Fire, The (22 page)

He walked to Third Street, turned south, and started his way toward Maude's. He continued toward Bank Street, found a favorite shortcut, an alley between two churches and a boarding house, and turned west for the final stretch.

When he approached the first church, he saw what he had expected to see: an unoccupied carriage used often to cart children from the church to Sunday picnics and other activities. When he approached the second church, he saw something he had not expected to see: a large, ugly man he had last seen on Easter near Garnet and Seventh. For the second time in an hour, Kevin went into fight-or-flight mode.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Johnson," the man said as he stepped into the middle of the alley.

"What do you want?" Kevin asked.

"I don't want anything. I'm here to deliver a message."

"Speak."

"It seems you have taken something that doesn't belong to you."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The man smiled, revealing a glorious gap is his horribly arranged front teeth.

"Oh, I think you do."

"Speak plainly, Mister, or get out of my way."

"I've been asked to tell you to stay away from Miss Thompson."

"That's not going to happen. Now, move."

Ugly smiled again, making Kevin wonder how far dentistry had advanced by 1910. When the man dropped his smile and balled his fists, Kevin knew the time had come to act. He charged forward in an attempt to push Ugly out of the way, but the effort failed. The man caught him as he passed and punched him in the side of the head.

Kevin turned quickly and put a fist in his opponent's stomach, sending him to the ground. Within seconds the combatants, evenly matched in size and strength, commenced a battle that seemed destined to end in a draw.

For more than a minute, the two exchanged blows, mostly to the midsection. Kevin learned quickly that Ugly was strong but slow. He moved slowly on his feet and reacted slowly when successfully attacked. He was more than durable, however, and refused to fall despite repeated punches to his midsection and ribs.

Kevin sensed an advantage when Ugly grabbed his side and fell to his knees. Making the most of six kickboxing lessons, he booted the man in the ribs and watched him roll over.

He saw Ugly roll to his side and writhe in pain. He saw the thug grimace and spit. He did
not
see the man's accomplice walk up behind him and strike him in the back of the neck.

After that, Kevin didn't see much at all. He wobbled forward and then turned around. He got his first glimpse of his second opponent just as a fist hit his face and day turned to night.

CHAPTER 40: KEVIN

"Let me do it," Andy said as he paced back and forth in Maude's living room. "Let me do it now. I could make it look like an accident."

Kevin chuckled as he held ice to a swollen eye.

"That would be a neat trick," he said.

Kevin loved the show of support. He agreed with Andy in spirit. He too wanted to put the hurt on Preston Pierce, but he knew that hanging the banker by his balls from the Bank Street Bridge was not a particularly constructive response to a brutal assault.

"You can't let this go unanswered. You can't," Andy said.

"I won't. I'll file a police report."

"That's it?"

Kevin wanted to say, "No. That's not it." He wanted to say that he liked the idea of imposing rough justice but that he also liked the idea of finishing the school year. He didn't know everything, but he knew that teaching physics from a jail cell might be a challenge.

"That's all I want to do for now."

"There's a place for you among the saints," Andy said. "I don't know how you can do it. I don't know how you can be so civil."

Kevin watched his friend and defender walk out of the room just as his Florence Nightingale walked in. Sadie brought a new cold compress, a wet cloth, and a gentle smile that had done more to ease his pain than four aspirin and a shot of whiskey.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm better. They mostly hurt my ego."

Sadie wiped Kevin's forehead with the wet cloth as he settled into an upholstered chair. When she finished, she sat on a nearby ottoman and looked at her patient with sympathetic eyes.

"Does Sarah know about this?"

"I doubt it," he said. "She went out with some friends. Thank God she wasn't there."

Kevin watched Sadie give him a fleeting smile and then turn away. He could see that she was trying to adjust to his social priorities, but he could also see that it was killing her.

"Do you want me to get word to her?"

Kevin smiled sadly and shook his head.

"No. I'll tell her in the morning when I tell everyone else at school. I'm sure she won't be the only one to ask why the science teacher has a black eye."

