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  “What would make a person do something as evil as her father did to her?” Ashley said.

  “Because he was an evil man,” Sam said.

  “Sin,” Mike said.

  I saw Sam roll his eyes. He knew Mike was also a Pastor but he didn’t buy into the whole ‘Religious Thing’ as he liked to put it.

  “Not a sermon,” Sam said.

  “Not at all,” Mike said. “Isn’t it funny how no one wants to hear about God and what He thinks but still want to believe in good and evil?”

  “How so?” I asked.

  Sam folded his arms over his chest.

  “Ruth’s father was described as ‘evil’, I think that was the perfect description,” he said. “But before this happened I understand that there was no history or indication that he would do something so horrible. So what made him do it?”

  I shrugged.

  “That’s just it,” Mike said. “Society will use phrases like ‘He was struggling with his own demons’ and they have no idea who accurate they are. Some mental illnesses are just that and if someone has a mental illness then they need to seek help from a professional doctor who can help them. But sometimes, and here’s where society gets divided, sometimes things like this are demon driven. What voices was Ruth’s father listening to when he did whatever he did to her and for however long he did it? That is not rational thinking.”

  “So you’re saying the devil made him do it,” Sam said.

  “The devil can’t make anyone do anything,” Mike said with a laugh. “Have you ever trained a pet? You suggest to them what it is you want done in steps and when they comply to each step you reward them. Kind of how sin works. Its fun, until its time to pay the price. And in this case it looks like the ultimate price was paid.”

  “By more than one person,” Ashley said.

  “Turns out Will was caught in the aftermath,” Sam said.

  “So Will died just because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” I said.

  “Caught in a wave like everyone else,” Mike said.

  “But he wasn’t innocent,” Sam said.

  “That’s true,” I said.

  “Sin affects everyone involved,” Mike said.

  “And only after the wave has run its course can the body count begin,” I said.

  “Ruth killed herself on the anniversary of her mother’s death,” Sam said.

  “Her own birthday?” I said.

  No one answered because it was a rhetorical question.

  The End

  Coming Fall 2011:

  from

  Ronald S. Barrios

  in association with

  Rey Books

  Masks and Malice

  A Rey Novel