Mason awoke only a couple of hours later. His head was filled with dreams about the Wendells, both of those psychopaths working together to bring down Mason as if he were some video-game bad guy. The truth was, Mason was vulnerable and had always hung by a thread. One time that was even literal—Mason thought back to eight years ago. Back then, the Lullaby Killer had dangled him off the edge of a cliff to make a sacrifice, forcing him to choose between himself and his daughter. And to think, he’d almost died for her.
“Get out of your head,” Diane said, swooping into the room at the speed of sound.
MJ ran up behind her, taking a running leap onto the couch. He twisted on the cushion, sticking out his foot so Diane could tie his shoelace. She got down on her knee immediately. While they were both distracted, Mason put the gun in a drawer and locked it. He didn’t want MJ finding his way into it and doing something careless.
“What’s the plan for today?” he asked, coming back into the room.
“First I have to get MJ ready for school, then I have to meet a couple of clients.”
“Something I should know?”
“Just a married couple who think the neighbor stole their dog. I’ll handle it.”
Mason rubbed his dry eyes. As his wife finished up the first shoelace, he nudged her out of the way, knelt, and took over from there. “Let me take care of this little monkey. Why don’t you go get yourself ready? Have some breakfast and some coffee. Take things a little slower.”
Diane narrowed her eyes. “You’re sure?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“All right. But don’t even think about stopping by the office today. I’m on top of all this stuff. I just want you to focus on you-know-what.”
“I couldn’t if I wanted to. Bill’s got a day off, so we’re running an errand together.”
“Oh? Think it will lead to anything?”
Mason shook his head. Watching what he said around their six-year-old was like walking barefoot through a hallway of broken glass. Kids weren’t as dumb as they came across, and he didn’t want his son to grow up with the same kind of cynicism Mason had.
“Maybe, maybe not,” he said and left it at that.
Mason and MJ both kissed Diane goodbye, then headed for the car. MJ excitedly rushed into the passenger seat and threw on his seat belt. He’d always liked riding in “the fast car,” despite Mason always driving slowly and carefully when they rode together. Sometimes he revved the engine, just letting MJ know what kind of power the car had. It was one of the few things they shared together and nobody else got to listen in on.
When they arrived at the school, Mason kissed his cheek and watched him run into the school. The teachers stood by the front door, watching them all carefully until the courtyard was entirely empty, simply a ghost of the lively venue it was only minutes ago.
That was when his phone rang.
Mason hurried to grab it, barely stopping to notice the name on the screen as he did so. “Mason Black,” he said, still watching the school building with a touch of sadness.
“It’s me,” came Bill’s voice. “You ready?”
“I’m on my way.”
Mason cut the call, tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, then brought the engine to life. It roared as he sped away from the school, heading toward the one place that gave them even a slight chance of finding the Lullaby Killer.
If only things were that easy.