Crucifax (24 page)

Bainbridge looked around at the horrified and confused faces, saw the tears in Mrs. Wanamaker's eyes—

"Reverend, Reverend," she was whispering.

—and got down on his knees.

"Pray," he said hoarsely, a desperate sense of urgency coursing through his veins. "Kneel with me and pray for protection and guidance, because he's out there now, laughing at us—"

And what are the words for what you did, Reverend?

"—looking for our weaknesses, preying on them right now, this man, this evil, vicious disciple of Satan—"

…
for what you did
…

The reverend felt sick as he knelt on the floor, knowing by the frozen expressions on their faces that he wasn't getting through to them.

"—waiting for us to open ourselves up to him, to make the smallest mistake, to take our eyes from the Lord for one moment—"

We're doing the same work.

"—to doubt His Word for an instant—"

You want them to be what
you
want them to be.

Bainbridge closed his eyes and for a moment began responding to the remembered words in his head as if they were being spoken into his ear:

"No, no, what
God
wants them to be, His will be done,
His
will be—"

I
sure hope you aren't an example of
good….

"No, that was a mistake, a
mistake,
the Lord
forgives,
He—"

A hand on his shoulder.

A soft voice:

"Reverend, why don't you lie down, please…."

He opened his eyes. Mrs. Wanamaker was standing over him.

The kids were leaving, quietly filing out with their coats and Bibles.

"No! Don't let them go out there! No! He's waiting, that's what he
wants!
"

Ellen and two of the boys went down the hall toward their rooms, whispering quietly to one another.

Bainbridge's head was spinning when he tried to get up. He fell on his stomach, sobbing, fists clenched.

"He's waiting… he's waiting for them…."

The door closed.

They were all gone.

Mrs. Wanamaker put her arm around him and tried to help him up.

"You don't know… what I've seen," he muttered, his hands still clinging to each other in a prayerful clench. "You don't know what he's done to those kids, what he's done to… to Nikki. Poor… dear… sweet… Nikki…"

"Reverend. Let me call a doctor. Please."

He smacked his lips several times. "No, there's no reason to call a doctor." Then, after a moment of thought: "Is there?"

It suddenly occurred to him that perhaps—just perhaps —it had not happened. Perhaps that horrible thing he'd witnessed in Mace's dark and damp basement had been a hallucination, a dreadful waking nightmare.

But he knew it could not be. What he'd seen was real, and those kids, as well as others, were in deep and terrible danger. He knew it would be unwise to go to the police; if Mace had told the truth and those three men in there were police officers, how could Bainbridge know there weren't other policemen involved with him, maybe the whole force?

Who
could
he turn to, then? Certainly not his kids, who had just hurried out like house guests fleeing an embarrassing family argument. And Bainbridge could tell, as he looked up into the confused and pitying eyes of Mrs. Wanamaker, that the poor woman feared he was suffering some kind of breakdown.

Bainbridge's only source of help and guidance was the Lord, and that made him laugh out loud. After what He'd allowed to happen to Nikki, the reverend had no reason to think the Lord would lend him an ear.

"Can I call someone, Reverend?" Mrs. Wanamaker whispered. "I think you need help."

The reverend got to his feet and stood on wobbly legs, trying to compose himself.

"No, Mrs. Wanamaker. Thank you, but no. I… I'm sorry for disturbing the group. Terribly sorry." He felt himself slipping again, ready to release another sob, but he sucked it in and scrubbed a hand over his dirty face. "I think I'll take a hot bath; why don't you, um, go home for the night?"

"Heavens, no. I have to clean up yet, and I'm worried about you. Maybe you shouldn't be alone, maybe I should—"

"That's very kind, Mrs. Wanamaker, but unnecessary. Thank you anyway." He seated himself on the sofa and waved at her to go away. He remained there as she gathered her things up to leave.

The reverend sat there smacking his lips, deep in thought. He truly did have no one to turn to… except for one very old and long-neglected friend….

He could taste it.

After Mrs. Wanamaker left, the reverend went to his
^-
room, browsed through his phone book, and made a call to Duffy's Liquors. The ad in the phone book said: "WE DELIVER!"

J.R. leaned against his kitchen counter facing Jeff. A section of the fluorescent ceiling light buzzed and flickered, in need of repair. Jeff was standing against the wall by the window, his hair wet from the shower he'd taken earlier. He wore J.R.'s white terrycloth bathrobe. His clothes, along with Lily's, were in the wash downstairs.

