Страница 59 из 95
“Where in the hell you been? I swear, Josiah, I was ten minutes from leaving.”
“My truck was in the barn.”
“I seen it, else I would’ve been gone an hour ago.” He frowned. “You been walking around in the rain?”
“I have.” Josiah leaned past him, looked into the car. “That a pizza?”
“Figured you’d need some grub. Cold by now, of course.”
“Hell if I care.”
They pushed the barn door open a few feet and sat just inside while Josiah ate some pizza and drank a bottle of water. It took the edge off the powerful thirst that had built in him, but neither food nor water removed that faint taste of tobacco.
While he ate, Da
“You find out if the one who called himself Shaw is still in town?” Josiah said.
“He is. I had a hell of a time finding him, but then I got lucky.”
“Yeah?”
“I called both hotels and asked for him. French Lick said he wasn’t registered, but West Baden put me through to a room. I hung up soon as it rang.”
“That’s a hell of a hard time?”
“No. But just because he had a room doesn’t mean he was still in it, and besides, you told me to follow him. But I don’t know what kind of car he has. Car they were in yesterday was the black guy’s.”
“Right.” Josiah caught Da
“Why do you keep spitting?” Da
“No reason,” he said. “Get back to the story.”
“Well, I went through the parking lot, looking for Illinois plates, but there was quite a few of them, so I didn’t know what to wait on. It started to rain then and I decided I’d drive back up here and ask what you thought. I was halfway through town when I seen him walking down the sidewalk.”
“You did.”
“Uh-huh. Wouldn’t have even noticed him but he was all bent over like he was about to be sick. He walked all the way back up to the hotel, stumbling like a drunk. Wasn’t but five minutes later he came out and got in a car. Acura SUV. Then he drove to A
“A
“You know who she is, right?”
“Got that house with all the windmills and shit. Comes to the hotel every day.”
“Yeah.”
“What would he be doing up there?”
“I’m not sure,” Da
“She did? Well, how long did he stay?”
“A long time. Then he went back to the hotel. Didn’t see him come out again, so I left to come up here. Something else-what he told Grandpa is that some woman from Chicago hired him.”
“A woman?”
“That’s what he said.”
“Bullshit. He’s working for Lucas.”
“I got to say I don’t know what we’re doing, following this guy around,” Da
“I didn’t ask you.”
Da
“Maybe not. But if you did ask, I’d say you only got two options. First is to turn yourself in. I know you don’t want to do that, but I think it’s smartest. That guy pulled a gun on you, right? You did what you had to.”
“Not going to happen,” Josiah said. “I got no interest in trusting the local law.”
“Fine,” Da
Josiah shook his head. “Again, not an option that I favor. I’m disinclined to leave a place I’ve known for so long as home. It’s more mine than theirs, Da
Da
“Way I always talk.”
“No, it’s not.”
Josiah shrugged. “Well, you never know how a man might progress, Da
“I got no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Here’s all you need to know-they aren’t going to take me from this valley again, aren’t going to take me from my home.”
“Again?”
“My blood kin, Da
“Campbell? What the hell? The man’s been dead for eighty years! You’d never have so much as known his name if it weren’t for Grandpa.”
“And there’s the dilemma, Da
“He ran out on his family. What are you talking about, ambition?”
“That’s the thing-weren’t his choice to leave. He never had a mind to go.”
Da
“Why you using that voice?”
“Only one I got.”
“Don’t sound normal. Don’t sound anything like you.”
“Boy, you are one critical son of a bitch today, aren’t you? Pardon my voice, Da
“Whatever, man.”
“You had enough of helping me? Going to leave me to handle this on my own?”
“I didn’t say that. I just don’t understand what I’m supposed to do that can help.”
“Good thing I do, then. I got a real clear sense of your role, Da
The pain held off until evening. Eric lingered with Kellen at the bar, drank a few more beers and even ate a meal and felt fine through all of it, actually had himself thinking maybe it was done.
It wasn’t.
The first headache came about an hour after he’d eaten. The nausea settled in soon after the headache, and when he looked up at the bartender and saw the vertical hold go again, that rapid shuddering of the scene in front of him, Eric knew it was time to go.
“Feeling bad again?” Kellen said when Eric got to his feet.
“Not great. Probably just need to lie down.”
He wasn’t sure why he said that; they both knew it was bullshit.
“You want me to hang around or…”
Eric shook his head. “No, no. You don’t need to worry about it, man. If it gets bad, I’ll do what I’ve got to do.”
“And see what you have to see,” Kellen said, face grave, studying him. He put out his hand. “All right, my man. Good luck to you. And I’ll be in town tonight. So anything gets away from you…”
“I’ll be fine. Guarantee it. By the time we talk tomorrow, you’ll see.”
There was an odd ghosting to the door as he walked out of the bar, a hint of double vision returning, and the lights in the hallway burned in his skull, but somehow neither occurrence struck quite the same the chord of fear that it had before. Bad things were coming for him, yes, but he could hold them at bay now. He knew that.
He’d just take some more of the water, that was all. Every day. Have some bad moments, sure, maybe deal with some effects that weren’t ideal, but it would keep the real demons away, too. Even though it had given birth to them, it could now keep them away. Wasn’t that a hell of a thing? So he’d stay on the cycle, that was all, protect himself with the same thing that threatened him.
Up to the fourth floor, hand on the elevator wall for balance, then out into the hall, smiling and nodding past a middle-aged couple who went by without a second look. He was getting the hang of this now, learning how to hide the symptoms, knowing that he no longer had to cope with them-the water would do that for him.