Page 68 of Little Dolls

Jimmy nodded again.

“Is the man sick?”

Both children nodded this time.

The man had been sick back when she was a child, too—and yet here he was still alive twenty-three years later. He must have recovered from whatever was wrong with him back then. Perhaps that was why the killings had started up again. Perhaps they thought that killing children somehow brought about healing.

“Do you know them?” a soft voice asked. Jimmy was looking at her quizzically.

“A long time ago, averylong time ago, they took me, too. Me and a little boy called Tommy,” she explained.

“Why?” Jimmy crept a little closer. Katie stayed where she was.

“I don’t know, honey, but they hurt a lot of kids.”

“Are they going to hurt us, too?”

Now was not the time for sugarcoating things, she needed Jimmy and Katie’s help if they were all going to get out of this alive. “Yes, I think they are,” she replied, hoping the kids could handle it.

Katie started to cry, but Jimmy wiggled closer. “Hurt us or kill us?”

“Kill us,” she clarified.

He nodded soberly. “I thought so. When I heard them talking about dolls, I remembered my mom and dad watching the news. The lady on the news was talking about kids who had been killed and left with dolls. Is that what they're going to do to us?”

“Yes, it is.” Clara admired the child’s spunk. He was holding it together better than most adults would be under the same circumstances. The eight year old's calm was helping her to remain calm herself.

“How old were you when they took you?”

“I was six.”

“Why didn’t they kill you?”

“Tommy and I escaped.”

Blue eyes lit up. “How?”

“I don’t know, I can't remember. All I know is the door opened, and we ran.” She wished the hypnotist had worked harder to draw that memory out of her. At the time, the specifics of how she and Tommy had gotten free hadn’t seemed all that important; it wasn't going to help them find the Doll Killers. But if she’d known she was going to end up trapped in a replica room, then she would have stayed in Dr. Chan’s office until the woman had helped her unlock those memories. Hindsight, she grumbled to herself. “Are you two hurt?”

“No, we’re okay,” Jimmy answered for both him and Katie.

“Are you sure? They didn’t do anything to your neck?”

“I'm sure,” Jimmy said firmly.

“Okay, good.” At least the children would be spared the physical scars of this ordeal if she could get them out of here soon.

“How are we going to get out of here?” Jimmy was all business.

“Have you checked to see if there’s a way out?” She and Tommy had checked the attic they'd been kept in several times in the six weeks they’d spent there. In the first few days, searching for a way to escape had been pretty much all they’d done. Over time they’d stopped, given up, accepted that they were trapped.

“Yes.” He said it like it was so obvious that asking him about it was a waste of both of their time.

Smiling at the boy, she decided she liked Jimmy Wallander. “I need you to try to find something sharp to cut through the tape.” She gestured with her head at her bound wrists and ankles.

Immediately, Jimmy jumped up and started working on that task. With Jimmy occupied, Clara turned her attention to Katie. The little girl looked petrified; she was crying quietly, her skin was very pale, and her eyes almost deadened with shock. Clara was extremely concerned about the child.

“Come here, honey.” She wished she had her arms free so she could hold the little girl and comfort her properly.

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