Page 182 of Forever Dead

“Your father?”

Nothing.

“Your mother?”

His hand stopped.

“Ah, yes, mommy,” Selena said. “That makes sense. You’re not the first killer who has murdered women because of an abusive mother.”

Selena watched the distance between them. She knew nothing about his mother. His reaction gave her a subject that hurt, not an explanation for the murders.

“You watch your tongue or I’ll cut it out!”

Now she wanted to provoke him.

“Was Mommy ashamed of you, Gerald?”

He turned.

She had invented it. If he corrected her, denied it or came closer to stop her saying it, she would have something to use.

“What was it?” Selena asked. “What couldn’t she stand about you? And what did she do on Halloween night?”

Foss opened the cabinet. At first Selena thought he was reaching for an instrument. Instead, he took out a folded bundle wrapped in pale cloth, placed it on the worktable and opened it.

The mask lay inside.

Seeing photographs had not prepared her for it. Sections of leathery material overlapped from brow to jaw, each a slightly different shade. Dark stitches joined them, with newer thread crossing older punctures in several places. Narrow eye openings lay beneath folded edges, concealed from a distance. A section near the temple was missing.

“Nora tore that out,” Selena said.

Foss touched the damaged edge.

“So you took skin to repair it.”

“She damaged something that took a great deal of work. That’s all women do. Damage things.”

“Your mother did something on Halloween. What was it? Did she not let you trick or treat?” She laughed.

Foss lifted the mask. “Don’t mention my mother.”

He pulled it over his head.

The change was immediate.

Gerald Foss disappeared behind the stitched surface.

Selena’s breathing became shallow. Connor had seen this coming through the corn. She understood now why the image had stayed with him.

Foss adjusted the mask around his jaw.

Selena forced herself to laugh again.

He stopped. “What?”

“All this because Mommy made you feel small? Did she embarrass you on Halloween? Is that why you do this?”

“Stop.”