me, I think we’re going the wrong way.’
The driver said nothing, but kept on driving towards the vast array of trees, where a number of horror stories had made rumours and campfire stories for the citizens of San Francisco.
‘Sir, I–’
‘Just shut your fucking hole, will ya?’ the man snapped, and pulled out a pistol.
Susan recoiled, and Tommy leaned into her. It wasn’t the first time she had seen a gun, but it was certainly the first time one had been pointed at her. ‘Please, don’t hurt us. We just want our car working again. If y-you let us out now, we won’t tell anyone, I promise.’
‘Shut your moaning, woman. Have some backbone.’
‘But–’
‘Another word and I’ll shoot you dead, ya hear?’
He drove them further into the hills, where he eventually stopped on a dark stretch of road between two sides of the forest. There was an undeniable feeling of loneliness and seclusion up here. And rightfully so: they were completely alone.
‘Please…’
The driver shut off the engine and held the gun at Susan’s face. ‘Get out.’
She hesitated. ‘W-What?’
‘You heard me.’
Susan fumbled for the door handle and almost fell out as she opened it. The rain hit her immediately, soaking her through. Trembling, she held her hands out towards her son, beginning to help him out of the RV.
‘No.’ The driver pulled back on the hammer of the gun. ‘Leave the boy.’
Susan couldn’t help but cry. She dreaded the thought of somebody taking her boy away, and wouldn’t let him go. ‘Please, I need my son.’
‘I need him more, bitch. Now close the door or I’ll shoot the both of ya.’
Susan shook her head slowly, looking at Tommy’s terrified expression. ‘Please.’
‘Last chance,’ said the driver, clutching Tommy’s raincoat fiercely.
‘Mommy,’ Tommy whined.
‘I’m sorry, baby,’ said Susan, and she closed the door.
The RV’s wheels spun and flicked dirt as they pulled off, leaving Susan Chance alone in the darkness, while her son was carried away by the stranger. If Robert were around, she thought, this never would have happened.
Susan despised herself, crying and shaking in the rain… alone.
11
Mason had taken their meal with grace, but it still felt like a bribe. Christine, Bill’s wife, had been kind enough to cook a chicken dinner, while Bill made small talk until they were done.
‘I’ll just clear these up.’ Christine collected the empty plates and headed for the kitchen.
‘Allow me,’ said Mason, but Bill demanded that he sit.
When they were alone, Bill leaned back in his chair and retrieved a key. He threw it to Mason, who caught it in one swift flick of the hand. ‘That’s yours.’
‘For what?’
‘You’re staying with us,’ Bill said, as if it weren’t a choice. ‘And you’ll be working the case, whether you like it or not.’
‘Bill, I–’
‘The Lullaby Killer is back, Mason. There’s no running from it anymore. Now, you can sit around all day and mope about losing your wife to that asshole Joshua, or you can get to work. You’re more familiar with this guy than anyone at the station.’
‘So? Read the file and you’ll know everything that I know.’ Mason felt like an ungrateful son of a bitch, but it wasn’t how he’d intended to sound. Regardless, he wouldn’t be pushed into a corner.
‘You damn well owe us, Mason.’
‘I don’t owe you shit!’
Bill scraped back his chair and stormed into another room. Moments later, he returned with a photo frame, dumping it into Mason’s lap. ‘Look at it.’
Mason knew exactly what it was, and he knew it would win him over. Still, he couldn’t help but look. In his lap was the photograph of Michael–Bill and Christine’s son. He was sitting atop Bill’s shoulder with a big, cheesy grin on his face.
‘It’s been two years since that psychopath took our son, but we still feel it every day. I suppose I don’t need to remind you who was working the case.’
Mason gently put down the photograph, then looked up at Bill.
‘My son – your godson – died because of him. So what if he’s been quiet ever since? What difference does time make? The fact is, he’s still out there and you’re sitting here whining about how your family is falling apart. Now, I can put you up here, Mason. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like. That one comes for free, whatever you do. But you and I both know that you need to take this case.’
The room was silent then, only the tick-tock of the working clock making its presence known. Christine could no longer be heard clattering dishes in the kitchen, which made it obvious that she had been listening to all the yelling.
‘Please, Mason.’
Mason took a deep breath. He thought of Amy, and how humiliated she must feel about his outburst. There were other kids out there, he knew, who were just like her. And for as long as this killer was on the streets, these kids would be in danger.
‘Let me sleep on it.’
12
It was barely sunrise, and Bill had practically dragged Mason to the police station on the basis that it was “an emergency”. Mason had no trouble believing it, especially as he was shown into the viewers’ booth behind the interview room.
Susan Chance sat at the interview table, a perfectly average woman in most ways, but caked in mud and rainwater with nothing but a towel over her shoulders. Her makeup had run down her cheeks and she looked a mess. Mason didn’t need a PHD in Psychology to know that the woman had been through hell and back.
‘Can you tell us more about the photograph?’ Bill asked her.
Maso
n studied her reaction through the glass, nothing short of utter horror.
‘It was… a black girl.’ Susan sniffed. ‘Ten… maybe younger.’
‘Can you please take a look at this picture?’ Bill slid a photograph across the table.
Susan wiped her nose with a bare arm and took the photo.
‘Is this the photograph that was clipped to his mirror?’
‘Yes.’ Susan’s eyes lit up, but more in horror than excitement. ‘I mean no. It’s the same girl but a different photo. Who… is she?’
‘That’s Missy Daniels,’ Bill told her calmly, and put the photo aside. Mason knew exactly why he didn’t add: she was murdered two days ago.
‘What about the man?’ Bill went on. He had always been a very competent detective, his efforts only overshadowed by Mason’s accomplishments. And although Mason didn’t revel in the glory, nor did Bill Harvey hold it against him. In fact, he had actually claimed to admire him.
‘Only what I already told you. But…’
‘Yes?’
‘His hands…’ Susan choked on a flood of tears, and Mason could feel his heart breaking along with hers. With a daughter of his own, he could only imagine how painful it must have been to go through what she had.
‘Please stay with me, Mrs Chance. What about his hands?’
‘Gloves,’ she said, demonstrating with spread fingers. ‘He wore leather gloves.’
This seemed perfectly natural to Mason, even considering the time of year. If he were to kidnap somebody’s boy, he would probably wear gloves, too. In fact, he’d have taken every precaution possible to not get caught.
When the interview had finished, Bill met Mason outside. ‘What do you make of that?’
‘It doesn’t sound like him,’ said Mason. ‘He wouldn’t show his face like that.’
‘Can you be sure?’
‘Not really. But if it is him, then he’ll show up in a couple of days.’
‘That’ll be too late,’ said Bill.
‘No kidding.’
They moved to one side to allow other officers of the station to scurry past them. ‘So what do you think? Can you help us?’
Mason Black (The Complete Collection): 6 Gripping Crime Stories: The Complete Collection + BONUS Story Page 3