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Heat was this person’s echo

"That’s not the right one," the tech explained, his voice thick with criticism

For an endless moment there was silence, and then Violet answered, "I know But I hope you’re looking into this person’s death too" She stood back She didn’t have to be told that the body of Jairlfriend wasn’t behind that particular door, or that it didn’t belong to one of his children She knew because she’d already sensed their echoesthe moment she’d stepped into the room

They were here And Nua had killed theainst another of the doors "This is one of thee choral whispers filled her ears, echoing within her own head Then she ertips over the silver door just to the right of it The distinct taste of candied apples was there too "And this one"

And then she found the last one, that strange chill that she hadn’t been able to distinguish as real or imprint when she’d been in Ja to the life he’d extinguished She held her hand over yet another steel door and nodded, looking at Sara, and only Sara

She had no idea who the slithering tattoos had belonged to She had no doubt that killing came easily to a boy like Ja for Sara and finding the sleeve of her jacket "I’o," she said softly, reverently

She could see Rafe too, a gold chain wrapped around his hand as his thumb feverishly stroked a simple cross Jaiven Rafe one of Nua’s personal effects, hoping that hekiller

Once they were in the parking garage again, away frohed, trying to find her way fro burden of those ere unsettled She climbed into the SUV and strapped her seat belt around her She barely realized when Rafe cli in the front seat with Sara She felt robotic, like she was just going through the motions of everyday life

At last she said the words that struggled to find their way to the surface "I’ainst Rafe’s shoulder, and his arled with deodorant and leather "I need to go home now"

Intimacy

SHE WAS SLEEPING HE FELT BAD WAKING HER, and he hoped not to, but sometimes it couldn’t be avoided It was dark and he couldn’t bear to be alone

Instead of the candle, he used a sht was dimmer than a candle’s fla, even over his heavy clodhopper feet

His face dropped, and his eyes moved doard as his cheeks burned with humiliation Clodhopper What a terrible word What an awful thing to tell a child He flashed the penlight’s glow over the top of his shoes, not wanting to look, but unable to do anything else They weren’t so big, he thought They weren’t aard or unwieldy They were just nore, ordinary feet There was nothing special about thery for the shame he feltthat he could still be erown-up thoughts His mother wasn’t here, he reer humiliate him