Sojourner (24 page)

“I talked to Principal Williams today.  He mentioned that you had a slight…incident at your locker yesterday.  But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you, Lizzie?”  He arches his eyebrows expectantly and folds his arms on the table, waiting.

I cringe and some of the water spills as I set the glass  in front of Jimmie.  “How slight?”  Has Williams downplayed it, by chance?  I slide into my seat.  No, he wouldn’t.

“A bleeding, gutted turkey dangling from a noose in your locker.  Those, I believe, were his words exactly.”  He drums his fingers impatiently on the table.

Taking a deep breath, I say, “I was going to tell you.”

“When?  Next year?”  He shakes his head.  “He said he tried calling me himself but the house phone just kept ringing and he didn’t have my cell.  You, apparently, didn’t have it, either?”  He raises his voice in a way that tells me he knows I know the number.

“I didn’t want you to freak out.”  Picking up my fork, I realize the last thing I feel like doing is eating.

“Let’s get this straight.  I’m not freaking out any less just because I found out later, Lizzie.  You should have been honest with me.  I can’t protect you unless I know what is going on.”

I want to tell him he can’t protect me, no matter what he knows, but nothing good will come from that, I’m sure.  So instead, I duck my head and say, “I’m sorry about that.  I just don’t want to make things harder for you than they already are.  You’ve missed so much work because of me.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?”  Jimmie starts shaking his head.  “It doesn’t matter how much work I have to miss.  It doesn’t matter how many trips I have to make to the school.  It doesn’t matter what I have to do.  I’ll do it every time, especially when it comes to keeping you safe.”  He levels his eyes at me and frowns.  “Maybe you think I’m raising you because it’s the ‘right’ thing to do.  Actually I’m doing it because I cared very much for your parents, and I wasn’t about to watch you fall into the court system as a ward.  I love you.  I’ve always thought of you as my own daughter, Lizzie, and I always will.  That means when you’ve got a problem, I have a problem.  And I need to know!”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.  “I should have told you.  It won’t happen again.”  I nod toward his plate.  “Please eat.  I know you’ve been spending a lot of hard hours at work, and I wanted to fix you a good meal.  So I made your favorite.” 

He grits his teeth, still frustrated and shakes his head.  “Yeah, all right.”  Pulling the plate back in front of him, he begins to eat.

“You want to play a few games tonight?”

He looks at me over his plate.  “Why, you looking to get beat?”

“Just try.”

“Uh oh.  The gauntlet’s been thrown.”  He offers a mischievous grin.  As we joke, I see Jimmie’s appetite pick up, and the nervous jump in my stomach quiets down.  I never expected Jimmie to say that about me because he doesn’t have much use for words, and words that express emotions are even higher on the “no-no” scale for him.  So, in order for him to have admitted that, I know he’s worried.  That makes two of us.

We keep joking until both of us have finished eating.  Then, as he runs to the video store to pick up a couple of rental games, I load the dishes into the dishwasher and put up all the leftovers, which will feed us both tomorrow.

When Jimmie walks back into the kitchen, he sets the plastic cases on the counter and winks at me.  “Got a surprise for you.”  He nods toward the living room.

Curious, I dry my hands on the dishtowel and then follow Jimmie to find Lev sitting on the couch, already holding a controller.  “Hey, Elizabeth.  You’re dad found me at the video store and invited me over.”

I laugh and sit on the couch.  “You’re in my seat, buster.”

“Be nice, Lizzie.  Lev’s our guest.”

Lev turns toward me.  “Yeah, be nice.”

I shake my head and think, “Just wait till I pluck your feathers.”

Lev’s eyes widen playfully.  “You wouldn’t.”

I don’t answer and Lev scoots over and hands me the control.

“Why, thank you.”  I beam, and he leans, grinning.

“Don’t mention it.”

He folds his arms across his chest.  From the corner of my eye, I see Jimmie loading Centipede into the Playstation console.  And then the fun really begins.  While I tend to think Lev is probably quicker than he seems, he graciously loses all but one game to either me or Jimmie.  For a little while I’m able to forget about all the bad stuff I can’t control as I watch Lev play some kind of war game Jimmie rented.  As Lev’s last character dies, he turns to Jimmie.

“Would it be all right if I brought Elizabeth to my house for a little while?  My sister, Celia, is thinking about getting a new hairstyle and wants input.”

Jimmie shrugs.  “It’s okay by me.  Just have her home by 10 ‘cause it’s a school night.”  He turns to me.  “And you stay out of trouble.”

Lev sees me starting to protest and slides his hand over my mouth.  “Don’t worry.  I’ll make sure of it.”

“From what I can tell, you’re pretty good at that.”  He stands and stretches.  “So, what’re you two waiting for?”

“I’ll get my coat.”  I go to the coat closet and pull out  my coat.  Lev follows me closely, and it seems he’s a bit more nervous than he was earlier, hinting that something’s up and it probably has nothing to do with hairstyles.  As I start to put on the jacket, he takes it from my hands and holds it out for me to slip into.  Knowing it’s gotten colder since I was last outside, I zip it and head to the door.

“You ready?” Lev asks, gripping the doorknob.

“Yeah.”  I look around the room, but Jimmie has drifted upstairs, probably intending to do some reading on his current mystery novel or go to bed early since working the nightshift definitely wreaks havoc on his sleep schedule.

