Real Magic (22 page)

Holding back his tongue, Duncan rested against the wall and listened. He figured it would be best to let Forrest tell this in his own way. Though part of him wanted to pressure the damaged man into getting to the point, he feared Forrest might have a fit or shut down or worse. And it wasn't just because of the obvious mental problems Forrest suffered. Duncan sensed a tension growing underneath the story. His card-cheater's sense told him to be wary — something wasn't as it seemed.

Forrest popped to his feet as he spoke, gesturing with his hands held at awkward angles. "The man came out of a tent and he had a big cone he spoke into and his voice grew bigger.
'Come on in! See the show!'
I ran ahead of Ma, ran right past people in line so I could get to the front but everybody was laughing so I guess it was okay. And they even let Ma join me up front which was good because I didn't like being alone." He froze and his face twitched.

"And this was The Amazing Verido?" Morty asked.

"Yeah," Forrest said, his voice losing all sense of life. "This was The Amazing Verido. This was him. Not the man with the cone. That was the money man you had to pay to get in. We sat in the front row and Ma bought popcorn and we sat there eating and eating and eating and I ate so fast my belly hurt. And then the show started."

While Duncan knew to be patient, Morty barreled onward. "Yeah, tell us about the show. Did Verido perform the Door of Vanishing trick?"

Forrest turned to Morty and nodded like he feared he might wet himself.

"And?" Morty said.

Duncan said, "It's okay, Forrest. Tell us when you're ready."

Forrest nodded, visibly torn between the desire to please his new audience and the fear of telling this next part of the story. Struggling with his words, he said, "The show was real good. The Amazing Verido was the best. He wore a cape and top hat and he had this girl assistant who was so beautiful, so beautiful. And they did the tricks, all kinds of tricks. He made birds appear in his hat and they were real and they flew over our heads. He had a special bag that you put things in and they turned into other things. Ma and I were so happy. Then the girl brought out a door." Forrest took a deep breath, his bottom lip shaking, and spoke the next part as fast as he could get it out. "It was on wheels and she put it sideways and Verido walked through it and it was just a door in a frame and then he turned it facing us and he had the girl go through and close the door and then he said magic words and when he opened the door she was gone but then he closed the door and opened it again and she was back." Forrest jumped onto the cot, knocking into Morty without any care. In a booming voice, he said, "
I need a volunteer from the audience! I need a brave soul to help me astound you all.
I raised my hand and Ma raised her hand and he picked us. He picked us!" He stepped back to the floor, the tension within him dropping into a sad energy. "And while he talked with us, the girl wheeled the door away and I was sad because I thought it would be fun to disappear in a magic door. I told him that and he smiled. He asked the audience if they wanted to see it, and they cheered. So the girl wheeled the door out again only this time she put it sideways. Then he did the trick. He had me stand on one side of the door and Ma on the other and he had Ma walk through the door to me. And ... and she vanished."

Forrest looked straight at Duncan. "She was gone."

"Aw, kid, that's terrible," Morty said. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"I waited. All the people left and they were quiet and scared and I waited. But she didn't come back. The man came to me and said he was sorry but I had to go. But what about my Ma? He said he had to move the show on and I had to go. But what about my Ma? He said The Amazing Verido sent her home and I should go check there. Okay. I'll check home. I ran and ran and ran home. I never run so fast in all my life. But she wasn't home. Ma never came back. Never ever. When Pa got home, he looked and looked and he couldn't find her too. He took me back to the show but the show was gone. It was an empty field again."

He stopped talking.

Duncan waited for him to continue but Forrest simply stood in the middle of the cramped room and stared into the distance as if he expected his Ma to show up at any moment. Crossing his arms, Duncan said to Morty, "I thought this guy knew who Verido is?"

Morty bristled. "Be a little sensitive. You heard his story."

"It's a terrible thing that happened, but I can't change that. I'm trying to make sure nothing terrible happens to Lucy. So does he know Verido or not?"

Forrest whirled around and stuck his hand in the box next to his cot. "I got a picture of Ma," he said and pulled out a rolled up piece of canvas. He unrolled it to display a mediocre painting of a heavyset, stern woman with gray hair tied up in a bun.

Duncan jumped forward. Not because of the painting but because of the paper that unrolled with it. It was a long paper filled with writing in numerous sizes and fonts.

 

COME SEE THE MOST ASTOUNDING

THE MOST ASTONISHING

THE MOST AMAZING

MAGIC!

COME SEE THE AMAZING VERIDO!

ONLY AT THE WILKINSON'S WONDERS TRAVELING SHOW!

 

Duncan read it over three times before he asked, "Who's Wilkinson?"

Morty checked out the paper. "I don't know, but I'll tell you who will. Lady Lane. There's no way this guy's traveling show came through this town without a visit to Lady Lane. Forrest, thank you. You've done real good."

Morty hurried back upstairs. Duncan hesitated. He watched Forrest for a little. The young man gazed at the painting of his mother, his mind locked in an event that would never stop haunting him. Had he never been beaten, he might have learned to cope, to get on with life, or at least to make some sort of existence palatable. But the beating had ruined him and appeared to have left his mind capable of only two modes — Lady Lane and Ma.

"I'm real sorry," Duncan said, his voice dead in the quiet room. "I ..." But there was nothing he could say.

By the time he reached Morty, Lady Lane was writing down a name and address. She handed it over with a wink. "Don't you forget me, now. I got needs too, you know."

"My dear," Morty said, "I promise I'll see you the first chance I get."

