CHAPTER IV : The Collection

I turned so quickly that my shoulder struck the fence. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhqJOykYrd

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There was nobody beside me. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16dItDZ6dV

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Beyond the fallen panel, on the opposite side of the road, stood another streetlamp. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2i1c9OEN8c

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The gentleman was beneath it. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpSKgI89Xu

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His head was upright again. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40Ns7T4SwM

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He held his right hand in front of him. Several thin strings passed between his long, gloved fingers. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bGHfuCpxN

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Balloons floated above his shoulder. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPm4DlUTDIp

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That was what I thought at first. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlyM5VHLOt

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Pale, round shapes, rising and falling gently in the yellow light. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZi6Nm9rtI

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Then one turned. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTclPzFVc93

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It was smiling. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBSgce0rdr

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Not the way a person smiles. Wider. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwIZq18x4km

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The corners pulled back towards where the ears had been, the skin of the cheeks stretched so thin and tight that the lamplight shone through it, the way light shines through a balloon. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZq5YlrX14

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Inside the smile were teeth. Small. Even. Very white. Far too many of them. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DzkTYo2cK

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A woman, long hair hanging wet from her scalp. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84OcuDhR9F

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Beside her, an older man. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OJEVLalvv

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Higher up, a boy who couldn’t have been more than fifteen. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oPPTwmx25

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They were all smiling. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdQo8gfPnJ

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The same smile. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7rGAUwr1y

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I had seen it once already that night, under the brim of a tall silk hat. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdWhJeTgUw

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It was his.

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Some of their eyes had rolled back until only the whites showed. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3l0XvzMKMa

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Others weren’t eyes any more at all — just loops, scribbled round and round, hollow in the middle. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblP9KbYHYM

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Thin dark lines ran down from every one of them, as if someone had drawn tears with a red pen and pressed too hard. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPc1tDgIyZ

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They were packed so tightly that they pressed into each other, cheek against cheek, jaw against temple, the stretched skin squeaking softly where it rubbed. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODeCUvgQIi

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Each string was tied beneath a neck in a neat little bow. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiStNJp2whs

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The wind was driving the rain sideways across the road. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztI693nvp8

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The heads barely swayed. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjQwEjUol8

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But every face, even the ones at the very back, had turned to look at me. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeMieupHzH

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At the edge of the bunch, one string hung lower than the rest. Something limp and pale dangled from it, like a balloon nobody had blown up yet. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2fCLkiui7a

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It didn’t have a face. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohQCeOvGnH

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Not yet. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz22LMswU3t

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In his left hand, he held one more string. A fresh one. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zb9T456ZG

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I recognized the hood, still caught around the back of the skull. I had watched that hood pass me seconds earlier. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5gXsGsw9g

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The gentleman examined it, turning his wrist so that the face rotated slowly beneath the lamp. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhInTGoDpA8

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“Quite serviceable,” he murmured. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaGuwUPA2b

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Then the dark under his hat turned towards me. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyBPNr8xyJ

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“But I had rather set my heart on yours.” 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pMQmrJWQa

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His shoulders lifted in a small, apologetic shrug. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2xiYWFlyr

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He brought both hands together and began sorting the strings. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UwHz19cnk

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He worked quickly, lifting one over another, easing the new head between two older ones. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtYSOHsBaW

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When a strand of the woman's hair caught around a string, he carefully freed it. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfwtlR9YzR

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The gesture was delicate. Practised. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCcuCYip6n

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The gesture of someone who did this every night, and took pride in it. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDQrjkaalU

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As the cyclist’s head slid into place among the others, its slack mouth twitched. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8RlBfSYnW

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Then, slowly, the corners began to pull back. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2PIxScdke

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Around him, people were gathering beside the fallen cyclist.

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A woman hurried past the lamp with a first-aid box.

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She walked straight under his hat.

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She didn’t look up. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavj5dToE8A

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“Still,” the gentleman said brightly, “one mustn't waste an evening.”

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He gave the strings a neat little tug. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHzPqr6dtH

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The heads rose together. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAEoBr5vqVk

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Then he bent towards me. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZV3NzL9H4f

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We were on opposite sides of the road, yet I could hear the tiny catches in his breathing. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9p5fVR5erv

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The light fell across the face beneath his hat. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwIcGe06unr

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His face was pale and narrow. There were no ears along the sides of his head. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDpSzmMOWD

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Where his eyes should have been were two uneven loops, like circles someone had scribbled over and over with a blunt pencil.

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Their centres were hollow and dark. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YaoFkLD2R

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His mouth began to open. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrIm1mbGfZ

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The corners travelled outward. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNVt4qVGPe

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They passed the place where a person's smile should have stopped.

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They kept going, pulling almost to the edges of his head. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvI0X9mV1Q

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The skin beside his mouth gathered into tight folds. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNCcb3fpaZ

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Inside were teeth, too many for the space they occupied. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNlRzjbjKU

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He made that leaking, broken chuckle again. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbRx07ozH3

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The hollow loops filled with red light. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1bOWw0aH8

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He was looking at my head. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRoZVerzbd

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I knew it as clearly as I knew where his gaze would move next. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ442q3BVyg4

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My chin. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvjQShLAAw

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My throat. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97zDoW1Pfb

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He lifted one finger and drew a slow line through the air, level with my neck. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnsWqKTp5iH

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“Such a lovely one,” he whispered. “I should have looked after it beautifully.” 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jAhCA7npR

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My hand closed over my collar. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXRA0hEhxl

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His smile widened at the movement. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXwokTgDHl

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“Another evening, perhaps.” 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3RBXPc52H

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He straightened, tucked the bundle of strings into one hand, and touched the brim of his hat with the other. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlEsiOtc8b

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“Do get home safely, little one.” 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGvqZbEEoR

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A lorry had stopped behind the accident. Its driver reversed a few feet to let an approaching ambulance through. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0qcDWGLnL

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For a moment, the lorry hid the streetlamp. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAkv7ld2mf

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When it moved, the gentleman was gone. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzL9aTWfbum

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The space above the lamp was empty.

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They searched beneath the cars. They checked the drains and the pavement on both sides of the road. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hnSqmoRIc

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The police said the force of the impact might have thrown the cyclist's head some distance. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7bDBC03bI

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They searched beyond the crossing, too. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfuyU6GL9S

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They never found it. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2jwaQTKbD

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I gave them the time, the direction the bicycle had come from, everything I remembered about the panel falling. 75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDtPLJ9YqCf

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I left out the gentleman.

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