Daddy's Little Girl, Too

Chapter 24: Connecting the Dots

The exhausted couple retreat to the bedroom for the night. Nancy resumes reading the book, THE TWIN MIND, while Michael watches television.

During a commercial, he turns to Nancy, "So how's the book? Anything interesting in there?"

"It's interesting, but it's very slow and boring. It was written by a doctor and some of the words used... I can hardly understand what I'm reading half the time."

Michael chuckles. "It was probably written for other doctor's."

"You're probably right. Doctors are the only people that would know the meaning of some of these words."

Although Nancy's intelligence level is below that required to read this particular book, her perseverance is unbroken. She hates leaving any book unfinished, even a boring one.

Michael watches his program until the end and shuts the TV off. He rolls to Nancy, placing his hand on her stomach. He suddenly remembers about Emma's most recent dream. "Hey, did you know that Emma had another daydream today?"

Nancy puts the book down and looks at him with worry. "Well, no. She never told me. When did this happen?"

"She said it was earlier today, before I got home."

"I had no idea. She never came out of her room. Did she tell you anything about it?"

"She didn't give me too many details but she says she saw a man die."

Nancy huffs. "I wish these God damn dreams would just stop. Did she say anything else about it?"

"All she told me was that a man died... and that a car fell on top of him."

Nancy's neck snaps toward her husband; her eyes as wide as can be. "What did you just say?"

"The man, he was killed by a falling car. Crazy, huh?"

The details of Emma's latest daydream are eerily similar to the story Janette had shared about the mechanic at the gas station. Nancy's mind searches for a connection. She jumps from the bed and rushes out of the room without a word.

Michael calls for her. "Where are you going?"

She hollers from down the hallway, "I need to call Janette back!"

Dead Silence

The long road trip has taken its toll on the Landell family. Although he'd love to close his eyes, David has the responsibility of driving. He yawns aloud and tries to shake the weariness away.

Janette's head lays back and her eyes are at rest. She drifts in and out of consciousness. Young Christopher is sound asleep. His head hangs downward and the soft sound of his breathing fills the backseat.

Since learning of her adopted sister's deadly secret, Kara didn't want to let Abby out of her sights. Although she dreaded the idea of sleeping, and fought the urge to close her eyes, she could not resist the Sandman for long.

Abby sits between both of the sleeping children, wide awake. Her eyes are fixated straight ahead, waiting for an opportunity. She grips the tail of her bear with anticipation. Each time David yawns, Abby becomes more excited. Each blink of his tired eyes brings them all one step closer to death.

Abby has formulated a plan which could very well be fatal for her; however, just the chance to kill again far outweighs the risks involved. She continuously goes over her premeditated plot. There are certain conditions that must be met before she can execute her plan; one of which is already complete: Everyone except David must be asleep.