"She was dead."

"The same as the others?" Larry asked.

"The same as the gal in the parlor. Ethel? This one was in fairly much the same shape, if the wax figure was accurate. I gave her a close look, after the...killer...got away."

"Could you tell if she'd been sexually molested?" Larry asked.

Jud nodded. "It was fairly obvious."

The thought of it made Donna press her legs tightly together. She became aware that she could still feel Jud inside her, as if he had left an imprint. Her fear and repulsion subsided. She wondered, for a moment, how she might arrange to be alone with him again.

"I knew she'd been molested," said Larry. "The beast...that's its motive. Sexual gratification. Of course, I should be glad, I suppose. That's what saved my life. The creature was more interested in satiating its lust with Tommy..."

"I don't think sex is the main thing."

"Oh?" Larry sounded skeptical.

"Let me give you my theory. I think this beast is a man."

"Then your theory's shit."

"Just listen. It's a man in a costume. The costume has claws."

"No."

"Listen, damn it. You too, Donna, and see what you think. The original killings, the Thorn lady's sister and kids, were done by Gus Goucher, the man they hanged."

"No," Larry said.

"Why not?"

"They were torn apart with claws."

"According to whom?"

"According to morgue photos."

"Have you seen those photos?"

"No, but Maggie Kutch has."

"If you believe her. Who has possession of the photos?"

"Maggie, I suppose."

"Maybe we can get a look at them."

"I rather doubt it."

"Okay, we'll let that go for the time being. It's not that important. Gus Goucher's jury must've seen the photos, must've heard testimony..."

"According to the old newspaper accounts, they did."

"And what the jury heard was sufficient for them to condemn the man."

"Granted."

"We ought to check this, but I have the impression that, until the Kutch murders thirty years later, Goucher was pretty much accepted as being the Thorn killer."

"It was made to look like he was. They needed a scapegoat."

"No. They needed a suspect. He was a likely one. And he was, quite possibly, the guilty one."

"They hanged Goucher," Donna said. "So he certainly wasn't responsible for the attack on Maggie Kutch and her family."

"In a way, he might have been. Look at what Maggie did after the killings. She moved out of the house, took in Wick Hapson, and opened Beast House for tours. I think she and Wick decided they'd be happier without Mr. Kutch, killed him using an MO similar to the Thorn murders, and cooked up this business about a beast to cover themselves. When they saw how much interest there was in this fictional beast of theirs, they decided to profit from it by opening the house for tours."

Larry shook his head and said nothing.

"One thing," Donna said. "I can't see a woman murdering her own children."

"That part threw me, too. It still throws me, in fact. For their beast story to hold up, though, the kids had to go."

"She wouldn't do it. No mother could do that."

"Let's say it's unlikely," Jud corrected. "Mothers have been know to murder their own children. What's more likely, though, is that Wick took care of the kids."

"Your theory is ridiculous," Larry said.

"Why?"

"Because there is a beast in that house."

"The beast is a rubber suit with claws."

"No."

Donna frowned. "Do you think it was Wick Hapson tonight?"

"If it was Wick, he's damn strong for a man his age."

"Axel?"

"It can't be Axel. He's too short, too broad in the shoulders, too awkward in his movements."

"Then who?"

"I don't know."

"It's the beast," Larry explained. "It's not a man in a rubber suit, it's a beast!"

"Just tell us why you're so sure."

"I know."

"How?"

"I know. The beast is not human."

"Will you believe me when I show you its costume?"

Smiling strangely, Larry nodded. "Of course. You do that. You show me its costume, and I'll believe."

"How's tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night will..." He was silenced by a knocking on the door.

Donna watched Jud cross to the door and open it. "Well hello," he said.

"Is my mother here?"

"Sure she is. Come on in."

Sandy, hair rumpled from sleep and her blue robe a bit too small on her, stepped into the room. When her eyes met Donna's, Sandy sighed with exaggerated relief. "So there you are. What are you doing in bed?"

"Keeping warm. What are you doing out of bed?"

"You were gone."

"Just for a few minutes." She looked at Jud. "I guess I'd better get back now." She climbed out of bed, and moved with Sandy toward the door. Jud opened it for them. She wanted to kiss him good night, wanted to hold him tightly, feeling his strength and warmth against her body. Not in front of Sandy, though. Not in front of Larry.

"See you in the morning," she said.

"I'll walk you back."

"That isn't necessary."

"Sure it is."

He walked beside Donna, not touching her. Sandy ran ahead of them. She opened the door and waited.

"You go on in," Donna told her. "I'll just be a second."

"I'll wait."

"Shut the door, honey."

The girl obeyed.

Standing against the door, Donna held out her arms to Jud. He stepped close and embraced her. He smelled faintly of soap. "Cold out here," she said. "You're so warm."

"This morning, you told Larry you're not married."

"Divorced," she said. "How about you?"

"I've never married."

"Hasn't the right girl come along?" she asked.

"There've been a few 'right' ones along the way, I guess. My line of work, though...it's too chancy. I didn't want to inflict that kind of life on anyone."

"What line of work is it?"

"I kill beasts."

She smiled. "Is that so?"

"Yep." He kissed her. "Good night, now."

CHAPTER TWELVE.

A frightened outcry startled Jud awake. He looked through the darkness at Larry. "You all right?"

"No!" The man sat forward and hugged his knees against his chest. "No. I'll never be all right. Never!" And he began to cry.

"Once this thing is settled," Jud said, "you'll be fine."

"It'll never be settled. You don't even believe there is a beast. A lot of good you are."

"Whatever it is, I'll kill it."

"Will you?"

"That's what you're paying me for."

"Will you cut off its head for me?"

"None of that."

"I want you to. I want you to cut off its head, and its cock, and..."

"Knock that off, will you? I'll kill it. Nothing else. None of that dismemberment shit. I've seen enough of that."