"What do you plan to tell them?" Maude asked from a nearby chair.

"What do you think I should tell them? Should I tell them that one of the most prominent businessmen in town hired two thugs to beat me up? I can't make a claim like that without proof and, right now, I don't have proof."

Maude got out of her chair.

"I understand your predicament, Kevin, but I also think Andrew is right. You can't let this stand. Preston Pierce is a bully and bullies need to be stopped or they'll continue to bully."

"You're probably right."

"I know I'm right, but I won't press the matter," Maude said as she walked toward the kitchen. "Can I get you anything? There is still pie left from dinner."

"I have everything I need, Maude. Thanks for asking."

Maude left the room.

"She
is
right, Kevin. They both are," Sadie said. "Mr. Pierce is a vile man. You of all people should know that. You remember the spot he put me in."

Kevin looked at Sadie and laughed to himself. He could ignore Andy's spirit and Maude's logic, but he wasn't at all sure he could ignore an angel with big brown eyes. He owed her. He owed her a lot. Maybe he
should
do something.

"I'll think about it, Sadie. I'm not big on vengeance, but I agree. Pierce needs to be put in his place," he said. "Maybe I can put my students on it and award extra credit to the one who comes up with the best way to torment a banker."

Sadie laughed.

"If you do that, I'll help you grade the papers."

"It's a deal."

Sadie got up from the ottoman.

"I should go. I have clothes to fold and a kitchen to clean."

She looked at him thoughtfully.

"Are you going to be OK?"

"I'm going to be fine, Sadie," Kevin said. "Thanks for looking after me."

She gave him a sad smile.

"It was the highlight of my day."

Sadie grabbed the old cold compress and walked toward a wicker table on the other side of the room. She picked up a stack of towels, turned to face Kevin one last time, and disappeared.

A moment later, Andy rushed into the room and grabbed his jacket and hat off a hook. He threw them on, looked at Kevin, and shook his head.

"Are you sure I can't at least break his legs?"

"Not this time," Kevin said with a chuckle. "Where are you going?"

"I'm meeting a friend for a wee bit of conversation."

"You're going to Maggie's?"

Andy laughed.

"I'm going to Maggie's."

"Say hi to Jasmine for me."

Andy smiled.

"I will," Andy said. He walked to the door. "Well, I'm out, my friend. I'll see you in the morning. Can I get you anything before I go?"

Kevin put the compress on an armrest and sat up in his chair.

"I don't need anything now, but I would like something later."

"What is it?"

"I'd like you to do me a favor. What are you doing Saturday night?"

Andy lowered his head and brought a hand to his chin.

"I don't think I'm doing anything. Why do you ask?"

Kevin got up from his chair.

"I want you to ask Sadie out. Sarah and I are going to dinner and then to a play, and I want you two to join us. I want Sadie to have a chance to get dressed up, have a nice dinner, and feel like a million bucks," he said. "I'll pay for everything. You just need to show up."

"It would be my pleasure."

Kevin nodded and smiled.

"Thanks, Andy," he said. "I feel better already."

CHAPTER 41: KEVIN

Saturday, April 23, 1910

It took Kevin less than five minutes in the Placer Room to decide that turning a date for two into a date for four was a great idea. Andy looked happy, Sadie looked happy, and, most importantly, Sarah looked happy.

That alone was progress. Sarah had been anything but happy when she had heard about the assault. She had been furious at Preston Pierce for allegedly masterminding the attack and angry with herself for having associated with a scoundrel for several weeks. She had expressed her feelings on the matter so clearly and frequently, in fact, that Kevin had considered adding her to the band of vigilantes that had wanted to lynch Pierce on Wednesday.

Kevin hadn't let her foul mood dissuade him from pursuing a double date. They needed a night like this as much as Sadie did. There was nothing like a dinner with friends and a comedy at the theater to put a bad week in the past. Sarah had agreed to his suggestion with enthusiasm.

"Thanks, Kevin," Sadie said.

