It had been easy enough. Jared had known for a while that Harold had been repulsed by Nadine, and her betrayal had presented an opportunity to approach the little man in a new way. Harold's isolation was evident. He had simply needed to find the proper approach to breaking through.
When Harold suggested burning her, Jared knew he was in.
"Burn her?" he asked, making his voice sound unsure. "Could you...do you think you could help me?"
It took a moment, but Harold nodded back.
After they finished eating, Jared drove them to the empty car repair garage where Martins had taken Nadine. It was a stubby concrete block building with flaking whitewash inside and out. He put his shoulder against the metal sliding door and ushered Harold inside before closing it.
The floor was so cracked and so covered with dust that it felt like dirt under his feet. He walked to the far end, where Martins stood next to Nadine.
She was gagged, tied down to a folding chair. He looked over at Harold as they neared, but saw no reaction. "Martins, this is my friend Harold." He watched Harold hesitate when Martins offered him his hand.
"Good to meet you, sir," Martins said. Slowly, Harold reached out and took the offered hand, shook it briefly.
Jared smiled.
"Would you excuse us, Martins? Harold and I need to talk." His new lieutenant nodded in response and left the garage. Jared looked back down at Nadine, then to Harold. "Do you want to talk to her? I can take her gag out."
Harold looked disgusted at the idea. Good. That would make things quicker.
It was time for the gamble. He knew that Harold had been holding back on him, that he was responsible for the huge fires that had consumed whole buildings over the last few years. After seeing what the vigilante could do, Jared had begun to suspect some things about Harold, but he couldn't be sure until he tried. "I have some gasoline in the car. Should I get it?"
Nadine thrashed in the chair, tried to buck up and break the tape that held her in place. But Martins and his men had been thorough. She wouldn't be going anywhere.
Jared waited a moment for Harold. The little man stared at Nadine. "I'll go get it," Jared said. "Be right back."
He turned, stepped slowly away. "No. You don't need to," Harold said.
Jared stopped. Had he been right? He had to be cautious, didn't want to spook Harold. "What do you mean?" He waited again for a response.
Harold fidgeted. "That man you told me about...I can...just watch."
Jared stood silently, watched Nadine struggle and thrash in the chair. She tried to scream and curse at him, but the gag muffled it into an unintelligible burble. Martins had given him a report on her interrogation. There was no need for her to talk any more.
Beside him, Harold stared straight at Nadine, more focused and calm than Jared had ever seen him. If he was right about Harold, it would change everything. He couldn't believe what he was expecting to see, but he'd seen the unbelievable several times in the last week.
Before he saw anything, Nadine's shouts turned into screams.
She thrashed again, her whole body rigid and shaking. Then her mouth opened so forcefully to scream that it tore the tape from her upper lip. Her scream filled the room as Jared looked over at his companion. Harold didn't move.
Then the blood began to boil around the cloth stuffed in her mouth, down her chin. Steam rose from it, and then from her nostrils as the liquid bubbled from her nose as well. Within a few seconds, the steam turned to smoke.
Nadine stopped thrashing just before more smoke began to rise from a tear in her chest. Flames licked out of the hole, ate at her clothes, then spread through the flesh. There was no more blood. Jared could see that it was burning as well.
The fire spread all through her, left nothing but ash and a warped folding chair in the spot where she had been. Jared stared at Harold, saw the little man cross his arms and begin to close up. He'd have to be careful with what he said. He didn't move, kept his voice quiet. "Harold. You're amazing."
Harold looked up at him, Jared turned as well. "That's an amazing, wonderful gift you have," he said. "What does it feel like?"
The smile on Harold's face was small, but it told Jared he had said the right thing. Harold had probably been wanting to talk about his gift for years. "It feels like...like there's fire inside of things, and it feels good when I help it get out." Harold's voice sounded more confident.
Jared smiled back and patted Harold on the shoulder. "You help it. That's a good feeling, I know." He stepped back, paced for a moment. "Harold, with your gift, you deserve so much more than you have. You shouldn't be living in a basement, with no money. You should have everything you want. Please, it would be my honor to help you get what you deserve."
He walked back to Harold. He already knew the answer to his next question. "How can I help you? What is it you want more than anything else in the world?"
Harold's eyes were big, but they didn't have the wary look that Jared usually saw. It looked like they held hope.
"Jessica Moore."
Jared nodded. "The woman from your apartment? I remember you talked about her." He set his hands on Harold's shoulders. "I promise I will make her see just how special you are." He turned and led Harold to the door. Halfway there, he stopped, stared down at the floor.
"What?" Harold asked.
Jared took his time before answering. "I just remembered that man. The killer I told you about." He folded his arms across his chest and tried to look small, vulnerable. "Harold. I don't know what to do. Can you...can you help me? Can you burn him like that?"
At first, Harold shrank away, but then he smiled at Jared and nodded.
*
(Author’s note: There ya go…from onion rings to Harold really doing his thing. And…didn’t I mention something about things getting worse for William soon? What do you think, is this a nasty turn of events for our hero? Just keep reading to find out! Thank you all for reading and for the comments and votes! And please…if you can, tell a friend about Schism. It’s available on Amazon, B&N, everywhere paperbacks and ebooks are sold. Thanks!)