Lady Lane glanced at Duncan. "You come back, and I'll set you up with a real pretty girl. I'll even give you a deal on account of you being Morty's friend."

"Um, thank you," Duncan said, heading straight for the exit, his mind troubled by Forrest and his tragic story.

Outside, Morty caught up and waved the paper in his hand. "I told you Lady Lane would know. Claude Wilkinson is the guy and he lives in Gettysburg."

Duncan took the paper and continued walking. "Let's get out of here."

 

By the time Duncan and Morty
returned to the Magic Emporium, the sun had set. Lucy was closing up the store when she heard them approach. Before Duncan could say a word, she rushed over to him.

"What happened to you?" Her fingertips brushing across his bruises. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"But where were you? Who did this to you?"

"I need to speak with Vincent. Where is he?"

Lucy pulled back, her mouth drawing a thin line. Then with a flippant toss of her hand, she said, "Who knows? He's always done this, gone off for days at time, leaves me for his secret ways. Sound familiar?"

Duncan turned to Morty. "See if you can find Vincent."

Morty took one look at Lucy's face. "Right. I'll get going." To Lucy, he added, "Just don't kill him. I don't want to help you hide a body."

After he left, Lucy returned to the counter. "Notice I didn't make any promises."

"I know this bothers you, and I understand. I do. But you've got to see that I'm being secretive to protect you."

"I find that when people say they're trying to protect me, they're usually trying to protect themselves."

Duncan frowned. "Maybe you're right."

Lucy wrinkled her forehead at this unexpected answer. She paused. "Do you even care about me?"

Duncan could hear in her voice that she was not seeking a compliment but rather she was leading up to something. "Very much."

"Then you better listen to me real hard. I'm willing to take a lot from my brother because he's my brother, but I won't take it from you. Life is too short for these kinds of games. I mean one day everything's going fine and the next the day it's the Crash and everything we knew ended. You aren't invulnerable, you know. Something could happen to you to take you away forever and then you'll be stuck without ever having had a chance to know me, or for me to know you. I'm sure you're trying to do the right thing by keeping your secrets, but they do more harm than you realize. So, this is it. You say you care about me so much, then tell me something. Otherwise, it's all a farce."

Duncan shook his head in amazement. "The way you speak — you're a woman ahead of her time."

"That's the nicest way anybody's ever called me a bitch before."

"I wasn't calling you —"

"It was a joke."

He watched her in silence as she finished closing up. She did her work with one eye on him all the time. Twice he opened his mouth and she instantly halted to listen, but then he clamped up. Though her anger simmered — she pressed so hard on her cleaning rag, she came close to cracking the glass counter — worse was her disappointment. It showed in the seconds her eyes turned away from him. He knew he was letting her down, and his throat tightened as if he were in grade school and about to cry.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath. For the first time in his life, he understood what it meant to be spellbound by a woman. Because despite all the dangers and worries and fears that held him back, he knew he could not deny Lucy what she needed from him.

"My family," he began, and his voice startled her. "My family is not very close. At least, not close to me. My sisters and my dad all talk with each other, but I'm the outcast. I got along well with my great-grandfather but he's so old that he's not all there in his head anymore. Besides, they're all so far away now, it's easier to forget about them — better than pining away for some bond that won't ever come. I've watched the way you are with Vincent, the way you talk about him. Your pride, your desire to see him succeed and thrive. That's real special. Me, I barely know my sisters. They have their lives and they don't let me in. So, I don't really have a life back home with my family. And then I ended up here, but I don't really belong here either. I mean, I've only been here a few days and already I've messed everything up."

"What have you messed up?"

Duncan decided not to tell Lucy about Nelson Walter. If he played that out right, she might never have to know, never have to worry or fear for her life. "I wish I could explain everything to you, but my life is complicated."

"All lives are complicated and messy and oftentimes a little ugly, too. You don't have to be perfect for me. I don't expect it. I hope you don't expect it of me."

Duncan looked out the store window and watched people hustle along the sidewalks in their brown suits and various hats. "I don't belong here. And I don't belong from where I came. I'm a man without a home."

Lucy locked the store door and stepped in front of him. She inched up and kissed him gently on the mouth. "Let me be your home," she said before climbing upstairs to her apartment.

Trying to act cool and collected, Duncan walked to the stairs and watched her. It took a tremendous effort to not rush up. He climbed three steps and stopped.

He wanted her, of course, but what if being with her messed him up even more? She had his head spinning when he should have been focused on getting home all this time. And how far should he expect things to go between them? Back in 2013, this little scene would have easily played out with a romp in bed, but could he expect the same from 1934? He didn't want to hurt her or upset her, and he had certainly done that before. What were her expectations? Even worse, what if they did take things that far and she got pregnant? Duncan recognized that he had been rather cavalier about being in contact with people from the past. Every time travel story he knew suggested he might be screwing up the future. But most of his actions were in an attempt to get the Door and get home. Fathering a child, however, would have to be catastrophic to the future. And yet, if he had already destroyed the future he knew, then what did it matter? Not to mention that at the rate things were going, Nelson Walter would have him killed long before he could get back to 2013. So why not be with the woman he cared so much about?

Come now, Duncan — it's more than just caring about her a lot. Isn't it?

Stunned by his thoughts, he gazed upward. Lucy had returned to the staircase and looked curiously at him. "Are you coming up?"

He swallowed hard and tried to speak but his voice had abandoned him.

She moved in closer, a shadow of fear crossing her brow. "You okay?"

"I ... I ..."

She reached the bottom of the stairs and held on to the railing as if it could protect her. "What is it? Please, tell me."