Lev opens the door and we slip out into the night where his truck gleams in moonlight.  We start to drive away before I broach the subject.  “I’m not going to help Celia pick a hairstyle, am I?”

“No.”  He focuses straight ahead.

“So where are we going?”

“To my house.”  His tone sounds clipped and it worries me.

“Has something happened?”  My body begins to shake and he turns on the heater.  Sometimes angels just don’t get it.

“It’s about to.”  I start to ask, but Lev waves me to silence.  “Please, Elizabeth.  I’ll explain everything when we get to the house.  Just give me five minutes.”  He pushes the gas pedal a bit harder, as if to suggest he’s trying to get there as quickly as possible.

“Will Jimmie be all right?”  I think about the graffiti and suddenly realize I’m probably not the only one in danger.

“As far as I can tell, Jimmie is in no danger for the immediate future.  Neither are you.”  He pulls into the graveyard so he can wind around the cemetery and then drive across the bridge.  As I look at all the headstones, I think of my mother and last night.  My life seems so weird these days, filled with so much I don’t understand.  Sometimes I just wish things would stop changing.  Change scares me.

Knowing Lev isn’t going to answer any serious questions, I ask, “So, do you enjoy losing Playstation games?”

“Yes.  Winning gets boring most of the time and usually only makes my opponents mad.”

“Such humility,” I mutter, shaking my head.

“Elizabeth, I’m an angel.  It’s not my fault I can do things others here can’t.  I try to blend as best I can, and that means losing part of the time.”  He pulls into his driveway and parks his truck.  “Let’s go.” 

Nervous, I get out of the truck and walk with him, feeling his arm slip around me and draw me close.  From inside I see lights warming the windows, and I wonder if I’ll notice anything different from the first time I was here.  Lev tugs open the front door and hustles me inside.

“Can we talk now?” I ask.

Lev points at the living room where I find both Evan and Celia sitting, staring at me.  Lev gently pulls off my coat and hangs it on one of the hooks by the door.  Celia perches on the end of the sofa, her hands resting flat on her thighs.

“Please have a seat,” Evan says, gesturing to the other side of the couch.  I look up at Lev, waiting for his response.  He nods.

“It’s okay,” he whispers.  “Promise.”

Uneasily, I step toward the couch and slowly sit down, hating that everyone is watching me and seems to know what’s going on except me.  I follow Celia’s posture clues and set my palms against my thighs.

“So….”  My voice sounds a little high-pitched and jittery, just like me.

“Did you tell her…anything?” Celia asks, looking from me to Lev and back again.

“No.  I wanted to wait.”

I hate the suspense and wish someone would just blurt out something.  Anything would be good.

“All right, I will,” Lev says, responding to my thoughts as he  sits on the arm rest of the couch beside me.  “Just don’t shoot the messenger, okay?”

I nod slowly, trying to prepare for whatever he’s going to tell me.  I can’t read their faces.  I know the truth is there, but I can’t see it. 

“You wanted to know about your father,” Lev begins, taking my hand.  “I don’t have the whole story, but I do know that everything I am about to tell you is going to be in the news tomorrow.  First the television and sooner or later the paper.  You have to trust me and not freak out, okay?”

“Why?”

“His body will be discovered.”

Inhaling sharply, I stare at his face, trying to focus on the warmth, on his eyes, on anything but the horrible words coming out of his mouth.  “I don’t understand,” I whisper, hoping that if he repeats it again, the words will be different and won’t sting so badly.

“Two hikers will be turning up your father’s body tomorrow along the path by the falls.”

“Oh God!” I whisper, suddenly feeling very light-headed as though I can’t breathe quickly enough.  The world seems to spin madly around me.  “How long has he been dead?”

Evan and Lev exchange glances.  “Since before you left Hauser’s Landing as a baby.”  Lev slips his arm around me and softly begins stroking my side, the heat of his fingers radiating through my shirt.

“Easy,” Lev whispers.  I can feel the weight of his touch,                                               and since he’s aware of my thoughts, he probably expects me to lose it.  I’m half-expecting that myself.

“Who killed him?”  I close my eyes, trying to make myself focus on anything except the frantic beat of my heart.

“We don’t know, only that your dad was murdered,” Celia says in a careful tone.

My gaze snaps to her face.  “Why are you so damn choosy about what you know?” I demand.  “You’re angels!”

“Meaning we’re supernatural beings, not omnipotent ones.  We don’t have all the answers either.  And sometimes having answers doesn’t make it any easier to swallow the truth.”

Finally I turn to Lev.  “So why did you bring me here?  Couldn’t you have told me this at home?”  I stare woodenly ahead.

“You want to freak out there?” Lev asks softly, frowning.  “Jimmie is pretty much on the edge, and I don’t know how much more he can take.  We’re hoping that by the time the news breaks, you can find some way to calm him down.”  

Evan stands.  “Because this isn’t just about your father, Elizabeth.  It’s about you.  We knew there’d be a big precursor to the danger you’re going to face.  We didn’t know what it was going to be, but I don’t think you get much bigger than an unsolved racial murder in a small town.”

My body trembles, and my mind hears what he says but it’s a step behind in understanding.  When I finally rewind his words and replay them in my mind, I understand.  They’re telling me somebody is about to try killing me.  The thing we’ve all been waiting for.  I inhale sharply and look down.