in an instant the smile faded and she snapped her teeth and yanked her head back as if she was chewing something free . `` we'l all have an ice-cream cake to celebrate ! he melted into the darkness , heading in the direction that grace had pointed him . it sailed out , stretching into a long ellipse that opened in the black skies . she has had pain all her life and now she is free of it . of course he 'd made an exhibition out of the tattoos , i thought , as my mind connected the dots . 