LLOYD, PAUL R. (25 page)

“What could she possibly want from
me?” Micah pointed at Janice. His heart’s rapid thumping surprised him.

Janice turned toward him as she
collected herself. She leaned back in her seat and wiped the tears with the
back of her hands. “Micah, I know you hate me…”

“No surprise there.” Micah placed
his hands on his hips.

“Micah, please!” Pastor Fromritz
raised a hand in warning.

“I… I… I hate myself for what I did
to you, Micah. I didn’t mean to lie. I’m so sorry.” Janice placed her hands to
her face and sobbed. She slipped to the floor with her face buried at Pastor
Fromritz’s feet.

“A little late for the truth,
bitch.” Micah spun around and stormed out of the sanctuary.

“Micah!”
Pastor Fromritz called.

***

Micah stared into Peevy’s eyes. “I
hate your sister.”

“So what else is new?” Peevy
smiled.

“She confessed she lied.”

Peevy’s knees buckled and she
dropped to the floor. She stood back up right away and stared at Micah. She
stomped back and forth behind the counter picking things up and slamming them
down. “No. No. No. I knew it. I knew she lied the whole time.”

Micah covered his mouth with his
hand. “Fifteen years in prison.”

Peevy stopped. “I’m… Micah… I don’t
know what to say.”

Micah took a deep breath before
speaking. “You don’t have to say anything, Peevy. It’s too late. There’s
nothing to be done. I’m totally torqued right now.”

Tears flowed from Peevy’s eyes.
“Micah, I loved you so much. I’m sorry.”

Micah touched Peevy’s arm with the
tips of his fingers. “You stood by your sister. What else could you do? She’s
family. Man, I’m ticked.”

“You want a drink. I mean a coffee
or tea. Sorry that’s as strong as we have.” Peevy pulled a large cup from the
cup holder.

“I’m pissed.” Micah slammed a fist
on the counter.

“I’ll pour the dark stuff.” Peevy
turned back to the coffee machine.

“Make it a decaf mocha.” Micah
smiled when Peevy turned around.

“On the house, Micah.” Peevy worked
on the drink. “Janice say why she lied?”

Micah looked up at Peevy. “Didn’t
stick around long enough to find out.”

“The bastard.”

“What?” Micah placed a hand on
Peevy’s wrist.

“My stepdaddy. Lionel Langdon. The
one the police are looking for because he attacked those young girls. Bet he
messed with Janice. Bet Janice covered up. Stupid, freaking Janice. She was just
a kid. Micah, I’m sorry. I should have seen it. He must have screwed around
with Janice.”

“What’s that have to do with me?”
Micah sipped his mocha.

“Don’t you see? If daddy dearest
was doing Janice, he would have threatened her or bribed her in some way to
keep her mouth shut.”

“I still don’t see what this has to
do with me?”

Peevy shook her head a few times.
“She would have lied to protect Lionel Langdon.”

Micah threw his hands up. “Protect
him from what? All she had to do was keep her mouth shut. She didn’t have to
accuse me of anything.”

“That’s true.” Peevy rubbed her
chin.

“Maybe she was pregnant?”

“But she wasn’t.” Peevy gestured
with a palms up motion.

“Maybe you should speak with your
sister, Peevy.”

“Good idea. Hold on, my cell is
vibrating.”

Micah looked out the new window at
the street traffic but saw no sign of Barbara.

“Barbara wants to know if the coast
is clear.”

“What?”

“Said to check to see if you’re mad
at her.”

“Why would I be angry with her?”

“You’re a man?”

“That would explain why she’d be upset
with me. But why would I be angry with her?”

“Hold on, I’ll ask.”

Micah sipped his drink while Peevy
mumbled into the cell phone and then listened.

“Something about a secret meeting
with your pastor.”

“The meeting had nothing to do with
her. Hand me your phone.”

Peevy passed the cell phone to
Micah.

“Hi, sweetie. Are you hiding out
from me?”

Barbara’s voice contained an Irish
lilt. “When Fromritz said he wanted to see you alone, I figured it had to be
bad news about me.”

“Oh, love, I’m sorry. I revolve
around you. Why don’t you come back to Peevy’s? I’ll explain when you get here.”

“I can’t. I quit my job.”

