The Sixth Wicked Child (4MK Thriller, #3)

by J.D. Barker

was not.

Blind sided

brought them here to the hospital, thinking it was the only place they could keep such a large group of people safe. Upchurch and his partner had counted on this—they

Hate to be a party popper , but I’m quite sure there were any number of places that could of been used that were MORE suitable than this, also I worked in a hospital for 20yrs & there’s no way in hell the bureaucracy in those places would ever allow this.

unconscious and lying on the table, they found the body of

That is wrongly worded, as saying ‘the body of’ is like saying she’s dead but it’s also got unconscious which is obviously like saying she’s alive, it’s just oddly worded, to me anyways, I had to read it back again because I’m a fast reader & can skim some parts, though I try not to, & first read through I read it as she died.

The body is in a cemetery.” Nash’s face somehow managed to grow whiter. “The call I got was for a body found on the subway tracks

They say “Two out of three ain’t bad” but in this case…

Even if they catch Bishop today and shut him down, they won’t let us out. Not until this runs its course.”

& so they should, unless you think your life is worth more than trillions of others, it’s the only thing they can do

“Wear that,” Stout instructed, nodding toward the mask they’d given her. She pulled it over her head and fitted the straps over her ears, hustling after him.

Doubtful it will stop you getting it, but more likely to stop you sharing it, just… & I worked in the sterile supply dept of a hospital.

They’d tried to gather them back up before they spread the virus, but most of the staff knew it was already too late for that. The building, not the cafeteria, would contain the virus now, just as Kloz had said.

Yup, because once it’s out there, there’s no way of knowing until it rises up, doesn’t matter how well you try to do things, viruses care for none of that, all they care about is survival & spreading as much as it can, propagating… We have the same survival instincts it’s just that we are never forced to put them into practice, for the most part… Every single thing has one likeness & that’s just to live, be it a virus, an ant, us, doesn’t matter, we all just want to live, & when you move onto more sentient beings, or just those with a more advanced brain, we feel fear, nothing wants to die, ‘lesser’ creatures, such as an ant, they may not know fear the way we do, with all that may or may not come after death, but they most definitely do not want to die & will run in fear, what makes them any less than us?

When I closed my eyes, I could go back there, and I did—I went back there often.

Just one teensy little problem with this mirage, just like a mirage, it’s not real, it’s fevered dreams, perhaps wishes of what could of been, what should of been, a happy childhood in a happy family, maybe the core missing pieces are worth more than the ones that were tangible… But either way there’s a division in the road & no option other than to choose one way or the other, although for a child the choice itself may be immaterial, & just the actions & repercussions of others choices lead the way, very slowly but yet still surely, onward.

“Each body was found in the same pose—on their knees with their hands joined at their front and head bowed as if in prayer. Left eye, left ear, and the tongue have been removed from each with surgical precision and placed in white boxes tied with black string and left at the victim’s side.

Y’know when you read a lot of books like this, how many people die, how they die, just seems to glaze over mine, & I’m sure most people’s minds, just another dead character. I think that says something about us, I’m not exactly sure what, I’m pretty sure it’s not a positive reaction, to think of anyone real or not, dying in horrific pain & we just turn the page like it’s nothing. Way back when, hell even now, they like/d to blame video games, pornography, certain music etc for altering teenagers (mostly) perceptions of reality & a lack of abhorrence at death & pain, especially in regards to other people. I don’t see this as a cookie cutter issue, & it’s nothing like the overblown reactions in the 1950’s onwards about it, but I do think our society has become so used to certain things, that they no longer faze us as they did, as they should, it’s not saying much for our species, is it? :|

“This first victim was found in Rose Hill Cemetery.

I think the author missed a chance to humanize the book a little here, in a few short paragraphs I was invested in the teenage homeless girl, he could of done that part the same, but had her arriving at the cemetery in time to see what happened, then her calling it in, & being found by the cops, but too scared to talk to them & string her character on for much further in the book.

“How do you keep a hospital of that size safe with only five security officers on duty?”

The one I worked at only had around that, maybe 1 or 2 more, per shift & it is an 11 story hospital with extended clinics around the campus. It boils down to money, & while they waste it on some things, they’ll penny pinch on others, especially when it comes to staff.

For a moment, I thought she actually sounded frightened.

I don’t appreciate this author going back into what can only be classed as paedophilia as he isn’t just underage, he’s a child. I also don’t think it’s a realistic storyline So I’ll just skip past it Yes I realize all of these underage sexual encounters can help create who he becomes, but it’s too much, too unrealistic

Both had been handcuffed to gurneys, and you couldn’t exactly pick them up at the local Walmart.

These days you could probably buy them on eBay or Craigslist

Just like that.

Still very unrealistic

“We removed the ventilator tube as a standard postoperative test to see whether or not he was capable of involuntary actions such as breathing and swallowing on his own. I fully expected to replace the tube immediately,

That happened to me after my trauma surgery & being in a coma, I was on life support which included being on a ventilator, they did exactly this, except they wanted to put the tube back in, but I was conscious & could feel it & after 2 tries they had to give it up as I just couldn’t swallow it down, it being the tube. You have no idea how horrific of a feeling it is to try & let that tube go down your GI tract, I had another few botched attempts of this happening after having my subdural haematoma surgery & I now have severe PTSD about letting anything like this ever happen again.

