A Deadly Influence (Abby Mullen Thrillers #1)(30)

“That’s a valid point.”

“Also, it wouldn’t hurt if you remember that Steve is a good dad. He was just a shitty husband.”

“How is he a good dad?” Abby asked. “By sabotaging the party that might get kids in Ben’s class to like him more instead of calling him a freak?”

“He’s a good dad because he wants to make his son happy,” Will said. “And if he can also seem the better parent, that’s icing on the cake for him. So let him feel like the better parent. Give him the illusion of control in the conversation. That’s what you’d tell me if this was an actual crisis.”

“If this was an actual crisis,” Abby said, jabbing a fry in some ketchup, “I’d try to get him to end his misery once and for all.”





CHAPTER 20


Nathan had never gone a whole day without seeing his mom.

The longest he’d gone was when Dennis had had a sleepover party at his home over the summer. Nathan had gone to his house on Friday afternoon, and his mom picked him up after lunch on Saturday. But he was distracted the whole time; they watched The Last Jedi and played the PlayStation. And even then, when Dennis fell asleep, Nathan wanted his mom to show up and kiss him on the forehead like she did every evening.

Now, after not seeing his mom for what felt like almost two days, all he could do was lie in bed crying.

He needed her hug. He needed to feel the tickle of her hair as she leaned over to kiss him. Even just to hear her telling him that he had to take a bath, had to change his clothes.

His throat was hoarse from crying, the pillow wet with tears and snot. And no matter how hard he prayed for it, even when he really concentrated, his mom didn’t open the door.

He needed to pee, but he didn’t want to pee in the bucket. He held out for as long as he could, curling in bed, crossing his legs, but finally he couldn’t hold it any longer. He bolted out of bed and went to the corner of the room. When he peed in the bucket, it made a weird sound that almost made him start crying again. But it was a relief not to need to pee anymore. He gaped at the pee in the bottom of the bucket. What would happen when the bucket overflowed? Would the man get angry?

What would happen when he needed to poop?

He had nowhere to wash his hands. His mom repeatedly told him that he had to wash his hands after peeing, that there were tiny germs in pee, germs he couldn’t even see, and those germs could crawl all over him if he didn’t wash his hands. But there was no sink there. His palms itched. Were those the germs? He imagined them as tiny worms. Were they crawling all over his fingers? His wrists? His arms?

He took the bottle of water the man had given him and poured some on his hands above the bucket. Some of the water splashed on the floor, but at least the itching was gone.

His stomach rumbled. Usually he ate cereal when he woke up, but when he had gotten up from bed earlier, there had been no food waiting for him. He sat down by the desk and opened the drawer, then took out a few empty sheets of paper and the box of crayons. He drew his mom and Gabrielle. Then, unable to help himself, he drew the man from the car, taller than both of them. He colored the man’s eyes red.

The sudden click behind him sent his heart racing. He whirled around just as the man opened the door. He held a pizza box in his hand.

“How are you doing today? Feeling at home, I see.”

The smile on the man’s face made Nathan’s skin crawl. He acted as if they were friends, but he kept him locked here in this strange room that was both his and not his.

The man stepped into the room, looking around him in satisfaction. “That doll wasn’t easy to buy, you know. It was out of stock when I searched. They had a new version, but it was all wrong. You wouldn’t have liked it. Finally found this one on eBay. Still in the box. Cost double, but I wanted to get it just right.” The man winked at him. “Gotta get your man cave the way you like it, right?”

Nathan had no idea what the man was talking about. He shrugged.

“I brought you some food; are you hungry?”

Nathan nodded.

The man sighed. “Well, if you are, you’re going to have to talk. You’re shy—I get that; I was the same at your age. But I made all this effort. And I bought you food. It’s polite to say thank you.”

Nathan stared at him. Did the man really expect him to say thank you? He opened his mouth, then shut it, not sure if he should thank the man or yell at him.

The man took two fast steps forward and slammed the pizza box on the desk. “Say thank you!” he roared, his eyes bulging from his flushed face.

“Th . . . thank you,” Nathan whimpered.

The man’s breathing was fast, furious. Nathan cringed, afraid the man would hit him. But after a few seconds, the man seemed to relax.

“Good,” he said. “You can talk after all. I need you to say a few words to your sister and your mother.”

Nathan’s heart leaped. Were Mommy and Gabi here? He glanced behind the man, but the strange hallway beyond the door was empty. The man knelt by Nathan and handed him a newspaper.

“Can you read that?” He pointed at a headline.

Nathan glanced at the paper, then nodded. “Y . . . yes,” he said aloud before the man got angry again.

“Okay,” the man said, tapping on his phone. “I want you to say hi to Mom and Gabi. Tell them you’re okay. And then read this.”