ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN

Chief Walters watched as a squad car rushed Paulette Drew to the hospital. A number of policemen were now swarming into the woods, searching for Jessie Clarkson. The chief wondered how many of the residents of Hickory Dell would go missing tonight. Every last one of them?

She suddenly remembered Todd Bennett had gone in to check on his wife. He hadn’t come back outside.

She called some of her men to accompany her into the house. Her hand on her gun, Chief Walters ascended the front steps of the Bennett house. She noticed the door was ajar and the house was dark.

Several cops went ahead of her, entering the house with their guns drawn. One of them attempted to turn on the lights but found the switch was not working.

“We need light in here!” Walters ordered.

Powerful flashlights quickly illuminated the room.

The chief couldn’t suppress a gasp of horror.

On the floor were the bodies of Todd Bennett and Gert Gorin. Both of them had had their throats savagely ripped open. A couple of policemen hurried up the stairs.

“Another body up here,” one of them shouted down after a couple of seconds had passed. “Appears to be Monica Bennett.”

“Jesus Christ,” Knotts murmured. “How could Deetz do all of this?”

“He’s had help,” the chief said. “And I suspect from a very unlikely accomplice.”