by Glover, Dan
The dirt road ended in a cul-de-sac. Pulling to stop, Roger took a spotlight from under the seat, getting out without a word. Billy followed him while Tom got out to stretch his legs but stayed by the car. A barely discernable path ran through the brittle weed leading to a clearing a hundred feet from the road.
"This must be the spot. Yelena said we'd find a trap door leading to a stairway. Wait, what's this?"
Roger kicked away rocks and sand to reveal a concrete pad with a round metal top that looked like a manhole cover.
"Let me see that key, Billy."
Blowing the sand out of the lock, Roger inserted the key they had taken from the old clown's pocket. A hissing sounded under the earth as the manhole cover rose up on secret hinges. Billy shined the light into the hole. A short ladder led to a set of spiral steps winding down into the earth as far as he could see.
"It looks like one of those old missile silos that have been converted into a bomb shelter. I've seen them advertised."
"After you, Billy."
Roger took a pistol from his pocket. He winked.
"Just in case."
Chapter 52—Prophecy
"Oh, Yelena! We can't thank you enough! You saved us all!"
Lisa hugged the old woman as tears ran down her cheek. Yelena could feel the young girl trembling. After the pretty blonde girl had drove to her house to tell her what had transpired the night before, Yelena went back home to the Victorian early that morning with Allison.
"We must thank God, Lisa, not me. She saved you. I am so happy to see you are all here. Where is Billy?"
"They're not back yet. He called Allison to let us know that they decided to call the police. They rescued four women who were being held prisoner in an underground concrete bunker. The police are interviewing everyone. It looks like Alex and the man with him are both going to be charged with kidnapping and murder."
"This is as it should be. They have made a good choice. I must talk to Billy when he comes back. Please to tell him come and see me right away. I am going to the tavern now. I promised Roger I will look after things there until his return."
"Come on, Yelena, I'll give you a ride."
Allison rose from the chair where she sat. She went to Lisa, took her in her arms, and kissed her deeply.
"I'll be back soon, lover."
"You and Lisa, you are like a couple?"
Yelena didn’t want to pry but the two girls open display of love made it seem okay. Alone in the car with Allison, Yelena wondered if she should tell her of the dream she had the night before.
"Well, yes, in a way we are."
Allison blushed just a bit, looking at Yelena briefly before putting her eyes back on the road.
"We are all lovers, the three of us."
"Ah, this is a good thing. You take care for each other."
"I would die for Lisa, and for Billy. I've never been in love like this before, Yelena. I didn’t even realize this sort of love existed. I grew up in a traditional family. I dreamed of meeting a wealthy man, getting married, and living happily ever after. I never had a thing for women, at least not until the day I met Lisa. Now I can't keep my hands off of her."
"I am a Gypsy. My people believe we are all a gathering of lovers. We come and we go, we live and we die, but we are always together. If someone is lost, they finally come home again to find those who they once knew. That is what I saw at Twenty Nine Katz many long years ago... lost people coming together once again. But people can never stay together for long."
"What are you trying to tell me, Yelena?"
"Billy has been to a doctor. The news is not good. Billy Austin is dying. Do you know yet?"
"Don’t say that. Billy is fine. There's nothing wrong with Billy."
"I am so sorry, Allison. I am an old woman with a big mouth. I thought he told you that. He must not have had the time."
"It's those headaches he's having, isn’t it."
Allison pulled off the road and parked the car. Yelena handed her friend a tissue from her purse to wipe her tears.
"Billy should tell you of these things, not me."
"You thought he already told us."
"These last few days are filled with horror. Billy will find his own time to share this with you. He wishes to save you life, to save Lisa and Jem too. Now, you must also be brave for this man. He has more yet to do. He will need much strength, Allison, even when his vigor is failing."
"I don’t understand, Yelena. Why are you telling me this? What are doing to me? You're breaking my heart."
"I am so sorry, Allison, but Billy will need your help and your protection. He is too proud to ask. You must be ready even if he says nothing."
"Ready for what, Yelena? I don't understand."
"Billy will say things no one believes. You must be there for him. Listen to him and believe in him, help others to do so as well."
"Like I said, I'll die for Billy Austin. I'll do anything." Allison looked at her with blue eyes brimming with tears.
"This I understand. It is why I speak to you like this. Remember, even though he must leave you soon, you will all be together again. This I have seen. Now, please take me to the tavern. I must have a drink before I open for Roger."
