Captain Kangaroo was conversing back and forth with both Mr. Green Jeans and Mr. Moose on the television while Isaac spoke in a low, overcast tone to his father over the phone.

Dressed in the same clothes from the night before, Isaac watched Isaiah crawl and romp about on the floor with his Fisher Price toy phone while he sipped away on his fourth cup of coffee for the morning. Isaac's mind was from the TV and drifting even further away from his son.

Every so often he would stare down at his scarred fingernails that felt as if someone had pierced each of them with sharp needles.

"Isaac, are you still there?" Mr. Mercer worriedly asked.

Shaking himself awake, Isaac replied, "I'm fine, dad. I just got a bad headache. Did the fuzz bring your car back yesterday?"

"Yeah, they brought it back last night. I think the carburetor needs replaced."

Just then, a long pause prevailed. The pause was soon followed by a moan from Isaac's father.

"Son...is everything alright with you? You sure don't sound fine."

Just judging by his father's stretched out gap in speech Isaac could sense that he was stressed over his grueling ordeal. All the young man could do was sit and shut his eyes in angst.

"Yeah, dad, I just need some time to...to work things out."

"Where's Lynn at?"

"She went out to get some more medicine for Isaiah. She said she'll be back before nine."

"Isaac, just relax and let the good Lord take care of everything. You've got a friend in him."

helpless frustration, Isaac threw himself backwards into the couch where he

later on." He flinched, trying with all his

"I get off from work at five, come down to the church and we can talk then. I'd stop by,

"Okay, I'll be there." Isaac hesitantly said, sitting back and wiping

go to work now. Be careful,

will, dad," Isaac sniffed before hanging up

shakiness in his father's tenor that he hadn't heard before; it startled Isaac enough to where he even lost track of where Isaiah was and what

as he

battered face before taking the

just sit and clap his tiny hands as though a parade were trolling right through the living room. The

Back and forth father and son played until the newsbreak on the television re-ran reports of the murder of the kidnapper, the dead bodies in his basement and the mutilation of the

kind of animal could have possibly killed all seven people in one night, and just

every little Sanders girl. Their angelic faces were alive with euphoric vitality as their smiling parents held all four of their

Isaac's bottom lip the longer he concentrated on the screen. He was

"Here!" Isaiah blurted out, handing his

remembered the generous man offering him

Isaac struggled as he lifted his aching body from off the couch, "your mom wants you to take a bath before

Once he managed to limp his way into the warm bathroom Isaac promptly removed every item of clothing from off the child's body,

about in the water was all playtime for him. He knew that he should have been paying close attention to the baby at

that everything that happened two nights earlier was nowhere to be found in his

to children, and yet, had

All of the sudden, sprinkles of soapy water splashed into Isaac's dead face, alerting him to find his

turn into a habit." Isaac scolded, shoving the child's right hand away from his submerged

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