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up and saw the balloon man, she didn't find his presence along the narrow residential road unusual. A magician had entertained at Paige's birthday party, and an Easter Bunny had personally delivered their baskets. California was an enchanted place where all sorts of magical things could happen.
    Tossing down her jump rope, she stepped up on the bottom rung of the gate and watched his approach.
    "Balloons for free!" the man called as he came nearer.
    He was wearing dusty brown shoes along with a workman's gray pants and gray shirt.
    Unlike a workman, however, his face was covered by a merry clown mask with a cherry nose and fuzzy purple hair.
    "Balloons for free! They never pop, they never stop. Best balloons around."
    Balloons that didn't pop? Susannah's eyes widened in amazement. She hated the angry noise balloons made when they broke, and she was entranced with the idea of possessing one that wouldn't frighten her.
    As the man approached, she pushed a small hand through the fence and, gathering her courage, said, "Could I please have one of your free balloons, sir?"
    He didn't seem to hear her, "Balloons for free. They never pop, they never stop. All my balloons for free."
    "Excuse me," she repeated politely. "Might I have a balloon."
    He still didn't look at her. Maybe he couldn't see her through his clown mask, she thought.
    "All my balloons for free," he chanted. "Come and follow me."
    Follow him? Although no one had ever spoken to her about it, she wasn't certain she was permitted beyond the gates. She gazed longingly at the multicolored bundle of balloons dancing on their strings, and their beauty made her feel giddy.
    "All my balloons for free. Come and follow me."
    The balloon man's chant seemed to sing in her blood. Her parents were drinking martinis on the terrace, and by the time she ran back to ask for permission, the balloon man would be gone. It seemed silly to lose her chance to own one of these magical balloons, especially since she was certain her father wouldn't mind. He kept telling her to have fun and not to worry so much.
    "All my balloons for free. Come and follow me."
    She pulled the gate key from its hiding place in a little tin box tucked inside one of the stone urns. Precious seconds elapsed while she fit it into the lock. "Wait," she called out, afraid the balloon man would disappear. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and concentrated on making the lock work. The key finally turned. Planting the heels of her sandals firmly on the blacktop, she dragged open the gate far enough to slip through.
    She felt enormously pleased with herself as she began running beside the high row of hedges that had been planted next to the fence to give the estate privacy from the road.
    "Please wait for me!" she cried.
    It was a warm June day. The hem of her bright yellow sundress slapped her legs and her hair skipped out behind her head. In the distance the balloons bobbed on their strings, gay splashes of color spangled against the open sky. She laughed at the beauty of them, at the distant music of the balloon man's cries, at the joyous feeling of being a child and running free along the narrow road. Her laughter sounded strange and wonderful to her ears.
    Although she was too young to articulate it, the heavy weight of her past no longer seemed so burdensome. She felt happy, secure, and wonderfully carefree.
    She was still laughing when a strange man jumped out from a stand of sycamores and grabbed her.
    Fear coagulated in her throat, and she made a horrible animal sound as his fingers dug into her arms. He had a big, fleshy nose and a bad smell. She tried to scream for her father, but before she could utter a sound, another man—the balloon man—came up beside her and pressed his hand over her mouth. Just before he covered her with a blanket, he yanked off his mask and she caught a glimpse of his face, as thin and sly as the head of a fox.
    They shoved her down on the floor of a paneled van. One of them