You can’t have your revenge. It’s sick. You can’t just go out there
and kill those four kids.” I “Oh, I probably won’t kill any of them
with my own hands,” he said.
“What do you mean?” “Gunther will take care of them.” “Gunther? He
wouldn’t hurt anyone.” “Our son has changed,” Conrad said. “I’m the
only one who knows how much he’s changed. He’s come of age at last.
He needs women now, and he . takes what he needs. He doesn’t just
screw them, either. He leaves quite a mess behind. I’ve been covering
up for him the last few years.
And now I’ll be repaid. He’ll give me the vengeance I’ve dreamed about
for so long.” “What do you mean when you say he takes women?” “Uses
them and then rips them apart,” Conrad said, knowing that she was the
type who would feel morally responsible for the actions of her freakish
offspring, smiling as he saw the pain flicker across her face.
“How many?” she asked.
“I’ve lost count. A few dozen.” aMy God,” Zena said, shaken to her
roots. “What have I done? What have I brought into the world?” “The
Antichrist,” Conrad said.
“No,” she said. “You’re not in your right mind. You have delusions of
grandeur. It’s nothing as special as the Antichrist. It’s just a
vicious, mad beast. I should have had Ellen’s good sense. I should
have killed it like she killed Victor. Now . . . I’m responsible for
everyone who has died and for everyone who will die before it’s
finished.”
Standing over her, Conrad reached down, put his hands on her throat,
and said, “I can’t let you spoil everything.”
Zena struggled. But she didn’t have a strong enough desire to live,
while Conrad had an exceedingly strong desire to kill her. He had
never known such power and purpose as that which coursed through him
now. He felt supercharged, crackling with a demonic energy. Zena
thrashed and kicked and scratched his face, but she died much more
easily than he had expected. He dragged her body into the darkest
corner of the tent, later, he would figure out some way to get rid of
it.
The raven squawked hysterically.
Afraid that the bird would draw someone to the body before it could be
disposed of, Conrad opened the cage, thrust his hands inside, seized
the raven, and broke its neck.
He left Zena’s tent and hurried back to the funhouse. Amy Harper and
her friends would be arriving shortly, and he wanted to be prepared for
them.
Tonight Joey was a winner. He won sixty-five cents pitching pennies.
He won a small teddy bear by throwing darts at balloons. And he won a
free ride on the carousel when he managed to grab a brass ring the
first time around.
He was on the carousel, riding a black stallion like the one in the
movie of the same name, when he saw Amy. He hadn’t considered the
possibility that her date had brought her to the carnival, but there
she was, in dark green shorts and a pale green T-shirt. She wasn’t
with Buzz, though. She was with Liz, and the two girls were headed
toward the edge of the midway. Joey lost sight of them as the carousel
revolved, and when he came around again, they had disappeared in the
crowd.
When he got off the merry-go-round a couple of minutes later, he went
looking for his sister. He knew she would enjoy hearing how he had
fooled Mama. She would think he was clever and brave for coming all
the way to the fairgrounds on his own. He valued Amy’s approval more
than anything else, and he was eager to hear what she would say when
she saw him here all by himself.
THE COMFORT STATION was brightly lighted. It smelled of damp concrete,
mildew, and stale urine. The sinks were stained by years of dripping,
mineral-rich water.
After Amy and Liz washed their hands, as they were leaning toward the
mirrors, fixing their makeup, two older women left the restroom, and
the girls were alone.
“You feeling high?” Liz asked.
aYes.”
“Me too. All the way up. I’m fuckin’ wired, for sure. Are you just