The Secret Friend

80

With Emma and Judith, Walter fired one shot in the back of their head and quickly pushed them over the bathtub before their legs buckled. He never stayed inside the bathroom – seeing their bodies thrashing inside the tub, limbs kicking, hearing the gurgling sounds they made as their brain died… it was too upsetting. He went to the closet to pray to Mary, waiting for them to bleed out, Mary reassuring him that they hadn't felt anything. What he was witnessing was their bodies dying. The body didn't matter. It was just a vessel for the soul, and the soul was what mattered.

The difficult part done and out of the way, he came back to the bathroom and turned on the shower to rinse away the blood. Then he made a sign of the cross on their foreheads with their blood, baptizing them as he prayed, and transferred the bodies to the plastic tarp lying on the floor. The pocket holding the statue was then sewn shut – Mary needed to stay with them until their souls were finally released three days later – and before he dumped them into the water to be baptized all over again, he prayed again.

When he arrived home, he cleaned the shower and floors with bleach, wiping everything up with the towels, and then he'd go to the closet again to pray.

Tonight would be different.

Hannah Givens stood facing the shower wall. No plastic tarp under her feet. No towels or bottles of bleach to clean out the tub. The statue was in her pocket but there was no need to sew it shut. Mary didn't want him to deliver Hannah into the water. After he shot Hannah, he was to place the gun against his temple or the roof of his mouth and pull the trigger. Those were Mary's instructions.

Walter brought the handgun up and pointed it at the back of Hannah's head. His hand was shaking. He couldn't stop crying. Mary spoke to him.

Don't be afraid. I'm here with you.

I'm scared.

It's painless. You won't feel a thing, I promise.

Help me.

Remember when I took you into my arms for the first time and pulled you close to my heart?

Yes.

You were surrounded by my love. I took the pain away. Do you remember?

He did.

Do you feel my love for you, Walter?

Yes.

You'll forever be surrounded by my love. Now do it.

He couldn't pull the trigger.

Your mother is here with me. Emma and Judith are excited to see you. They love you, Walter. Deliver Hannah to me and then come and join us.

The doorbell rang.

Hannah's head turned to the sound. Lightning quick, Walter wrapped his arm around her throat, the good hand coming up, pressing the muzzle of the gun against her head.

'Say one word and I'll kill you.'

The doorbell rang again.

Who was at the door? Had his new neighbour Gloria Lister come back with another one of her pies?

You're my special boy, Walter. I love you.

The bathroom door was open. The lights were on, as were the kitchen lights.

Come home to me. It's time.

The doorbell rang again, followed by a knock on the door. Hannah was crying, shivering against him.

'Shut up.'

I love you, Walter.

It was hard to hear Mary over Hannah's bawling.

'Shut up.'

Pull the trigger.

Hannah didn't stop. He placed his good hand over her mouth.

There's no reason to be afraid, Walter. Can you feel my love? Can you feel -

Hannah bit his thumb.

Walter screamed and Hannah pushed him backwards. He hit the bathroom vanity, the back of his head shattering the mirror. Hannah twisted her head side-to-side like a rabid dog, tearing skin from his hand, and Walter kept screaming as the gun dropped into the sink.