Sara reluctantly let Alex run off with the rest of his soccer team onto the field. She nervously eyed the edge of the field, which was lined with woods. Normally she loved Arlington County’s devotion to preserving trees, but not today.
Ken put an arm around her.
“He’ll be okay,” he said. “I’m going to stand here the whole time and I’ll never take my eyes off him.”
“I thought you were going to keep an eye out for the stalker,” she replied.
“I’ll do that too,” Ken said and smiled. “I’m multi-talented.”
She hated to admit it, but she felt better with Ken around. She knew Soren was working hard to help her and Alex, but they had too much history for her to be entirely comfortable. Though she had known him a long time, he was also difficult to read. She couldn’t help wondering what he was thinking when he looked at her.
Of course, he probably felt the same way. She sometimes forgot how much guilt he was carrying around over John. Perhaps he was always wondering if she blamed him for her fiancé’s death.
With Ken, however, it was much easier. She knew what he was thinking. He clearly hoped this case would get them back together. He was also reassuring in a way Soren wasn’t. Soren seemed constantly on edge, while Ken appeared confident they could protect Alex. She didn’t know if she believed it, but she wanted to.
Alex appeared relaxed for the first time since the whole ordeal began. She’d mentioned something to the coach, who made sure to put Alex in the starting line-up. It would get him engaged quickly and probably drive all other thoughts from his mind.
She had resisted having Alex play at all, but her son had protested loudly when she said they would be skipping the game. After Ken’s reassurances that he would personally guard Alex during the game, she finally relented.
It also didn’t hurt that this soccer field was nowhere near the playground where they’d spotted the mysterious man. She had no reason to think he would follow them here — but she didn’t know what he could do. She thought about the way he had suddenly disappeared and shivered.
“It’ll be okay,” Ken said again, and she realized his arm was still around her.
“I think I’m going to go sit down and watch the game,” she said.
“Sure thing,” Ken said. “I’m just going to keep an eye on Alex right by the side of the field. I’ll check in with you later.”
Sara smiled gratefully at him and hoped he wasn’t getting too attached. She was pleased he was here, but she knew he was getting the wrong idea. She hated the idea of breaking his heart again. It had been incredibly difficult the first time.
Turning away, she walked back over to the small group of parents sitting on the sidelines.
Richard, who had been at the park during the incident, waved her over. He gestured to a folding chair next to him and gave her a charming smile.
“Have a seat,” he said. “Muriel went home to get the snacks for after the game.”
She sat down, grateful for the chance to get off her feet for a little bit.
“How are you holding up?” Richard asked. “Have the police found the guy yet?”
Sara nodded toward Ken, who stood on the sidelines close to Alex’s team.
“That’s the detective assigned to the case,” Sara said.
“Oh,” Richard said. “I thought he was your boyfriend.”
Far from scanning the perimeter, he was shouting encouragement to her son. He needed all he could get. Alex loved soccer, but he wasn’t particularly good at it. At the moment, the coach was yelling at him to get down the field back to the goal. Two seconds later, the other team scored.
She clapped automatically, cheering for her son’s opponents because that was what all parents were supposed to do these days. Good sportsmanship had to be “modeled by parents first,” or at least that’s what the rules said. Sara remembered her own father, who used to aggressively taunt the other team during basketball games — and he had been her team’s coach. He would never fit in with this new world.
“He’s an old friend,” Sara replied. “He took the case as soon as he heard about it.”
“And have they made any progress?” Richard asked. “Not trying to bother you, but I’m pretty worried too. I posted something about it on the Mothers of North Arlington listserv.”
“Good idea,” Sara said. “The more people who know about this guy, the better.”
“There have supposedly been a couple of sightings so far today,” Richard said, “but I don’t think they’re solid. You know how people get.”
She nodded. She thought of what Soren had told her about his research, the way the story spread from the incident in Oregon. She wondered how much worse it would be now. Someone on the Arlington listserv would share it with a friend on the Fairfax County listserv, who would share it with the Loudoun one, and so on and so on. Pretty soon the whole state of Virginia would be reporting sightings of the white-haired man.
“Do the police have any better idea what’s going on?”
Sara didn’t know what to say. She certainly wasn’t going to tell him the truth — ‘So, Richard, it turns out this guy probably is some kind of supernatural monster.’ She didn’t think that would do much for her reputation. But she didn’t want to give him the idea that there was no progress, lest that worry him and his family more.