“Do you know where he takes them?”

I can guess, but again it’s just too unrealistic, it’s too many things that are verging on unrealistic, like they ‘could’ happen but not all of them to one person, it’s pushing my boundaries of beliefs too far, ONE thing, that could of been ok, but all of it, nah.

It’s human nature. When we’re near someone who is ill, our bodies become defensive. Those defenses can manufacture symptoms that mimic the perceived illness, and our minds are trained to fear those symptoms which perpetuates the problem.”

Exactly, it all boils down to wanting to stay alive & our brains are programmed to do that in any way that they can.

someone was inside was foolhardy,

I have a thing about the same word being used right next to each other, it’s an irk of mine, this could of been someone lurked inside was foolhardy, Or any other number of words…

She got the impression they could hose the entire room down, if necessary.

Yes, any contaminated area in a hospital has various quick fixes if something goes wrong, it’s changed an awful lot from when I first started in CSSD amazingly so. Although that’s not a good thing, it means we have more & more sick people to deal with…

“Why the hell is it so cold in here?”

To stop the bodies & parts of bodies etc from decomposing any more than they have to. The surgery floor, yes a whole floor, pretty much, where I worked was cold too & going to certain areas like orthopedics, it gets colder even still. That’s why there’s doctors gowns & scrub jackets to put on.

He pursed his lips. “It’s just…sometimes I have trouble remembering things from back then.”

I have a similar problem & I never had it before my subdural haemotoma

Bishop nodded. “I rode with Porter to the 51st Precinct on the day his wife’s killer was ID’d.

Has he just conveniently forgotten he’s NOT a cop?? He faked being a cop to get onto the investigation, so exactly what’s happening about that?

If Porter was lying, there was no outward sign. Earlier, though, when he interviewed Bishop, there were no signs of deception, either.

Just one difference between the two, one’s telling the truth & the others a psychopath I wonder how many studies have been done on psychopaths & sociopaths to see where their little twitch may lie, when it comes to not showing normal reactions, as there must of been some done & even people like that, can give things away unless they’re exceptionally good, just not showing the right innocent signs quickly or in the right combinations

We’re on a closed network with redundant backups. Something like this should be impossible.”

If that thing connects to anything in anyway, it can be hacked, the harder it is to do the more fun it is

Whoever broke in had little trouble bypassing their security.

Actually, the harder this was to do, the more it exonerates Porter as he’s not exact a hacker is he? & if these do have good security, then you’d need your really know your stuff, it’s not a plug n play when it’s that level of sophistication

To say I was attracted to her would have been a serious understatement. She became my last thought as I drifted off to sleep and my first when I awoke. My hand felt empty without hers.

First love, you always remember it, no matter what age you were. I was 20 when I had my first serious boyfriend & still look at the photos & think of how great it all was, wonder what he’s doing now, all that romantic crap :)

“My point is, we think we know the people we work with, particularly when we spend a lot of time with a partner, but that doesn’t mean we really do.”

Yeah, I worked night shift with a close team of 3 other people but more than 2 of them, just 1 of them & myself worked the full shift, for years, as in over 10yrs… Yet it all got ruined, little fractures started to happen, but you still have to work together regardless, which can make things spiral, & they did. It wasn’t even work wise with it all, but outside of work too, but those spirals wait for no man & they just keep gathering speed until there’s nothing left, & there wasn’t, by the time I left I wasn’t talking to 2 of them, pretty much, & the other 1 didn’t last much longer. I think they were more work related friendships & when that ended…

“We need to see if it runs.”

You know if the author hadn’t made the early years of his so over the top, this could of been believable, but again while I know it happens, it’s just too much to all stick, something has to fall…

Questions are the foundation of knowledge, learning, discovery, and rediscovery. An inquisitive mind has no outer walls, an inquisitive mind is a warehouse with unlimited square footage, a memory palace of infinite rooms and floors and shiny pretty things.

So it is :) Any reader knows this, it’s why reading a book is better than watching a movie, as with our minds, we create a world with the author, a collaboration of sorts. Whereas watching a movie made of the book limits you to what has been decided by others, fences you in & while it may still be great, it will never reach the heights of our own imaginations.

“Secret Service?” Nash muttered. Poole shook his head. “They don’t allow facial hair.” “Seriously?”

Yeah this no or limited facial hair in the forces is weird, but I understand it after giving it a little thought.

Practically an apartment or a small house.

It’s not my apartment then, as it’s as small as a garden shed!

The coffered ceilings were at least ten feet tall, and the far wall was nothing but glass looking out over the lake.