J.R. had not been able to get anything out of them as he drove them to his apartment. Both had been near hysteria, especially Lily. She'd been so upset that, against his better judgment and with visions of lawsuits dancing in his head, J.R. gave her some brandy to calm her down and warm her up while Jeff was in the shower.

Once Lily was in the shower, Jeff began to tell J.R. what had happened. Speaking in fits and starts, his eyes darting nervously around him, Jeff related to him the events of that afternoon—watching Mace, Nikki, and Bainbridge from the window of Dangerous Visions, watching Mace disappear down a manhole—and told him how they'd followed Mace's trail that evening. That was where Jeff lost him.

"Wait, wait just a second," J.R. said. "Who
is
this Mace guy?"

"I'm… not sure."

"How do you know who he is? Have you met him?"

"Once. Yesterday. In the Galleria." A shudder passed through Jeff, and he drew the robe together in Front of his throat.

"What?" J.R. asked. "What aren't you telling me?"

Jeff slowly shook his head. "You'll think I'm crazy."

J.R. laughed. "You call me collect From six blocks away, I find you in Front oF a Chevron station covered with shit because, From what I understand, which isn't much so Far, you spent the evening in a sewer. So don't worry, Jeff, if I were going to think you're crazy, I'd be thinking it by now."

Jeff turned away From him and looked out the window. J.R. knew that his attempt at humor had Failed. He went on in a more serious tone.

"I can tell this guy scares you, Jeff. Why?"

"He… knows things about me. Things that he shouldn't know. Can't know."

"Like what?"

"My sister…"

"I knew you had a sister before I even met you. It was on my list. Just because—"

"No, no. He knew things… things I've never told anyone. Things I've only… only thought. Things…"

"Things about your sister."

Jeff turned fully away from him and looked out at the rainy darkness. He was fidgeting.

"How long before the clothes will be done?"
he
asked.

"Look, Jeff… if it's too personal, you don't have to—"

"It's not that it's personal, it's just…" His voice thickened, and he stopped to gulp loudly. "There's… something… wrong with me."

J.R. knew then that he'd been right about Jeff's feelings for Mallory, and he could see how deeply it disturbed the boy.

"I think I know what you're talking about Jeff," he said cautiously. "I'd have to be blind not to see it in your face when you talk about your sister, hear it in your voice. Believe me, there's nothing wrong with you. It's not uncommon. I used to spend a lot of time with my sister. We were very close. I was a late bloomer—I didn't start dating until college—so we were best friends. Lots of brothers and sisters develop crushes on each other. Cousins, too. No, there's nothing wrong with you."

Jeff said nothing.

"But… what makes you think Mace knows about this?"

"In the Galleria, he… he came up to me and started talking about girls, said he had just the girl for me. And he described her. Mallory, I mean. And he… he
made a couple references to… well, I have these dreams about her, and… I think he knows."

"What? How… I don't understand."

"Neither do I. But I think he has my sister down there."

"Down where?"

Jeff went on to tell J.R. of the hole they'd found in the sewer and the room it had led to. He described it in detail, including the musical instruments he'd seen. Then he told him of Kevin's plans to meet with a man who'd promised to help the band.

"I think Mace is that man," Jeff said.

"So where is this room?"

"In the old health club at Ventura and Whitley. I
followed them there one night." He chuckled coldly. "See? There is something wrong with me."

He told J.R. about the swimming pool, the reverend being there, the animals that were crawling around the room and that had chased him from the building once before.

And then he told him what they'd heard happen to Nikki.

"Jesus Christ!" J.R. blurted, standing up straight with a jolt of fear. "Jesus, we should call the police!" He suddenly felt frantic, started to leave the kitchen to go to the phone.

"Wait, J.R. It's not what you think. Nikki was pregnant. Bainbridge, the Calvary Youth guy, was the father. And Mace made him watch while… while he aborted the baby."

"For Christ's sake, Jeff, she could die, if she hasn't already! What did he use on her?"

Jeff seemed to pale a bit, and his hands trembled as he said, "I think he used his… tongue."

J.R. didn't think he heard right at first. "I'm sorry?"

"His tongue."

The conversation suddenly tilted, became something different altogether, a joke, maybe, or drugs, maybe they'd been taking drugs.

