Hand clutchingonto Samuel’s disgusting greasy hair, Harlow held the man’s head back, his knife pressed so hard against the man’s neck that a line of blood was already dripping down. While the older man was grabbing at his hands holding the knife, for some reason, he didn’t find the effort hardto resist. Harlow wasn’t sure why, but it wasn’t like he was going to complain about it.
One of the other children was sleeping only a room over, so Harlow whispered, “Beg.”
“I—You talk?!” The man swallowed, wincing as another drop of blood trailed down.
“Ah, did you think I couldn’t? No, I just don’t like to.” Harlow tsked. “Now, like I said…beg. If you don’t speak up, you won’t have a voice to use anymore.”
“P-please.”
“I wonder if that’s what the other children said when you snuck into their rooms.”
“I didn’t?—”
Harlow tightened his grip, hissing, “Don’t lie. Do you think I didn’t notice how odd everyone here is?”
He hadn’t actually. Well, he noticed things, but Harlow hadn’t realized what it all meant until Samuel had come into his room a few seconds ago, and creepily snuck up to the bed he had not been in.
“What d-do you want?” the man asked stiffly.
“What I want is to kill you.” And for the man to have washed his hair before coming in here…ugh… “But why don’t we make a deal instead?”
“Anything! Money? Toys? You’re…older than you look, aren’t you? Older than what the state thinks?”
Older? Harlow wrinkled his nose. “Why would I care about any of that? And why would I lie about my age?”
“Are you…even a child?”
Harlow frowned. “Are you trying to confuse me so you can get free? I can tell you now, it won’t work. And I don’t want things. What I want is for you and your cheerful wife to send me and the rest of the children back into the foster care system, and for you to never go near another child again.”
“I… My wife would be heartbroken, we can’t!”
“Then die.” He started to press the knife in harder.
“WAIT!” the man whisper-yelled. “I will. I’ll do it.”
“If you don’t, I will kill you.”
“I’ll do it…I’m n-not lying.”
“Do it now. Call them.”
“The morning! I’ll do it in the morning, they won’t answer now.”
“If you think you can get out of calling in the morning, think again. Because we are going to stay right in this spot until the sun rises, where I’ll then walk you to the phone and listen to the entire call.”
“I…” Samuel hesitated. “That’s hours from now.”
“Yeah, well, maybe next time don’t sneak into someone’s bedroom in the middle of the night, you freak.”
“Didyou really stand there until daylight?” Foxx asked, drawing him out of the memory.
Harlow chuckled. “I did, and I made him crawl on his knees to the kitchen. The man made the call. And I promised him that if he ever did that shit again, I’d find out, track him down, and kill him.”
“And he did, right?” Wes mused, a small smile on his face.
Harlow eyed the man. “Yes. But he wasn’t my first kill.”
Wes’ expression didn’t change at his confession. “No, the ones who killed that child, Tommy, were the first, weren’t they?”
