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Gutierrez nodded. Murray almost ran out of the room.

WAKE UP, MOMMY

Chelsea stood at the foot of her parents’ bed eating a Crunch Bar Eskimo Pie. It was only 8:00 A.M., and this was her third Crunch.

Mommy and Daddy didn’t get to make the rules anymore.

Try to wake them up. But don’t use words.

“For real?”

Speak to me with your thoughts.

Sorry, Chelsea thought.

My connection is going to be the strongest with you. You will help me talk to the rest. Now try to wake the mup.

Chelsea took a bite of ice cream, swallowed it, then concentrated.

Wake up, sleepyheads.

Nothing happened.

Try again. Don’t be nice, Chelsea.

You know how when you get angry, when you scream, your voice gets louder?

Yes.

Thoughts work the same way. Have your parents ever done anything to make you angry?

Chelsea’s smile faded away. Why shouldn’t she have all the ice cream she wanted? Why wouldn’t Daddy let her get her ears pierced? And why couldn’t she get a puppy? She wanted a puppy. That just wasn’t fair.

Maybe Daddy needed protection, but he also need to stop being bad.

Chelsea focused again.

Wake up, Daddy . . . or I’m going to spank you.

Daddy sat up fast, fully awake. He just stared at Chelsea. She had never seen Daddy’s face look like that before. His mouth was open and his eyes were all wide.

“Did you say something, honey?”

He absently scratched at his left arm. A big orange scabby thing came off in his hand. Without taking his eyes from his daughter, he tossed the scabby thing away and started scratching again.

I told you to wake up or I would spank you.

Daddy stopped scratching. His right hand just sort of hung on his left shoulder, frozen in half-scratch.

“That’s what I thought,” he said in a quiet voice.

Chelsea turned to stare at Mommy. Wake up, Mommy.

Mommy lifted her head, then set it back down, rolled over and groaned.

“Oh, I’m so hot,” she said. “Bob, tell Chelsea to stop screaming and go back to bed. She made me so G.o.dd.a.m.n sick.”

Daddy kept staring. “Uh, Candy? Uh . . . you better wake up.”

“I’m not kidding, Bob,” Mommy said in her Daddy Is So Stupid voice.

Chelsea dropped the ice cream stick on the floor.