Chapter 41 THE DAY EVERYTHING CHANGED
25 YEARS AGO
Aria spent years pushing away memories of the evening that runied everything she knew.
Yet recollections stick around even when you'd rather forget.
The Walker house is quiet.
Michael Walker is in his study. Grading papers. He teaches history at the high school. Has a stack of essays about the Civil War that need to be done by Monday.
Catherine Walker is in the kitchen. Cleaning up from dinner. The kids ate spaghetti. Made a mess. Sauce everywhere.
Upstairs, eight-year-old Aria is supposed to be sleeping. But she's reading under the covers with a flashlight. A book about a girl detective.
Her brother, five-year-old Danny, is actually asleep. Mouth open. Drool on his pillow.
It's 11:34 p.m.
A Thursday.
Nothing special about it.
Just another night.
Until it isn't.
The back door lock clicks.
Catherine doesn't hear it. She's running the water. Washing dishes.
The door opens. Slow. Careful.
A man steps inside.
Tall. Wearing surgical gloves. Carrying a bag.
Dr. Richard Cross.
He stands there. Listening.
Water running in the kitchen. Music is playing softly. Some jazz station.
He moves through the hallway. Silent.
Catherine's back is to him. She's humming along to the music.
He's three feet away when she turns around.
Sees him.
Opens her mouth to scream.
He moves fast.
Grabs her. Hand over her mouth.
She fights. Tries to bite his hand. Kicks. Scratches.
He pulls something from his pocket.
A cloth. Soaked in chloroform.
Presses it to her face.
She struggles. Eyes wide. Terrified.
Then her body goes limp.
He lowers her to the floor. Checks her pulse.
Still alive.
Good. He needs her alive for what comes next.
He drags her to the living room. She sits in a chair. Ties her wrists. Her ankles. Her chest.
Duct tape over her mouth.
Then he goes looking for the husband.
Michael Walker doesn't hear him coming.
He's focused on an essay. Something about Lincoln. Kid's handwriting is terrible.
The door to the study opens.
Michael looks up.
"Catherine, I told you I need another—"
He stops.
That's not Catherine.
"Who are you? What are you doing in my house?"
Dr. Cross closes the door behind him.
"I'm sorry," he says. "Wrong place. Wrong time."
"Get out. Now. Or I'm calling the police."
Michael reaches for his phone.
Dr. Cross moves faster.
Grabs Michael by the throat. Slams him against the wall.
Michael tries to fight. Throws a punch.
Misses.
Dr. Cross pulls out a syringe. Injects it into Michael's neck.
Michael's eyes go wide.
"What did you—"
His words slur. Body goes slack.
Dr. Cross catches him. Drag him to the living room.
Sits him in a chair next to Catherine.
She's awake now. Eyes wild. Trying to scream through the tape.
Trying to move. Can't.
Michael slumps forward. Still breathing. Barely conscious.
Dr. Cross stands between them.
Pulls a knife from his bag.
Large. Sharp. Clean.
Catherine's screaming now. Muffled. Desperate.
"I'm sorry," Dr. Cross says again. "But I have to. You understand. I have to."
He doesn't wait.
Moves fast.
One cut. Deep. Across Michael's throat.
Blood everywhere.
Michael's body jerks. Then goes still.
Catherine's screaming harder now. Thrashing against the ropes.
Dr. Cross turns to her.
"You saw me. At the hospital. Last week. You saw me with the other patient. The one who disappeared. You saw me take her to the basement."
Catherine shakes her head frantically.
"You're lying. I know you saw. You were going to report me. Tell someone. I can't let that happen."
He raises the knife.
Catherine closes her eyes.
One cut.
Same as Michael.
Her body goes still.
Dr. Cross steps back. Breathing hard.
Looks at what he's done.
Two bodies. Two chairs. Blood pooling on the floor.
He checks his watch. 11:52 p.m.
He has time.
He pulls plastic bags from his duffel. Large black ones.
Kneels next to Michael.
Position the knife.
And starts cutting.
Upstairs, Aria hears something.
A thump. Like furniture moving.
She puts down her book. Listens.
Nothing.
Then another sound. Scraping. Like something being dragged.
"Mom?" she calls out.
No answer.
She gets out of bed. Walks to her door. Opens it.
The hallway's dark.
"Mom? Dad?"
Still nothing.
She walks to the stairs. Looks down.
