In the car, Samantha outlined her plan. "When we get to the docks, you go to the boat."
"Alone? Aren't you coming?"
"Pryde will be waiting for you behind some crates. When you get there, he'll pop out to grab you. Now, here's the hard part. He might hit you. He might even stab you with his knife. But he's not going to let you die, not unless you tell him about me. If you do that, he'll kill you for sure."
"Kill me? Why would he do that?"
"Because he's an evil psychopath. Don't you see that?"
"I don't know, maybe-"
"Have you ever been out to that place of his in the woods?" She shook her head. "In the cellar he keeps his victims. Hundreds of them going back to when the town started. He keeps their bones, clothes, family pictures, everything. That's his hobby. When we get there you can go there and find out."
"How do you know this?"
"I know it might be hard to understand-I don't understand it myself-but I've seen what happens over the next twelve years. They're going to ambush us at the dock tonight and the reverend is going to hit me with some of that magic water so that I become a little girl. Then he's going to somehow erase my memory and take me back. When I wake up, you're going to have Prudence take me down to the stream and give me a bath."
"Oh my," Miss Brigham said. Her face paled with shock. "Mr. Pryde, I can't believe he could do anything so monstrous."
"Look, Molly, it's going to be all right. We're going to put a stop to him and the reverend tonight."
"We aren't going to hurt them, are we?"
"No, of course not. As long as we stick to the plan."
"After Mr. Pryde grabs me, then what?"
"The reverend is going to come around then to find out who you've talked to. It's very, very important you do exactly as I say here, all right?" She nodded. "Good. You have to tell him there's a car waiting for you and that you'll lead them to it."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because as you're leading them to the car, I'm going to ambush them. I'll knock them out, tie them up, and then we'll drop them off at the police station and fetch the children."
"This sounds dangerous," she said.
"It's very dangerous and there's a good chance it won't work. In that case, I have a way to make sure we get help."
"How's that?"
Samantha held up a hastily-scribbled note. "My friends in the FBI are looking for me. In case I don't make it back, this note should get to my boss and tell him where I am. They'll come to get me and find everyone else." Samantha placed the note into an envelope addressed for Assistant Director Tanner and left it on the dashboard. "Not a foolproof plan, but it's the best we can do on short notice."