Voracious - Alice Henderson [48]
“You don’t have to finish.”
“I know. I want to.” She closed her stinging eyes for a moment and then went on. “At the police station, I told them about MacCready and Ellie. They sent out a search party. Searchers found a new Sickle Moon Killer victim in the woods and called in the Feds. But it wasn’t until four days later that they found Ellie’s body.”
“Oh, God,” Noah breathed.
“She’d been caught in one of the old turbine holes of the dam. But she was dead before that, probably on impact with the rock, they think.”
“I am so sorry.”
“A week later, I went back and found her bracelet.” She held up her wrist. “I keep it inside this little silver box. I haven’t taken it off since.” Madeline felt her throat constrict. “I killed her.”
“What?”
“If I hadn’t been there, if MacCready hadn’t known about my ability, he wouldn’t have freaked. She’d still be alive.”
“No,” Noah said firmly. “You can’t think that. You’re no more responsible for her death than I am for Anna’s.” He took her arms and frowned at her. “Do you hear me?”
Madeline didn’t respond. It was her fault.
Noah released her. She met his eyes. “The Feds got a search warrant for MacCready’s house. In a closet they found skin from all the Sickle Moon killings. They’d got him.”
“I remember that … his trial … the media sensationalized it. He’s still in prison, isn’t he?”
“No. He was killed in a prison fight last year. I still can’t quite believe it. For years I was afraid he’d break out and find me. Now he’s gone.”
Noah shuddered. “That was a terrible case.”
“A lot of people got scared about the whole thing,” she said. “Even after he was caught, there was still an air of fear in some campgrounds and fishing spots. They kept me out of the newspapers, but the townspeople knew I’d played a part in his capture. I think a lot of them blamed me for Ellie, too. That experience permanently tainted my gift for me. It cost me my only friend. After that, when I was sixteen, my parents suggested I move out on my own. They still helped me with money, because no one in town would hire me. But they asked me around less and less. I rarely see them now. Until a couple weeks ago, I didn’t even think they knew exactly where I lived.”
Noah took her hands in his and squeezed. His touch was warm and comforting, full of good energy. She leaned forward and placed her head on his shoulder, and he gently stroked her hair.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” he said.
“Thanks,” she said softly.
“Your life sounds as lonely as mine.”
She pulled away and looked at him. “I’m sorry you experienced such a loss. I can’t even imagine …” Her voice trailed off.
He closed his eyes and nodded. “We’ve both been through some pretty terrible stuff.”
“Including the last twenty-four hours,” she put in.
“Including the last twenty-four hours,” he agreed.
A second flesh eater. Madeline closed her eyes in horror. Finally she opened them, regarding Noah closely. “I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you, hunting him all this time, seeing one person after another killed. How many victims?”
“One hundred and sixty-four that I know of. A hundred and sixty-four whom he targeted and hunted. Maybe more. And then there are people, like that ranger, who just got in his way. It’s hard to say how many of those. He covers his tracks well. He can completely destroy a body.”
Madeline nodded. She thought of the silver spike plunging deep into the body of the men who had harassed her. Once again she felt conflict. Though he terrified her, she was relieved he had been there. She thought about the hundreds of victims over the years, bodies reduced to ashes.
“This is strange,” Noah suddenly said. “He’s blown his cover to you. Usually he insinuates himself into a person’s life as a friend,