The living room light is on.
She hears something. A sound she doesn't recognize. Wet. Rhythmic.
"Mom?"
She starts down the stairs. One step. Two.
That's when she sees it.
Her father's shoe. Sticking out from behind the couch.
"Dad?"
She goes down faster.
Reaches the bottom.
Turns the corner.
And sees everything.
Her mother. Slumped in a chair. Blood everywhere.
Her father. Same.
And a man. Kneeling. Holding something.
Her father's head.
Separated from his body.
Putting it in a black bag.
Aria can't breathe. Can't move. Can't scream.
The man looks up.
Sees her.
Their eyes meet.
She sees his face. Every detail. The shape of his nose. His eyes. The small scar on his chin.
"Aria."
A voice behind her.
Danny. Standing at the top of the stairs. Rubbing his eyes.
"What's happening?"
The man stands.
Aria grabs Danny's hand.
"Run."
"What?"
"Run!"
She pulls him. Back up the stairs.
The man's moving. Coming after them.
Aria drags Danny to her room. Slams the door.
Locks it.
"Aria, I'm scared."
"Get in the closet. Now."
"Why?"
"Now!"
She shoves him inside. Closes the door.
Then she looks around. Window. Too high. Can't jump.
Door handle jiggles.
Her heart stops.
"Open the door," the man says. Calm. Like he's asking for a glass of water.
Aria doesn't move.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk."
She backs up. Toward the closet.
The door handle jiggles harder.
Then stops.
Silence.
Aria holds her breath.
A loud crash. The door flies open.
The man's there. Holding the knife.
Covered in blood.
He looks at her.
"Come here."
She shakes her head.
"Come here. Now."
"No."
He steps inside.
Aria screams.
Loud. As loud as she can.
The man moves fast. Grabs her arm.
She fights. Kicks. Bites.
He slaps her. Hard.
She falls. Hits the floor.
He stands over her.
Raises the knife.
Then stops.
Sirens. In the distance. Getting closer.
"Shit."
He looks at Aria. Then at the closet.
Back to Aria.
"You're lucky," he says.
Then he runs.
Down the stairs. Out the back door.
Gone.
Aria lies there. Shaking. Can't move.
The sirens get louder. Closer.
Red and blue lights flashing through the window.
She crawls to the closet. Opens the door.
Danny's there. Crying. Knees pulled to his chest.
"Is he gone?"
She nods.
Pulls him close.
Holds him.
And doesn't let go.
The police find them twenty minutes later.
Still in the closet. Still holding each other.
An officer tries to talk to them.
Aria won't speak. Just stares.
Danny won't stop crying.
They're carried out. Past the living room. Past their parents.
Aria looks.
Sees the chairs. The blood. The black bags.
One of them is open.
She sees inside.
Her mother's face. Eyes still open.
Aria closes her eyes.
And everything goes dark.
POLICE STATION. 2:47 A.M.
Aria sits in a room. Too bright. Too white.
A woman's there. Social services. Trying to be nice. Offering cookies.
Aria doesn't eat.
Danny's in another room. With another woman. He won't stop crying.
A detective comes in. Sits across from Aria.
"Hi, Aria. My name is Detective Morrison. I know tonight was scary. But I need to ask you some questions. Can you do that for me?"
She doesn't respond.
"Did you see the man? The one who hurt your parents?"
Nothing.
"Aria, I know you're scared. But we need to catch him. And you can help us. Did you see his face?"
Finally, she nods.
"You did?"
Another nod.
"Can you tell me what he looked like?"
She opens her mouth. Closes it.
Shakes her head.
"It's okay. You don't have to say it. Can you draw him? Or point to someone who looks like him?"
Aria looks at the table. At the papers there. Case files. Reports.
One paper catches her eye.
A poster. Medical conference. Doctors in suits.
One face.
Middle. Second row.
The man.
She reaches out. Puts her finger on his face.
Detective Morrison leans forward.
"Him? You're sure?"
Aria nods.
Morrison picks up the poster. Studies the face.
"Dr. Richard Cross."
He stands. Walks to the door. Call another officer over.
"Get me everything on Dr. Richard Cross. Address. Workplace. Everything."
He turns back to Aria.
"You did well, sweetheart. You just helped us catch a very bad man."
Aria doesn't respond.
Just stares at the wall.
And doesn't blink.