He gives me a stern look but says gently, “Good. What else do you remember?”
“I remember the pain in my side.”
“Did you hear any noises before that? Do you remember someone walking behind you? Anything?”
“No. I was singing, sort of.”
“Okay. What happened next?” Detective Flynn says in a calm voice.
“After I felt the pain in my side, I felt another flash of pain in my leg. I started to lose my balance, and that’s when I saw him.”
“Him?”
“The man. The man that was hurting me.” A tear appears out of nowhere. My voice shakes. “He… he looked like a ghost.”
“A ghost?” The officer’s shoulders slump. I’ve said the wrong thing.
“What I mean is, he looked like a ghost because his hair was pure white and his eyes… they were like ice crystals but dead. Do you know what I mean?”
Detective Flynn nods.
“He was wearing a hood, but the front of his hair was lying over his forehead. I remember thinking he was handsome.” I suck in a deep breath. “After I fell, I tried to roll away from him, but he started to come after me. That’s when I saw Bobby.”
“Bobby?”
“Yeah, Bobby from the toy store.”
“What was Bobby doing there?”
I shrug, and it hurts like hell. I must have done something to my shoulder. “I don’t know. It was kind of surreal.”
“What did Bobby do?”
“He pushed the guy away from me. That’s when I got the cut on my arm. It was as Bobby was pushing him away from me.”
“You’re doing a great job, MacKenzie. What happened next?”
“Um, I was hurt, but I sat up when I heard them fighting. I heard fists and a clanking sound.”
“A clanking sound?”
“Uh-huh. Like something metal hitting the ground. Maybe it was the weapon. I don’t know what it was. It was dark.”
“Then what happened?”
“Bobby was on top of the guy. His arms were going crazy on the ghost guy. He was punching until the ghost guy got one punch on Bobby. He pushed Bobby off him and stood up.” God, I don’t want to tell him what he said to me, but I know I have to do it. My throat is dry, I swallow to try to get moisture in my throat. “The bad guy was about to run, but he turned to me…”
“He turned to you?”
I nod. “Yeah, he turned to me and called me….” I swallow hard. God, my throat hurts.
“He said something to you?”
I nod again, and in a shaky voice I say, “He said ‘slut’ in a really creepy voice.”
“Did you notice if the ghost guy was injured? Did you see in which direction he ran?”
“His nose was bloody. I don’t know if he was hurt anywhere else.” I close my eyes, trying to think which way he ran. “I believe he ran north, or at least that’s what it seemed like.”