Ok my ceilings are that high, & the main room is one long rectangle of living space with floor to ceiling glass & glass balcony, I’ll admit it looks nice at first, then you recluse most of your views a car park & shops, but hey they’re close, which is a bonus, & the park & beaches are a 5 minute walk away, even for me. I still hate it though, I love my birds & my home, where I was living will always be my home, 25yrs in the same place, so many memories & then all my birds, all gone, because some Ahole in the govt decided it was too dangerous to live there anymore! It was one, admittedly large, flood in 25ys, there were 2 others, but they were baby floods. But I didn’t have a choice, they were going to force me out & if I waited I may of missed out on the ‘buyouts’ as they only had so much money & when it was gone, it became ‘tough luck’ but I’m still crying over it every single day & getting invested into doing anything is SO difficult as I just want to ignore reality. Yes I know it’s depression, severe depression & I probably should be getting help for it, but I can’t afford a shrink.

“She’s a leading expert in kinesics. That’s the study of—” “I know what it is,” Poole interrupted.

Body language etc

“If someone hurt the mayor, why would his security staff try to cover it up?” Nash asked.

That was my initial reaction too why on earth would they do that?

Never anything like this, never blood.”

Ok, that’s understandable

“Where’s the woman?”

Assuming it was a woman

I had no idea what happened to him last night with Welderman and Stocks. Neither did Libby. I suspected Tegan and Kristina did, but none of them would tell the rest of us. The look that flew between Kristina and Vincent said as much.

It sounds unfair, but this is so much worse for boys than it is for girls, depending on different factors of course. It’s also worse for both as they’re doing it against their will & some will have little or no experience of what’s to come. I speak with actual personal knowledge when it comes to this, in more ways than one, it sometimes seems that when you’ve been abused once, other predators can sense this, just as much as those abused can many times pick out the abusers. No other living creatures treat others of their species in the horrific ways that human beings do, & I am not just meaning sexually. We should feel so ashamed of ourselves, we will, in time, kill all of us, kill all of the other species that happen to be something we want to eat, wear, hunt etc etc etc Then we’ll destroy the planet. Way to go us.

“What would she have to do?” I said this before I realized I spoke. I inched closer to Libby and felt her take my hand. She leaned in and whispered softly, “It’s okay.” It wasn’t okay, though.

Nope, it isn’t & it won’t, it changes you forever & there’s no taking it back, it’s done with no reboots & a new you that will have equal parts of rage & sadness & of not knowing what to do or who you are, your just another lost child.

“Tomorrow night you’ll go with the detectives, and I expect you to be on your best behavior.” My stomach sank, but I said nothing.

So it should, but this part of the storyline is a little off, as with their ages they’d know full well what happens in these ‘nights out’ & making it appear as though they mostly don’t is a little silly & the actual s/line would be better if it was just mentioned &/or thought about between just themselves, as in thoughts in their own heads or between each other.

when IT repurposed the machine, they didn’t wipe the drive as per protocol. They just created a new user account.

At work the computers had so many user accounts it was incredible & I’d put my $900K beachside apartment on them not wiping anything. Everyone used these, every day, pretty much every 5 mins or less than that as you had to login to print off labels & that’s being done by 10 odd people all at the same time, all day & night, often there’s a queue up for it.

Porter got to his feet again, did another lap around the bench, and blew into his hands. Every inch of his body shivered, quivered, and revolted.

Detective Freddy Welderman Detective Ezra Stocks

What about the woman running it?

Could someone have gotten her out of the hospital?

The tunnels should spring to mind…

Better those girls work for me than run around on the street on their own. We both know how that story ends.”

Absolutely agree

The first time is tough for everyone, but it gets easier. I can promise you that.”

No, it doesn’t, it just sinks into the first time, every further one I mean, it compounds & thickens & becomes a scar, & that,that gives you the ability to believe it’s nothing, it’s normal, it’s fine, but it’s not, it’s really never going to be fine again

All the underlined words fit their theory except for home. They never did figure that one out.

Because ‘home’ can mean ascending home to heaven for those of them that believe in that sort of thing… Or it literally means home, it’s just where that may be… or… It’s a code word? Something that means something to only a select group of people

The last thing Porter wanted to do was sit and wait, but he had little choice.

What exactly did he expect? Someone to be waiting there files in hand ?

“We think she was involved in a case Porter worked on here in Charleston. Her name was Rose Finicky.”

Oh really now? There’s so many people & moving parts in this that even my little red fishies are acting like stunned mullets, & they LOVE guesstimating My Spidey webs in hiding with a headache & moi, the last structural piece of my poor tired brain, The EGO is spinning in circles I do not know what to think, well, except for…I don’t think he’s in cahoots & I don’t think he’s involved & lost his memory or anything like that, surely that would be pushing it The books called the 6th child, but at the home there were 3 girls & 5 boys, so if you ignore 2 of them, take them out of the equation, that obviously leaves 6, & if it was him he’d have to be one of the boys & taking away Bishop that leaves you 4 to choose from Unless he has nothing to do with the home & met in therapy or whatever, assuming he’d have to of been at the home blocks off other avenues & I’m still C O N F U S E D!

“The dealer’s name was Weasel.”

Was it now?…

Pooled picked up a photograph of the note.

Pooled picked up a photograph of the note. Oh poor AI have so much to learn, no d on the end… although if this happened anywhere else I didn’t notice it, so it’s odd it’s just the once