Darkness Under the Sun: Dean Koontz

This short story starts out with stating this serial killer, Alton Turner Blackwood, learned to kill families from a little boy. When you meet the little boy you are unsure if he is also evil or if he is killed by the serial killer. The main character, Howie, is 10 or 11 when he meets Blackwood in an abandoned building. Howie is scarred from a fire his dad lit in attempting to kill him. Blackwood is disfigured from birth defects. Howie feels a peace with the older man he hasn't felt before with anyone. After making him lunch he asks the man to rent out their room as their renter had just moved out. Blackwood asks for his address and a picture of his sister and mother, then tells Howie he needs time to think about it. Howie is so excited he can't sleep and sometime after 9 pm goes back to the abandoned building to see if Blackwood has made a decision. The building is empty and a little boy that always taunted Howie has been murdered in the building. Howie goes back to his house and finds the window broken and the door unlocked. He yells for his mom to get the gun and is nearly killed as Blackwell throws a knife at him. Blackwell says if he ever tells anyone about him he will come back and kill his family. Howie seems to be watched by Blackwell's pet crow the rest of his life.