Something Bad (31 page)

G
ABE RUBBED HIS
eyes with his fists, and it took a little longer than usual for his vision to return. He had slept late, but for good reason.

The Tri-counties were abuzz about the Boyston-Calhoun high school football game. The Badgers had pulled off the improbable, tying the score with three seconds left on the clock. The extra point sailed wide-left so the town had to settle for the tie. From the reaction of the citizenry, the sports equivalent of “kissing one’s sister” was not that bad in these parts, at least when it came to a Tri-counties-Rother competition. Best of all, Teddy pressed his jello mold into service for the first time in months.

Gabe walked into the kitchen to a plate of eggs and bacon.

“You going to the bonfire tonight?” Wanna said.

“I’ll take care of Cory Dean so the two of you can go.”

Gabe looked at Deena Lee. She seemed hopeful. “No. I got a problem I have to sort through. It’s a small one, but it’s like a rock in my shoe—feels ten times as big. Why don’t the two of you go? I’ll sit with Cory Dean.”

He zoned out while the two women discussed the plan. He was torn. Sometimes he wanted time to slow down to delay the unavoidable confrontation with Thibideaux, and at other times he wanted it to speed up to get the clash over with. Time tends to move in inverse proportion to its desired speed, he thought, so the split preference should have produced the accurate clock. He thought about his recent sleepless nights. Alternating on the two sides of relativity produced a rift, each with its own unique anxiety.

“Gabe!” Deena Lee said.

He came back.

“It might be fun for me and Wanna to go to the bonfire. The Tri-counties haven’t been so worked up in I don’t know how long.”

“You be all right with Cory Dean?” Wanna said.

Gabe nodded and forked some eggs. Wanna and Deena Lee were back in conversation so he let his mind go again. Wanna’s transformation, really a metamorphosis, was amazing. Ever since Cory Dean came into the house, she donned a mellow attitude—in particular, her temper receded into the background. It was replaced by a patience Gabe hadn’t seen in her. The calm seemed to be shared by Cory Dean when he was in Wanna’s arms, which is where he could be found every time Wanna had the opportunity.

Gabe circled the front room with Cory Dean in his arms. The little man had fallen asleep minutes after Deena Lee and Wanna had left, but Gabe didn’t put him down. His mind overrode his actions—he was on autopilot.

Four problems, he thought. And that’s just to get to Chicago. If he rehashed the problems enough, a plan would formalize in their midst.

Have to get Thibideaux out of the rectory long enough to retrieve the Bible. If it’s still there. And Thibideaux didn’t seem to be leaving the rectory these days. Gabe had asked around at the Herndon’s Edge and at church, but no one had seen the little man. Two pieces of evidence suggested he was still in Boyston. The nightly fires in the rectory fireplace continued to burn until dawn, just as they had before the town meeting. Also, Gabe noticed the fogs that occasionally surrounded the Petersen farmhouse had not only continued, they were more frequent, as if his activities were being monitored by Thibideaux more intensely than before.

Gabe had heard others talk about the fogs, with some of the more radical explanations centering on some sort of Rother plot as revenge for the recent football debacle. He found this line of reasoning both humorous and interesting. Every community had its share of doomsayers and mystics, however, meteorological phenomena that would be attributed to supernatural events or UFOs in other places always seemed to be explained as some sort of Rother plot in the Tri-counties. Where fear of the unknown motivated the rumors in the former cases, it was fear of the known that fueled the local conjectures.

Gabe moved on to the second problem. If he did get Thibideaux out of the rectory, he would have to keep him out long enough for the Bible to be found. A safety margin was needed since the bathroom cabinet might not be as easily moved as expected, or the Bible might not be in the exact same location that it was placed twenty-five years ago.

Things seemed to be falling in place. He moved on to problem three.

If he got the Bible out, he would have to keep track of it until he could get back up to Chicago. And he had to keep Thibideaux from knowing anything about it. With the more frequent fog-observations, Gabe knew he would have to be careful about where and how he held onto the book. Father Costello’s advice was sound. No one else should know about the book.

A solution came fast. As soon as he verified the Bible contained the notes, he would seal the book without examining a single word. But that was just part of it. How could he keep the Bible’s presence from Wanna and Deena Lee? Probably impossible. Then, how could he blunt their curiosity about it? He didn’t want to discuss the book with them in case Thibideaux was watching, and listening.

Problem four was one of timing, and there was nothing he could do but get moving. Deena Lee had made arrangements for Cory Dean’s baptism, and it was coming up in just under two weeks. Gabe opened his mental calendar. Have to get Thibideaux out of the rectory, retrieve the Bible, travel to Chicago and back, and then carry out whatever plan he and Father Costello could fabricate in that short time frame. It didn’t leave time for dilly-dallying. And how could he justify another trip up north with minimal familial friction? An argument or protracted discussion about it could tip Thibideaux off that something was up.

He looked down and kissed Cory Dean’s forehead. The speed of his pacing increased.