Kevin gave her a puzzled look.

"Thanks for asking us along. Andy told me that this was your idea."

Kevin glared at the reporter.

"He's being modest. I merely suggested that we should do this sometime soon," Kevin lied.

"Well, thanks, anyway."

"You look nice, Sadie. Where did you get the dress?"

Kevin didn't wait for an answer. He instead let his eyes drift to the back of the room, where a well-dressed patron got in a heated exchange with a waiter over a table. When he returned to Sadie, he saw her stare at him with mildly scolding eyes.

"You bought it for me, remember? You bought it right before you left for Montana."

Way to start the evening, Kevin. Did you forget the names of your friends too?

"I'm sorry. I guess the whacks on my head caused short-term memory loss."

Andy laughed.

"I think you look nice as well. It's a lovely dress," Sarah said. "You're very fortunate to have a friend willing to buy you such a lavish gift."

Sarah raised an eyebrow and gave Kevin a sly grin from the other side of a round, linen-covered table. She left little doubt that she was going to enjoy the evening as much as anyone.

The waiter showed up a moment later and took their orders. Kevin and Andy requested a baron of beef, Sarah a Cornish game hen, and Sadie a filet of halibut. She had developed a liking for the fish on Easter, when she had cooked for eleven – a number that had tormented Kevin in April like a specter in a Dickens novel.

When the drinks came, Kevin took a sip of whiskey, a spirit of which he had become all too fond, and inventoried the facial expressions at his table. They ranged from alluring (Sarah) to wistful (Sadie) to blithe (Andy). Sensing that the latter might have other things on his mind, Kevin brought him into the conversation.

"So where were you all day? I had hoped we could all walk here together."

"I interviewed some old fart – sorry, ladies – who just moved here from Norfolk, Virginia. He's a Navy man who said he served on the
Monitor
and fought at Hampton Roads."

"Why is he news?"

"He's news because he's something of a prognosticator. He's correctly predicted everything from the Panic of '07 to the winner of last year's World Series to the death of one Samuel Langhorne Clemens."

Kevin smiled and moved his shoulders like he was doing some sort of touchdown dance.

"I did that."

"Yes, you did," Andy said. He zeroed in on his friend. "Perhaps now you can explain
how
you knew Mark Twain was going to expire. It happened just two days ago."

"He said he was going out with Halley's comet, didn't he? Didn't he? I was just going with his instincts. If anything, you should take this up with him."

The women laughed.

"What else does this guy predict?" Kevin asked.

"He says that Edward VII will go out with the comet too."

"He will," Kevin said with a smile.

"You're sure about that?"

"I'll bet you a dinner on it."

"You're on," Andy said.

Kevin glanced at Sarah and saw her look at him with both amusement and affection. He was scoring some points with his lady, but he wondered whether predicting something he knew was coming was wise. His life was complicated enough.

"Did he predict anything else?" Kevin asked.

"Oh, he said plenty. He said Taft will serve only one term and that an 'unsinkable' ocean liner will soon sink with tremendous loss of life and that another war, a big war, is coming."

Kevin stopped smiling. He didn't know this guy, the old fart who served on the
Monitor
, but he knew already that he was the most prescient man on the planet.

"He got particularly excited about naval issues," Andy continued. "He said that the European powers already have plans on the books to build the largest warships the world has ever seen."

Kevin looked at Andy and tried to digest everything he had heard. He took a sip of whiskey and pondered a follow-up question when an unlikely party spoke up.

"He's right," Sadie said. "The British are about to launch a dreadnought with ten thirteen-and-a-half-inch guns and a 22,000-ton displacement."

Kevin spit out his drink.

"I'm sorry," he said. He wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin. "They're going to what?"

"They're going to launch a new class of ships, called Orions. The ships will go really fast too – at least twenty-one knots – but only if all their boilers are working."

"Who told you that?"

Sadie beamed.

"
Jane's
did."

"Who's Jane?" Sarah asked.

Andy laughed.

"Oh, Lord, I've heard everything," he said.