Micah handed Peevy her phone. “Tell
her all is forgiven and to come home to us.”

Peevy took the phone. “Come home,
Barbara. The perv misses you, and I’m tired of feeding him free drinks.”

Micah slammed his fist on the
counter. “Wait until I find Langdon.”

Lionel Langdon pushed the stub of
his cigarette out on the last remaining slice of pizza from several days past.
The smoke billowed in front of his face as he exhaled. The muffled noise of an
automobile carried from the distance. He paced to the back of the truck trailer
and slid the door up. The blast of sunlight blinded him until his eyes
adjusted.

Across the macadam parking lot, a
red sports coupe made its way around several derelict tractor trailers and old
sedans. As the car approached, Lionel harrumphed. He sat on the edge of the
truck trailer and waited.

The car stopped. Ahlman Brown climbed
out.

Lionel fumbled for another
cigarette. “Not flying today?”

“The transportation is for you, old
boy.”

“Any place would be better than
this hellhole.” Lionel dropped to the ground.

“Don’t insult the master’s lair.”
Ahlman’s eyes blazed.

“You mean this hellhole or the one
down below?” Lionel stuffed a cigarette between his lips.

Ahlman chuckled. “Don’t push your
luck.”

Lionel strode over to the red car.
“Where are we headed?”

“You have a job to finish.”

Lionel crossed his arms. “Can’t
finish it if I can’t find him.”

“Take this.” Ahlman pulled a pistol
from his belt.

“What’s that?” Lionel stepped
closer to Ahlman.

“A Kel-Tec P-32. It conceals nicely
so you can carry it in Chicago.”

Lionel took the gun. “Didn’t you
want me to blow them up?”

“Now, I prefer you shoot them.”

“And how will I find them?” Lionel stared
up into Ahlman’s eyes.

“They’re staying at the Algonquin.”

“You want me to pop into the hotel
and ask for them?”

Ahlman smacked Lionel across the
head. “Didn’t you used to be smart? Wait outside for them to take a summer
stroll on the Magnificent Mile. Walk up to them from behind so they don’t see
you. Shoot them in the back. Three shots in the middle should penetrate through
to the heart. If not, they’ll bleed to death anyway. You may shoot them in the
back of the head if you want. But I’d prefer you shoot them in the back. You
might miss aiming for their tiny heads.”

“Shoot them both three times?”

“Four if you want. Here, take
another clip. You can shoot to your heart’s content.”

“In broad daylight? On Chicago’s
Magnificent Mile?”

“Nobody will notice. They’re too
busy shopping. Act fast. Cut out fast. By the time bystanders react, you’ll be
long gone, and no one will have a clear description of you.”

“What about the gun?” Lionel aimed
at the truck trailer he’d been sleeping in.

“Make your way to Burnham Harbor
and board the Lucky Lucy to go fishing. The captain is a friend of mine. She’ll
be waiting for you. When nobody is looking, drop the gun over the side.”

Lionel tucked the gun into his
waistband. “Okay. Then may I leave town?”

“You want to travel to a warm
climate before winter, don’t you?”

“I want to relocate to South
America.”

“Trust me.
After this project, you’ll never have to worry about cold weather again.”

***

Bob twirled the gun around his
finger like a cowboy with a six shooter. “Have one of these, Micah?”

“No.”

“You might want to get one.”

“Why?”

“Protection.”

The girls appeared behind Bob in
the meadow. There were more of them today. Ginny touched Micah on the arm. “They
want to kill you. We see a gun.”

A feeling of dread spread over
Micah. “Here in the meadow?”

Bob shook his head. “In your world,
Micah. Be careful.”

“You know, one
of the nice things about this meadow is you never see any mosquitoes. Have you
guys noticed?” Micah smiled.

***

The bright morning sun blinded
Micah as he stepped out onto Huron Street from the Algonquin. He faced east towards
the lake.

Barbara grabbed his arm. “This
way.” The couple headed for Michigan Avenue, away from the lake. At Michigan
where they turned right.

Micah recognized the sense of dread
he had experienced in the meadow of his dream world. “Something is wrong.”

“You wearing your armor?”

“I hope so.”

Turn around.
It was a
command from inside Micah’s head, powerful and pure, filled with authority.