“There was a similar case in Oregon,” Sara said. “The police are looking into that, trying to see if they can identify who this guy might be.”
“Wow, really?” Richard said. “It’s the same guy from all the way out there?”
“Seems like it,” Sara said. “Same description and circumstances, at any rate. The boy’s name was Alastair Horne. He disappeared and the white-haired guy is the chief suspect. They never found the boy.”
“That’s awful,” Richard said.
“Whoever this guy is, he’s very dangerous. Nobody should try to approach him alone.”
Richard nodded.
He turned at that moment to look behind Sara.
“There you are, honey,” he said.
Sara craned her neck around to see a small slip of a woman. She was carrying a large bag full of what Sara presumed were snacks. But she looked pale and nervous.
“What were you two talking about?” she asked.
Sara stood up and extended her hand.
“I’m Sara Ignatius,” she said. “Alex’s mom.”
“Hi,” Muriel replied absent-mindedly, but she stared at her husband waiting for an answer.
“I told you about what happened, honey,” he said. “I showed you the post I sent to the...”
“A tall, white-haired man,” Muriel interrupted. “I think I just saw him.”
“What?” Richard asked.
“I was thinking about the snacks and wasn’t paying much attention...”
“Where?” Sara asked.
She didn’t wait for a response, but looked back at the field. She saw Ken cheering for the team, but she couldn’t see a trace of Alex amid the cluster of boys scrambling for the ball.
Sara started sprinting toward the field and Ken on the sidelines. He was so busy watching the game, he didn’t even hear her calling him. She kept scanning the field, desperate to get a glimpse of Alex.
“Ken!” she shouted again, this time getting his attention.
He turned to her with a smile on his face. She almost wanted to smack it off him. He was supposed to be guarding her son, not acting as some kind of stand-in father, cheering on the team.
“Where’s Alex?” she asked.
She looked carefully at the kids fighting over the ball, but she could now definitively tell Alex wasn’t among them. She looked on the sidelines, but saw only Chris there.
“Relax, he was just taking a breather,” Ken said. “He’s right over there getting a drink of wat...”
His voice trailed off. Alex’s blue water bottle was on the ground, but he wasn’t nearby.
Sara looked up to see
Alex far across the field, walking in the direction of the woods. She was momentarily relieved just to catch sight of him, but then she saw the figure he was approaching. Alex was walking toward the white-haired man.
“Alex!” she screamed.
Sara took off running, but Ken rocketed past her. Alex was walking as if in a dream, strolling leisurely toward the white-haired man who was beckoning to him. The boy didn’t appear to hear Sara shouting for him.
The man with the white hair looked up, however. Even across the thirty feet that separated them, she thought she could see his liquid silver eyes staring at her.
Alex was only ten feet from the man, who began striding forward. She knew in her heart what would happen if the man reached her son. He would grab him and they would both disappear. It would be the last time she ever saw Alex.
“Alex!” she screamed again, using the voice she reserved only for the times when he was in imminent danger. But Alex still didn’t respond.
The man was just about to grab Alex when Ken reached them both. He put an arm across Alex to block him, and drew his weapon.
“Get away from the boy!” Ken shouted.
The white-haired man never hesitated. He reached out and slapped Ken’s gun away like it was a toy, and Sara watched it fly into the grass nearby. Ken tried to punch him, but the man dodged the blow and shoved Ken out of the way. In theory, that should have been impossible. Ken was a muscular guy, and while the white-haired man was tall, he was also thin as a reed. To Sara’s eyes, it looked like the man barely touched Ken. It was almost as if he had willed the cop out of his way.
Ken stumbled and fell to the ground, but the distraction gave Sara enough time to reach Alex. She grabbed him from behind and held him in her arms.
“Don’t you touch my son!” she said.
The white-haired man paused and stared at them both. Sara wanted to flee, but the way this creature moved, she doubted it would matter. Instead, she just held on to Alex for dear life. She was not going to let go no matter what he tried to do.
The man stared at her. He seemed mostly impassive, but there was a look of contempt in his silver eyes.
“Your son is next,” he said.
“No,” Sara replied. “I’ll never let you take him.”
“You do not understand,” the man said. “I am not trying to harm your son. I’m trying to save him.”
Before she could answer, the white-haired man disappeared before her eyes.
Chapter Eight