"Jeff, that's… what you're telling me is…"

Jeff began to cry. His face twisted, and his eyes welled with tears. "It came out of his mouth like… like a snake. He put it inside her and just… We ran out as fast as we could, but he caught up. Lily went on ahead of me. He… he was laughing at me, inside, he was laughing. As I left he said I'd need him, that he wanted to be my friend or something, and that I'd need him soon, and he… he called me… he said, 'You'll need a friend… big brother.'"

J.R. nearly cried out at the words.

Big brother.

You lose, big brother….

J.R. said, "What… what does he look like, Jeff? This guy?"

"Tall, thin. Long platinum hair spiked on top. His eyes … he's got weird eyes. They're… I don't know, like a gold color."

J.R. sucked in a breath and pressed his lips together, remembering the woman who drove his sister away from him for the last time. Her eyes had been a pale gold… strange, so coldly confident and knowing….

You're thinking crazy,
J.R. told himself, shaking his head as if to rid it of his chilling thoughts.

"We have to call the police, Jeff," he said.

"No, no," Jeff replied, still trembling. "He's got three of them in there now, cops, friends of his. You didn't see what we saw, J.R. This guy… he's…" His whole body quaked. "He's not human, he's deadly, deadly as hell, and… and he's got my sister in there, I just know it. If he doesn't right now, he has in the past and he will again, and I'm afraid for her, J.R., I'm scared shitless."

"Okay, okay, just think a second, Jeff. Does your mom know about this? About Mace?"

He shook his head.

"Is she home now?"

"No. At work"

"All right. WeVe going to have to talk to her about this."

J.R. realized he was trembling, too, and he nearly shouted when he heard a sound to his left.

Lily stood in the doorway wrapped in a huge towel with a blanket over her shoulders. She looked upset but seemed much more composed than she'd been earlier.

"Can I use your phone?" she asked him.

"Sure."

"Who're you calling?" Jeff asked, following her into the living room.

"Nikki. Maybe… I don't know, I thought maybe I could talk to her mother. But she's probably drunk, passed out on the sofa." She punched the number out with an unsteady hand, glancing questioningly at Jeff.

"I told him," Jeff said, with a nod toward J.R.

The three of them were silent as Lily waited for someone to answer the phone.

"Nikki?" she gasped. "It's Lily, are you all right?" She began to cry but tried to hide it in her voice. "Asleep? How long have you been home?… Bullshit, I know you were out! Nikki, I was there! I saw you! With that—that… No, I wasn't spying, I just—no, no, wait a second."

J.R. released a quiet sigh of relief and exchanged a glance with Jeff.

"But what was he
doing
to you?" she asked impatiently. "Oh, that's bull—no, I just wanted to… Okay. Okay. I was just worried, Nikki, that's all." She looked confused, disoriented. "I'm coming over tomorrow. I want to talk to you. You're… you're sure you're okay?… Yeah, all right. 'Night." Her hand slowly lowered the receiver back to its cradle. She looked at them with a befuddled, open-mouthed expression. "She was asleep. She got home about half an hour ago. Says she's stoned and tired, but… but she's fine."

"What did he do to her?" Jeff snapped, sounding half-angry.

Lily shrugged. "She was pissed at me, accused me of spying on her, and… and said he was just a friend of hers. They were… fooling around. He was just…" She laughed humorlessly. "He was just going down on her."

"But what about the reverend and—"

"She wouldn't talk anymore. She's tired. We're supposed to talk tomorrow."

J.R. was immensely relieved. Jeff had had him going for a while, nearly speechless with dread. He smiled now.

"Look, you two," he said, "I hate to say this, but… well, did you do any drugs tonight?"

"No!" Jeff snapped. "We didn't! I told you what we saw."

"I'm not calling you a liar or anything, Jeff, but… what you say you saw is impossible. Absolutely impossible." Jeff started to reply, his eyes angry, but J.R. held up a hand. "Wait, I'm not dismissing what you've told me. This guy Mace sounds like trouble. I promise you, I'll do what I can about him. If your sister's hanging around with him, I'll have a talk with your mother, and we'll keep her away from him. But for now… well, when your clothes are done, I think you two should go home and get some sleep. Whatever you saw or thought you saw obviously scared the hell out of you. If you want, come back over here tomorrow, and we'll figure out who we can talk to about this Mace character. In fact, if you want, we'll go over there together, and I'll talk to the son of a bitch myself. Okay? But tonight… just get a good night's sleep. Everything sounds okay with Nikki. I'll talk to her. We'll take care of everything. There's nothing to worry about." He was wrong….