“It’s about time,” Gabe said in a low voice. He looked at the clock—it was two in the morning. Only eleven days left before the baptism. “I think it’ll work.” His head hit the pillow for the first deep sleep in the last several days and nights.

Cory Dean’s cry broke through Gabe’s slumber. Light that didn’t exist just moments ago spilled into his eyes, bright as noon. He rolled over. “Ten thirty?” he said. He paused, then exhaled in relief. None of his thoughts were lost during his horizontal vacation.

Wanna and Deena Lee sat at the kitchen table, and Cory Dean half-reclined in a sling-chair.

Gabe planted a kiss on Deena Lee’s cheek and bent close to Cory Dean. “Good morning, little man. I hope you weren’t too much trouble for your momma last night.”

Deena Lee smiled.

Wanna slid her chair back and walked to the stove to start a pan of eggs. “Welcome back to the world. I took care of the chores this morning so you owe me big time, Mr. Rip Van Winkle.”

Gabe shuffled over to the kitchen window and peered out. A fog billowed toward the house, so it was time to put his plan into action. Back at the table, he pulled a chair next to Deena Lee.

“I been thinking. Maybe it’s time you go back to the Herndon’s Edge and give it try to see what it’s like. Maybe you could go for an afternoon tomorrow or the next day. I know you been feeling cooped up here, and Cory Dean’s needs have been taking their toll. Maybe an afternoon just once or twice a week would give you a nice change of pace. Trying it would tell a lot. What do you think?”

Deena Lee threw her arms around Gabe’s neck. “Sometimes I think you can read my mind. I’ll give Teddy a call after the noon rush. Wanna, you wouldn’t mind watching Cory Dean for an afternoon, would you?”

Wanna didn’t turn around but her voice reflected the smile on her face. “You know I can’t get enough of the little man. You just tell me when and I’ll look after him.”

Gabe walked back to the window. The fog was still there. “Try to set it up for tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be around for most of the day to help Wanna.”

Wanna shot a quick look over her shoulder. “Don’t need your help. You’d probably just fall asleep anyway. Besides, you’ve got work to do around here.”

Deena Lee turned her chair to face Gabe. “Why you trying to get me out of the house tomorrow afternoon? You got a hot date you ain’t telling us about?”

He returned her smile. “My only hot date’s with you. Tonight.” He turned in Wanna’s direction. “You better put some cotton in your ears tonight. We’re going to scare the wildlife.”

The raucous laughter brought bright rays of sunshine through the kitchen window.

Wanna turned toward the table with a frying pan full of eggs and potatoes. “After you eat up, you need to get on out and fix the side door of the barn. You been putting it off long enough. And that’s not all that’s needing fixing. I got a list for you when you get done with the door. This place will fall apart if you keep going like you have the past couple of days.”

Gabe sat down to his steaming plate and spoke in its direction. “If I have my way, everything will be fixed up right quick around here.”

G
ABE FOLDED THE
phone booth door shut, clinked in coins, and pushed a memorized series of numbers.

“Why’d you have to call now,” Teddy laughed into the phone. “I was in a daydream about Teddy Jr. scoring the winning touchdown against the Calhoun Cougars.”

Gabe folded an apology into his request.

Teddy stretched the phone cord to the half-wall. “Deena Lee? It’s for you.”

Deena Lee nearly dropped her coffee decanter. She shoved it into the coffeemaker and it hissed as a little coffee sloshed onto the burner.

“It’s Gabe,” Teddy said.

She grabbed the phone. “What’s wrong? Is Cory Dean all right?” She squeezed all of the words through a half-breath.

“Relax. He’s fine. I’m over at the general store, on the pay phone. I had to pick up a few things. He and Wanna were down for a nap when I left. How’s it going there?”

A deep breath echoed in the receiver. “I’m doing fine. You should see the crowd here this late in the afternoon. Most of the noon gang are here. They’re being really nice to me. I’ve nearly come to tears more than once.”

“Who all’s there? Any old boyfriends?”

Deena Lee giggled. “There’s the usual group from Boyston. William and Tom from Herndon are here. Wes and Reverend Sather stopped in for a while, and there’s even a group out from Porter. I’m real busy, but I love being back. I’d like to keep it up as long as I only have to be here every now and again.”

Gabe didn’t want to press, but he had to. “Anyone unusual show up to see you? Like Horace Murtry, or Thibideaux, or anyone else from your past?”

“You know Horace wouldn’t show his face around here,” she said. “I’d have to hurt him if he did.”

“Anyone else?”

“Why you so interested in who’s here? You writing a book?”

He thought he detected a tease in her voice. “I just want to know who all’s nice enough to pay respects so I can thank them when I see them.” Come on, dammit, he thought. Tell me.

“Well then, there are three guys in a booth that I don’t recognize. Never seen them before. I’ll make a point to get their addresses so you can send them a thank-you note. While you’re at it, you might want to get an extra card for Thibideaux. He showed up about ten minutes ago. Says he wants to talk to me, but I’ve been too busy to give him much time. I can’t imagine what he wants. He still gives me the creeps. What should I do?”