Page 22 of The Angel Maker

“Did you see the man in the doorway again?”

“No. But I’vefeltthings. It doesn’t seem safe around here anymore.” He looked upset now. “Are Chris and James in trouble?”

Katie thought about it. Then shook her head.

“I honestly don’t know. But listen, there’s some change beside the TV. It’s not a lot, but I’m sure Chris would be happy for you to have it.”

Ben looked at her warily for a second, then stood up and disappeared into the front room. A few seconds later, he emerged back onto the landing, nodded at her once, then made his way back down the stairs.

She waited for a couple of minutes, trying to calm herself down.

And thinking.

She had been reluctant to come inside here, but if nothing else, she had imagined doing so would at least provide an answer as to what had happened to her brother. Instead, all she had found were questions. Was he in trouble? While she couldn’t necessarily trust everything Ben had just told her, she was sure there had been grains of truth in there. The apartment really did feel abandoned. And that chimed with what her mother had said—that her brother had been scared of someone.

But who?

Someone who enjoyed doing really bad things to people.

Katie went outside and locked the front door behind her. There was no sign of Ben; she was alone on the street right now. But itfeltlike she was being watched. There was an itch at the back of her neck.

Leaves skittered across the street as a cold breeze picked up.

You should go home now.

Yes, she thought. She really should. Perhaps she wouldn’t have been able to forgive herself if she hadn’t checked in on Chris, but there were limits. Her brother wasn’t her responsibility anymore. Whatever trouble he might have gotten himself into, it wasn’t her job to get him out of it—especially when she had her own family to think about.

There’s only so much of yourself you can give.

She got in the car and started off.

But she kept checking the rearview mirror as she drove. The traffic was relatively sparse, but there were a few vehicles behind her, and even though the idea she might be followed was ridiculous, she still found herself keeping an eye on them, and feeling a sense of relief as each one turned steadily off.

By the time she passed the prison, there was only one left.

It was a fair way back, but it seemed to be maintaining a steady distance, keeping pace with the speed she was driving. Its headlights were on fullbeam, so that it was impossible to make out the size of vehicle, never mind the type or color, and whoever was behind the wheel was lost in darkness.

Her heart began beating a little faster again.

The car followed her as she drove back toward the main roads that circled the city center. However much she varied her speed, it kept the same steady distance behind her.

After a while, the main road divided into two lanes, the left peeling off in the direction of her village. She signaled and took the turn, watching the mirror as she did, then turning her head to look out the window. The car stayed on the main road—but suddenly accelerated so hard that it was out of sight almost before she could see it properly. The streetlights bleached the vehicle of color.

But she caught the briefest flash of a fish-white face staring out at her.

She turned back and stared ahead, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Her heart was thudding. And even though she tried to tell herself it had just been her imagination—that the vehicle had simply been behind her, and not following her at all—Siena’s words came back to her again as she drove, and she felt her nerves begin to sing.

Red car, Mommy.

And what did that mean?

Something terrible and incomprehensible.

Something that had always been coming for you, but which you wouldn’t even see until it swerved in out of nowhere and changed your world forever.

PART TWO

Eight

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