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Sunlight streah the open roll-up door, outside which she’d sectioned off a part of her backyard to use for bigger,sculptures Tools, materials, and other equipment lined the walls; some sat on benches or shelves, others onshe had plenty of space to work

Abigail’s high heel clicked on the cold concrete floor as she stood near the locked door of the display roo her foot impatiently Frankie kept all her finished sculptures inside, and she’d recently coallery She fished the keys out of the pocket of her coveralls and unlocked the door

Eyes alight with eagerness, Abigail walked inside and pointed to a veiled sculpture "This it?"

"It is" Frankie gently removed the cover, and there it was A life-size child sat on a rickety chair, her head drooping forward so that her long black hair covered her face Her gray nightie was dirty and ragged and stopped just below the knees Deep scratches covered her legs and arms

"Jesus, Frankie, she al Honestly,er You’ve never used synthetic hair in a sculpture before, have you?"

"No" Frankieto combine different materials in her projects

"She looks spooky, and it makes me wonder if she’s a victim or a creepy evil kid Makes me want to part her hair to see what her face looks like At the same time, I don’t want to know"

"That’s the point Pierre wanted so that reflects how often we’re too scared to look close enough to see what could be a dark truth, how often we see ant to see"

"He’s going to love it"

Frankie had gained quite a rep for creating dark sculptures She rarely set out todark, but often the finished result looked like soht to call it?"

"Child’s Play"

"Shit, even that’s spooky" Abigail shivered "You htmares as a child, but she could only recall flashes of the The scary shadows The sheer terror that had seized her But the iether to create a clear picture

"Really, Frankie, I wouldn’t have thought I’d like this kind of work Wouldn’t have thought I could truly admire it, let alone properly represent someone who created it But every piece is so powerful that it touches me on some level--and sometimes it’s a level that I don’t like"

Frankie’s mouth curved "Good If they don’t touch people--" She cut herself off as her phone beeped "Hang on just a sec" She dug her phone out of her pocket and opened the e-ain Then she read it again The words began to blur, and she realized her hand was shaking

"Is everything all right?"