Barbara dropped to the ground as
Micah spun around. Lionel Langdon tripped over Barbara and landed head first on
the concrete sidewalk. A gun slipped out of his hand. Micah kicked the firearm
away and pushed Lionel into the sidewalk to hold him down.

“Help. Someone call the police,”
Micah shouted.

“Nice work, Micah.” Barbara rose to
her knees.

A small crowd began to circle around
the trio. Lionel struggled to free himself, but Micah would not release him.

“What’s going on here?” said a
voice behind Micah.

Micah looked over his shoulder and noticed
a police officer. “This man is wanted for murder in DuPage County, officer. And
he pulled a gun on me and my fiancée.”

“Where’s the gun now?” asked the
officer.

“I kicked it away,” said Micah.

“Okay, you kicked it, but where is
it now?” The officer looked around at the small circle of people surrounding
them. “Anyone see a gun?”

After a few people shrugged and others
made an effort of searching the area, the officer said, “Great. Somebody stole
the gun.”

Lionel Langdon smiled at the
officer. “I never had a gun, officer. These people attacked me. I want to press
charges.”

The officer barked into his
shoulder mounted radio. By the time he had Lionel Langdon up against a wall and
cuffed, several Chicago police cars had brought a team of police to the scene.

“Looks like you folks are in for a
reward,” said the officer.

“Don’t want a reward, officer. You
keep it. I’m satisfied as long as Lionel Langdon is behind bars.”

“You nabbed
him fair and square. You’ll receive a check I’m sure as soon as the DuPage County
authorities hear about your fine work.”

***

Over breakfast, Micah asked, “How
come you dropped to the ground at precisely the right moment? Did Lionel push
you?”

“No. I sensed his presence.”

“Did God tell you to drop, because
he told me to turn around?”

“I guess
you’re not the only one with friends in the spirit world, Micah.”

***

Micah paused on the top steps of
the Naperville church.

Barbara squeezed his hand. “Waste
of time, right?”

“I liked the architecture.”

“That speech Fromritz gave was
better than a sleeping pill.”

“I slept through most of it, too.
He should know better than give a speech on Sunday morning.” Micah took Barbara
by the arm and led her down the church steps.

Barbara said, “I found the music
dull.”

“I wouldn’t want to hear it
everyday, but classical music is nice, especially early in the day. I liked the
pipe organ. The couple who sang had outstanding voices. And the slow pace
relaxed me. Why would they mix slow-paced music with a boring speech on a
Sunday morning? I didn’t have to think about anything. I let the music take me
where it wanted to go. But I woke up near the end when he told us to have a
good week.”

“So you’ll want to come again next
week?” Barbara brushed her fingers through her red hair.

“If you want to.”

“This God stuff is a waste and the
quest thingy is flat out dangerous. I say we cut out for the wilderness,
partner.”

“I feel good about the quest. I
think we’ll win.”

“What if you die in the process?”

“Hadn’t considered the possibility.
I wonder if you can win a quest. Don’t you have to slay the dragon, save the
damsel and such? That is winning, isn’t it?” Micah reached into his pocket for
the keys to his car. From behind he heard footsteps and turned around to detect
Janice Gordon approaching.

“Crap.” Micah’s face formed a
disgusted look.

Barbara punched him on the arm. “Shhh!
Hello, Janice.”

Janice planted two feet solid on
the ground as she looked Micah in the eye. “I know you hate me. I hate myself
for what I did to you and what happened to me. I was a stupid kid. Someone hurt
me bad and I blamed you.”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“I understand, but please, for your
own sake, let me explain what happened. It won’t take long and at least you’ll
understand why I did what I did.”

“The only talking I want you to do
is to the state’s attorney and the governor so I can have my name cleared. And
my conviction reversed.”

“I’ve already spoken to my
attorney. I’ve explained everything to my husband and he supports me. Give me
five minutes. It’s better for you if you know, and it’s better for me to bare
my soul to you. Please, Micah. Let me try to be the Christian I want to
become.”

“How can a sinner like you become a
Christian?” Micah spat on the parking lot at Janice’s feet.

Janice looked down at the spit,
some of which landed on her pointed high heel shoes. “Micah, I tried. I’m
sorry.” She spun around and stepped away.

Barbara nudged Micah in the ribs.
“She deserved it.”