The Outsider

July 25

Detective Jack Hoskins wakes in the night and goes to the bathroom. The burn on the back of his neck where the shadow touched him is red and blistered. Sitting on the toilet, he sees a shape behind the shower curtain. A hand creeps around the edge of the curtain, and he sees the word “CANT” tattooed on the backs of the fingers. The shadow speaks directly into Jack’s mind, telling him that the burn is cancer and that if he wants it gone, he has to do what the shadow tells him. Skin cancer is Jack’s greatest fear. He will do anything the intruder wants to get rid of it. He passes out and wakes in his bed in the morning.

Jeannie Anderson wakes in the pre-dawn hours. Returning from a trip to the bathroom, she hears a low voice tell her to freeze and stay silent. She sees the shadow of a man in her living room. He tells her to tell Ralph to drop the investigation or the intruder will kill everyone involved and leave them in the desert for the buzzards to eat. It’s a strange reference, as there are no deserts in Oklahoma.