LLOYD, PAUL R. (13 page)

“Guess she had to go,” Micah said.

“Not funny. She was escaping those
gargoyles from hell.” Barbara headed for the stairs.

As they made their way down, Micah
asked, “Don’t you want your coffee?”

“Not if your house is haunted.”

“It’s only a little haunted. She
doesn’t bother anyone. She’s crabby today.”

“She’s jealous. And what about the
gargoyles? You didn’t tell me about them.”

“Think she’s jealous of you?”

“Yes.”

“Does she have reason to be
jealous?”

“Yes.”

“Hmmm. I like that.” Micah took
Barbara’s hand.

“Your ghost knows a babe when she
sees one.” Barbara passed the bottom of the steps on her way to the kitchen.
Micah followed.

“Why did you make so much coffee?”

Micah grabbed a mug from the dish
rack and filled it with coffee. “Had a funny feeling I was getting company
today.”

“Do you always act on your
feelings?”

Micah handed the mug to Barbara. “No.”

Barbara stepped closer. “Do you
have any funny feelings now?”

“I have a feeling we’ve company.”

“Huh?”

Micah stepped back and pointed to
the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room. Barbara turned around.

“I’m not interrupting, am I?”
Ahlman Brown asked.

“No, I was about to leave.” Barbara
patted Micah on the chest and smiled at him.

Micah said, “Stay. Please.” To
Ahlman, he said, “You can un-invite yourself out of my house.”

Ahlman’s raised his hands with the
palms up. “Sorry, you didn’t answer the door when I rang the bell.”

Micah glowered. “So you came in,
not knowing if I was home?”

Ahlman placed his hands in his
pocket and leaned against the wall. “Only to give you a message, old boy. I
have information for you.”

“What information?” Micah’s eyes
remained narrow.

“Can’t tell you here.”

“You can speak in front of Barbara.
I have nothing to hide.”

“No, meet me in the forest preserve
in Warrenville at four o’clock this afternoon.” Ahlman exited the front door.

“And keep your gargoyles out of my house,” Micah shouted.

Lionel Langdon
closed the lid on the small blue plastic ice chest at the base of the giant oak
tree in the Warrenville forest preserve. He lit a cigarette and leaned against
a tree while inhaling and exhaling smoke. He smiled while lost in thought about
his new hobby. He bent over to pick up his shovel. With the cigarette butt
planted between his lips, he began to spade dirt to refill a hole in the ground.

***

Micah took Barbara’s hand as he marveled
at the size of the giant oak tree towering above the rest of the forest off to
the side of the trail. He turned his attention to Barbara by gazing into her
deep green eyes.

Barbara swung Micah’s hand. “Thanks
for inviting me.”

“I didn’t want to meet Ahlman Brown
alone.”

“Like I’m the person to have by
your side in a fistfight – not!

“I don’t think
he invited me out into the woods to beat me up.  He can slip into my house
anytime he wants and punch out my lights again.” Micah tugged on Barbara’s hand
and led her down the trail.

***

Lionel Langdon didn’t know how he
knew Ahlman Brown stood behind him, but it gave him the willies. He stopped
pushing dirt into the hole. “Ahlman. Good, you’re here. It’s in the ice chest.”

“Excellent. But you made a
mistake.”

“Now what?”

“Micah Probert noticed you digging
here just now. I spotted him along the trail. You can catch him if you hurry.”

“What am I supposed to do when I find
him?”

“You still have room in the hole,
old boy.”

“Will you help me, Ahlman?”

“Me? Don’t be silly. I’m an angel.”

“I don’t know if I can go on
killing for you. This girl is much too young for my purposes and I have no
reason to murder Probert. What’s he done to me?”

“Of course you can kill him. He
raped your stepdaughter, remember? And he really did see you just now.”

“Yeah… yeah… You’re right.” Lionel
shook his head.

“You’re such a
bad liar. But kill him now before he gets away. Go!”

***

The sun stopped in the heavens. The
tree branches halted their swaying in the breeze. Birds ceased their singing
and listened. The insects paused their buzzing and chirring to observe. Micah
entered the moment in a relationship when the stars align. He leaned forward into
the silence to gather Barbara Mathers into his arms as she tilted her head
back.

