Suffer the Children Read Online Free PDF Page A

needs to have people around her who understand her problem, who can help her. God knows, I don’t have the time or the skills to devote to her.”
    “It isn’t right, Jack insisted.” That school That’s forcrazy kids, and retarded kids. Not for Sarah. Not for my daughter. All she needs is to be around normal kids, kids like Elizabeth. Look how well she does with Elizabeth.
    Rose nodded. “Of course I know how well she does with Elizabeth. But do you think all children are like Elizabeth? How many other children would have her patience? Children can be cruel, Jack. What do you think would happen to Sarah if she were back in public school? Do you think they’d all play with her the way Elizabeth does? Because if you do, you’re crazy. They’d tease her, and taunt her. They’d play with her, all right, but she wouldn’t be a playmate; she’d be a toy. It would only make her worse, Jack.”
    He finished his drink and rose to fix a third. Rose watched him go to the bar, and a wave of pity swept over her. He suddenly seemed unsure of himself, his step wary, as if something were waiting to trip him. As he tilted the bottle to pour the liquor into his glass, she spoke again.
    “Do you think you ought to?”
    “Ought to?” Jack glanced back at her over his shoulder. “No, I don’t think I ought to. But I’m going to. There’s a difference, you know.”
    The scream came before Rose could reply. Jack froze where he stood, the liquor streaming out of the bottle, overflowing the glass as the terrified shriek filled the house. It seemed to root him to the spot, and it wasn’t until it had finally died away that he was able to let go of the bottle. Rose was already in the hall by the time the bottle broke on the floor, and if she heard it, she didn’t turn around. Jack glanced at the mess at his feet; then he too ran from the room.
    The awful sound had come from the floor above. Rose and Mrs. Goodrich met at the bottom of the stairs, and Rose came close to toppling the housekeeper as she scrambled up the single flight Mrs. Goodrich recovered, and made her way up the stairsasquickly as her age and arthritis would allow. Jack passed her halfway up.
    “What was it?” he asked as he passed.
    “Sarah,” Mrs. Goodrich panted. “It was Miss Sarah’s voice. God Almighty, hurry!”
    Jack was at the top of the stairs when he saw his wife disappear into the children’s playroom. By the time he got to the door, he realized that whatever had happened, it was over.
    Rose stood just inside the door, a slightly dazed look on her face. In one corner, Sarah sat huddled against the wall, her knees drawn up under her chin, her arms wrapped around herself. She wore a flannel nightgown, whose folds spread around her and seemed to give her extra protection. Her eyes, unnaturally wide, stared vacantly outward, and she was whimpering to herself.
    In the center of the room, Elizabeth sat cross-legged on the floor, her fingers on the indicator of a Ouija board, her eyes closed tight. She seemed oblivious of her sister’s terror, as if she had not even heard the piercing scream of a moment before. As Jack came into the room, Elizabeth opened her eyes and smiled up at her parents.
    “Is something wrong?” she asked.
    “Wrong? Didn’t you
hear
it?” Jack demanded.
    Comprehension dawned on Elizabeth’s face. “You mean the scream?” she asked.
    Rose swallowed hard. “Elizabeth, what happened?”
    “Nothing, really,” Elizabeth replied. “We were just in here playing with the Ouija board.”
    “Where did you find—” Jack started to say, but Rose cut him off.
    “Never mind that now. What happened?”
    “Nothing happened, Mother. We were just playing with the Ouija board, and nothing much was happening. Then Cecil brushed up against Sarah, and she screamed.”
    “That’s all?” Jack asked, disbelief sounding in his voice. “But look at her. She’s terrified.” Rose was moving toward Sarah now, and the little girl shrank