Her expression surprised him. There was a strange man in her bedroom coming at her with a knife, but she did not look afraid. He raised the blade. His heart was pounding, his temples expanding and contracting with the pressure. Her mouth parted as though she were about to say something. But she remained silent because of what he did next. His blade struck, once deeply in the chest, once in the neck for good measure.
She slumped back in the seat, her hands falling to her sides, the knitting needles clattered on the wooden floor. Her chest heaved, throwing her blood outside her body through the two wounds. He should flee, he knew that, but he felt rooted to the spot. His gaze flitted around the room. He saw the leather apron hanging from a hook on the wall. It was spotted with blood and bits of dried meat. Then, his mind working feverishly, he recalled the butcher’s shop he’d passed in the village. That was where the husband must work.
With that thought a cold worked its way into Becker’s skin that paralyzed him. He managed to slowly turn his head back to the dying woman. He looked down at her right hand. He gripped it, turned it upward, drawing it to the light from the window. When he saw the little nodule of bone where the index finger should have been he instantly dropped the hand and it swung back down, hitting the side of the chair.
Becker’s mind was beginning to shut down with each heave of the woman’s body as life left her. As his eyes focused on her body, Becker saw the large hump in her belly. And on her lap was the object of her knitting. A small blue knit cap for the baby boy she was very close to delivering. Now, of course, they were both dead.
As Becker slumped to the floor, his own breaths coming in agonized gasps, he thought he saw his mother smile at him. But he could have been wrong about that. The answer would never come. A moment later he was gone.
About the Author
David Baldacci is a worldwide bestselling novelist. With his books published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, and with over 110 million copies in print, he is one of the world’s favorite storytellers. David Baldacci is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. Still a resident of his native Virginia, he invites you to visit him at www.DavidBaldacci.com, and his foundation at www.WishYouWellFoundation.org, and to look into its program to spread books across America at www.FeedingBodyandMind.com.