Killer Pictures by Hope Madden

Author:Hope Madden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: World Castle Publishing, LLC
Published: 2025-04-01T20:21:55+00:00

“And?” Grace’s impatience seeped out, even though she was trying to keep it in. She listened as Dez read from the screen.

“Donovan Horrocks had a promising career, starring in several cult films. Rumors of spousal abuse and occult activity dogged the actor, and by the early Nineties…”

“Occult activity?” Grace interrupted. This was so dumb. Who would write that?

“Right?!” she heard the excitement in her sister’s voice.

Grace stood and walked the OK’d candy over to Maude. She pretended not to give her daughter the booty, relented, and handed her the loaded plastic pumpkin. Maude sat on the fluffy white area rug, and Grace realized the waiting disaster after handing her so much chocolate. Grace smiled, but the smile turned sad. She walked out of the room, away from Maude, and into her dark kitchen, still fragrant with the smell of grilled cheese and tomato soup.

“It’s Wikipedia, though, right?” Grace said. “Anyone could have written that. I could go on Wikipedia right now and say he bathed every night in pudding.”

“Or the blood of children,” her sister replied.

“Pudding’s more fun, but honestly, they would be equally hard to clean up,” Grace said. “The point is that whoever made your movie could have invented the write-up for, like, viral marketing or something. Like Blair Witch.”

“Dude, this is totally happening,” Dez responded.

Grace remembered the last time—the suicide attempt, visiting hours, that poor orderly Destiny had fucked right in the hospital bed and gotten fired. She rested a hand on her ample belly and sighed.

“God, I wish you liked romantic comedies. It would be so much easier if you kept thinking your life was a romantic comedy. Destiny, come over here,” she said. “Right now. We’ll drink some beer—well, you can—and we’ll all watch ParaNorman. You like that one.”

The first time they’d seen ParaNorman, Maude was definitely too young for it. She sat the whole time in Dez’s lap, terrified. Dez had not seen the movie, but because it followed all the tropes of the horror movies she knew so well, Dez could whisper what was about to happen into Maude’s ear. It gave Maude confidence and reminded her that it was all made up. Dez essentially ruined the movie for anyone within earshot, but she’d saved the day for Maude, who was brave with the secret formula and eventually loved the movie.

“You can stay here,” Grace offered. “The cutie would love it.”

***

Destiny was about to accept the invitation when something suddenly occurred to her. She opened the film site tab.

She saw a new film.

Yolanda

“I have to go,” she blurted and hung up. Dez didn’t think. She just tucked her phone into her back pocket, snatched her keys from the kitchen counter, and headed out. The sky had darkened since she’d walked Howie to her door. She hated to drive when it was dark, but she didn’t even take it slow. Really, she was driving somewhat recklessly away from her house and breaking one of her sacred safety rules by calling Yolanda, who didn’t answer.

“Call me as soon as you get this,” she said authoritatively, not panicky, to the voicemail.

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