Page 10 of Little Dolls

“I’m just not sure she’s up to it,” Naomi protested.

“I’m up to it.”

The voice on the stairs had all three of their heads swiveling to face it. Clara was slowly making her way downstairs, her blonde hair still wet, she was dressed in sweats, and the bright white bandage on her neck was the same color as her too pale skin. She looked like she should be in bed, and Jonathon’s desire to get answers from her wavered.

“Really, I’m fine, Naomi,” Clara assured her sister as she came and took a seat at the table. “Go, ask your questions.” Despite her obvious fatigue, her green eyes were clear and alert.

Taking the seat beside her, Jonathon said, “You didn’t tell me yesterday that you knew the man who carjacked you.” He could feel his partner’s frustration that he’d begun the questioning, but Allina didn’t say anything; she just took a seat at the table.

Rubbing her fingers on her temple, Clara responded, “I’m sorry, I don’t really remember much of anything after I got in my car yesterday afternoon. I know that I talked with you, but it was all fuzzy. I couldn’t concentrate properly.”

“You were in shock,” he reminded her.

“She’s still in shock,” Naomi muttered, but nobody—including her sister—paid her any attention.

“Yesterday you said that all Thomas said to you was to drive, and that he wouldn’t let you stop when you wanted to when we started following you.”

Clara nodded slowly.

“Did he say anything else?”

“Just that he wanted to show me something.” A shudder wracked her thin frame.

“But you knew it was Thomas Karl?” he confirmed.

She nodded again, as her eyes started to grow misty with a mixture of tears and dismay.

“How did you know Thomas?” he continued.

At the question, her eyes cleared instantly. “If you're asking me that, then you already know.”

“What happened to her as a child is off limits,” Naomi quipped, her brown eyes shooting arrows at them.

“I wish it were, but unfortunately the doll murders have started up again,” he said gently.

At his words, Clara went completely still; her eyes glazed over, and she barely even looked like she was breathing. Her sister, on the other hand, bounded to her feet and began to pace, running her hands through her hair and shaking her head.

“It’s been over twenty years,” Naomi protested. “Why would they start killing again? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Jonathon ignored her for the moment. Clara’s stillness was scaring him. He reached for her shoulder and gave her a small shake. “Clara? Can you hear me?”

Her eyes turned to his, and she began to tremble. “No. It’s over. They stopped,” she said, her voice heartbreakingly childlike, and he hated himself for making her relive her worst nightmare.

“I’m sorry, Clara. They did stop, but they started again a few months ago.”

“How many so far?” Naomi asked.

“Two dead, another two taken,” he replied.

“The dolls?” Naomi stopped her frenetic pacing to pierce him with a horrified glare.

“They were found with the bodies,” he confirmed.

Wrapping her arms around her middle, Clara whispered, “I don’t understand. Why start again now?”

“We’re not sure it is the original killers,” he ventured, unsure how she would take the accusation against Thomas.

Her reaction was so instantaneous that it caught him off guard. Clara bounded to her feet so quickly her chair clattered to the floor. “You thinkThomashas been abducting and killing children in the same way as the people who took us?” her voice brimmed with incredulity. “Tommy wouldneverhurt anyone. How dare you even suggest such a thing! You don’t even know Tommy.”

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