In the midst of nature’s stillness,
the swoosh of the shovel made a deafening racket. Micah wondered if the guiding
hand of some worthy spirit pushed him forward in time for his assailant to miss.
Micah’s face bashed into Barbara’s and they both toppled to the ground. He
rolled off Barbara in time to see Lionel Langdon complete the arc of his swing.
Lionel lifted the shovel in a repeat attempt at mayhem.

Micah kicked with his right foot,
striking the shovel swinger in the kneecap. Lionel dropped his spade and crumbled
to the ground.

Micah pushed himself up and
assisted Barbara.

“My head is spinning,” Barbara
said.

“Your lip is bloody, too. Sorry, my
tooth hit you.”

“Most men I know are happy with a
simple kiss the first time around. The bites come later.”

“Sorry, but it was a passionate
moment, and you threw me for a loop.”

“Me? I’d say it was that guy embracing
his kneecap on the ground. He looks like the loopy type. We better leave now.”

“Why?”

“He’s swinging the shovel again.”

Micah grabbed Barbara’s hand, and
they ran down the trail away from Lionel Langdon and his shovel. When Micah gazed
back from a safe distance, Lionel had pulled himself up while using the shovel
like a crutch.

Micah started the engine as soon as
they were in the Jag.

Barbara fastened her seat belt. “We
should call the police and wait for them.”

“We should get away. No, you’re
right.” Micah fished into his pocket and pulled out his black cell phone.

The Forest Preserve police arrived
within five minutes of the call. Micah shut off his engine to the Jaguar
convertible when the squad car pulled up.

The officer strode quickly. Micah
and Barbara rushed to keep up.

The officer glanced over his
shoulder. “Why did he attack you with a shovel?”

Micah ran his fingers through his thick
chestnut hair. “Who knows? We were on a stroll minding our own business.”

Barbara nudged Micah. “We had
stopped, officer. Micah was about to kiss me. He never did that before.”

“Was he your boyfriend? Your
husband?” The officer continued the fast pace.

Barbara shook her head. “No, just
my new boyfriend.”

The officer stopped to give Barbara
a cold stare. “Was the guy who attacked you your husband?”

“He’s the principal of Ulysses S.
Grant High School,” said Micah.

“So you recognized him?”

“Yes, we both did,” said Barbara.

“Just ahead, officer. Right about
there.” Micah pointed.

“Here?”

“Yeah, about here. Wouldn’t you
agree, Barbara?”

“Yeah. It’s hard to say. It
happened so fast, but yeah, this appears to be the spot.”

“He’s not here now.” The officer
pulled out a notebook and began to write.

“I don’t think he’s far away,
officer. I nailed him with a kick to the kneecap. He went down fast.”

The officer stopped writing. “You
two go back to your car and wait. I’ll call for more officers to conduct a
search. If you see him, lock your car.”

“It’s a convertible, officer.”
Micah shrugged.

The officer pointed to the north. “The
Warrenville police department is right up the street about five blocks. If you
see him, head straight for the police station.”

Micah nodded. “Okay. Will this take
long?”

“No, as soon as we have a team in
place, I’ll be free to take your statement. I’m calling in now. We should have
half a dozen squad cars here inside of five minutes.”

Four hours later, after giving
their version of the incident to the forest preserve police, the Warrenville
police and the two state troopers, Micah and Barbara pulled out of the forest
preserve parking lot and headed for dinner.

“There’s a nice Italian place in the
Danada Shopping Center,” Micah said.

“I don’t feel safe at the moment,
not with a crazy man on the loose.”

“We can hide out in Oak Brook.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready to shack up
in a hideout with a perv.”

“Wouldn’t be just any perv.” Micah said.

“Hmmm. I get to hang out with my
very own private perv.” Barbara placed her hand on Micah’s lap.

“Yep.” Micah leaned towards
Barbara.

Barbara placed her hand on Micah’s
chest. “Let’s hold off while you’re driving. For that matter, let’s just hold
off for now. I’ll take a chance at home alone.”

“If you’re afraid and don’t want me
around, I can give you the keys to the Oak Brook house or put you up at a
hotel. In a room. By yourself.” Micah eyeballed Barbara and then focused back on
the road.

“By myself?” Barbara patted Micah
on the knee.

“If that’s the way you want it.”

Barbara picked her purse up from
the floor of the convertible. “That’s sweet of you, Micah. Thank you but I’ll
pass for the moment. The more I think about it, the more I just want to go
home, take a hot bath and go to bed.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“Alone.”

When Micah pulled up to Barbara’s
apartment complex, she jumped out of the Jaguar and ran into her building.
Micah gazed at the stars which were out of kilter.

With the roar of the fire in the distant
trees, Micah ran. He did not see the girls in the meadow as on past visits. He hoped
they were safe. His dry mouth scratched for air. His lungs gasped but clutched
smoke. He fell and then woke up to real smoke in his bedroom in Naperville.

He ran to the window. Despite the
darkness, he spotted Ahlman Brown hovering beyond the edge of the backyard
about fifty feet off the ground. Ahlman shrugged, smiled and flew out of sight.

Micah found his bedroom door
locked. He ran to the window a second time and slid it open. He climbed over
the sill, but before dropping, remembered his wallet, keys, cell phone and
clothes. He ran back into the smoke. The pioneer woman floated into the room
through the locked door. Ethereal fire streamed behind her as she flailed her
arms and screamed. Micah found his wallet and keys. Fritz gave out a fierce and
frightened “meowr” before jumping onto Micah’s bed.

“Why are you here, Fritz? He
fumbled around for his shoes but couldn’t find them.

Meanwhile the
smoke increased in intensity and the ghost began to blister as her clothes and
skin caught fire. Micah grabbed Fritz and headed for the window, but it slammed
shut.

***

In the Edgewater apartment complex,
Barbara Mathers tossed in her sleep. She opened her eyes, but the sting of the
smoke made her shut them again. She could hear the flames searing nearby.

From somewhere in the room she
heard a lispy, “Meowr.”

She waved her arms wide as she opened
her eyes again. “Go away!” A path cleared in the smoke. The path filled with a
swarm of tiny demons with talons out and pointed tails set like spears against
Barbara. She stretched out her arms. “Go away, I said.” The demons flashed and
disappeared.

She padded her way to the window
through the path in the smoke. When she reached it, she heard a large thump and
a crash of glass. A fireman pushed glass out of the window opening with an axe.

“Hurry this way,” the fireman
called. “Watch out for the glass.” He stretched out an arm for Barbara to latch
onto.

She pulled at a curl in her hair. “I
don’t have my shoes.”

“Nevermind your shoes. Reach out so
I can grab you.”

Barbara pushed her hands through
the window where the fireman had cleared away the glass. A sharp sting struck
the bottom of her left foot.

“Ouch,” she called. She reached for
the man’s hands and allowed him to pull her out. As she glanced back, a cat
poised on the windowsill.

“Are you going back for him?”
Barbara asked.

“Back for who?”

“That cat on the windowsill.”

The fireman swung around to look. “I
don’t see a cat.” He turned again so Barbara could see the windowsill.

“He must have
jumped,” Barbara said.

***

Micah Probert limped into Bob’s
Coffee Emporium in downtown Naperville as soon as it opened. He wore the tee
shirt and blue jeans he had on when he escaped from his burning house. Soot
smeared his face.

Barbara sat at a table with a cup
of coffee in her hand, a bandage on her left foot, and a smile on her face.  Micah
nodded at Barbara.

Bob Wolonsky approached. “No shoes,
no shirt, no service.”

Micah opened his arms. “I have a
shirt. Won’t have shoes until the stores open.”

“Cut him some slack.” Peevy’s voice
was stern.

Micah turned to the counter with
his mouth and eyes wide.

Peevy returned his questioning
glance with a severe face. “Giving you a break today. Don’t ask me why. I don’t
care that your house burned down last night. It was your house, wasn’t it?”

Micah detected a look of concern on
Peevy’s face. He smiled. “Yes.”

“Your place burned, too?” Barbara ambled
over and hugged him. “You need a bath.”

“Yeah, you should talk. What
happened?”

“Apartment caught fire. Barely got
out alive.”

Micah turned to Peevy. “Are you willing
to sell me a cup of coffee?”

Peevy held up an empty coffee cup. “The
stuff that takes the hair off your chest?”

“It burned off last night. Do you
have the kind that will put the hair back on?” Micah approached the service
counter.