Chapter 53—Goodbye Insanity
He supposed he had known it was over all along.
Even before he met Yelena he knew he was dying. He rationalized that everything died... he was no exception. In those days he had nothing to live for and everything to die for. Now a family had grown up around him... he had everything to live for yet he was dying.
As Billy stood staring at Allison's brother—Alex was chained to the concrete wall of that horrid bunker—his thoughts kept going back to that last appointment with Cindy and his last visit to those people who had misread the signs even though they were highly paid professionals in whom he and many others had placed their trust.
They all thought he was mad dog crazy. He had spent the greater part of his life locked up in one hell hole or another all in a futile attempt to cure him of a sickness that wasn’t even there. He should have hated them all but he could only feel pity for the megalomania that drove all the doctors in the world to believe they were gods in disguise.
He could almost sympathize with men like Alex... if only the man hadn’t chosen to attempt to abduct his own sister and steal her baby. On the other hand, remembering the smug look on Cindy's face brought a familiar sense of angst rushing back like a torrent running through his mind... that those in whom so many placed their trust were no more than cogs in the machinery.
“So how are things going for you, Billy?”
As usual Cindy didn’t look at him... instead she opened her notebook searching for a page while she took a pen in her hand from a container that sat on her desktop. Hate roiled in the pit of his stomach as if he had eaten something bad. He stifled an urge to jump over the desk and throttle her fat neck until her tongue lolled over of her overly ripe lips and her skin turned blue.
“Not so good, Cindy, I don’t think you’ll have to write in your notebook any longer. Our time here is over.”
For the last week, he felt a gradual irritation building for this woman who had treated him like someone less than human, like just another failure she was charged with fixing. Though he could see no reason to keep his appointment, he did so to see the look on her face when he told her the truth of what he discovered. He knew it was more a failing on his part than on hers.
“I'm not sure what you mean, Billy. What's going on?”
Cindy asked, puffing her chest, looking up at Billy for the first time, her voice laced with concern.
"You know you have to keep attending these sessions as a condition of your release. You really have no choice. If I notify the authorities you'll be remanded to the courts again. You know that."
He wondered how she would feel if someone constantly harangued her about doing something she hated doing or else be incarcerated again. It was her magic wand, her pixie dus
t, her tried and true method of getting her way. Just remind the crazy guy that he'll end up right back where he started and he'll behave himself.
It was a shame Cindy didn’t look more like Allison. Maybe Alex would have singled her out for his own particular brand of pleasure. Though he detested what the man represented—a cold calculating predator capable of anything—Billy envied Alex too... his way of living in society without being a part of it.
It would make life so much simpler when dealing with the true monsters roaming the streets... the smug professionals like Cindy who had everything figured out and who didn’t hesitate to put people in their place should they take even one step out of line.
Death had a way of freeing a person from all that. He no longer cowered under the threat of being hauled off to the asylum again like some madman gone astray. It was he who had the power now... only a tiny insignificant notion of morality on his part kept this bumbling lump of flesh sitting in front of him from meeting an ignominious end.
He was nuts, after all... he couldn’t be held responsible for his actions. Though the thought was tempting—Billy knew Cindy had a panic button under her desk to press in case she felt threatened... they all did—he couldn't seem to put his hatred into motion. Instead, he sat like a little boy, loathing not only the woman but his own being for submitting to her every whim.
“I went to the doctor you recommended, Cindy. He diagnosed me with a brain tumor. That’s been the problem all along. Everyone thought I was insane. But I’m not. I’ve never been insane. No one bothered checking me out for physical ailments. They just pushed pills on me and labeled me crazy.”
“I don’t understand, Billy…”
Cindy no longer sounded so sure of herself and her profession. He enjoyed watching the way a slow recognition of guilt began creeping over her face, replacing the self-righteousness that peeled away like a snake shedding its skin leaving something new and shiny behind, something to be poked and prodded.
“I know it’s not your fault, Cindy. You were just doing what you thought was best.”
Looking into her tearful eyes Billy realized he'd been thinking only of himself. Cindy had never meant to consciously do him harm. She was doing her job, nothing more. He didn’t have the time to be that kind of person any longer. He had to get home to the girls. He shouldn’t have left them there alone.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Cindy. Maybe I shouldn’t have come today."
“I'm glad you did. Tell me, is it operable? Are you starting treatment, Billy?”
“No, and yes, they don’t hold out much hope though. I just wanted to come by and tell you in person, while I still can. And to thank you… you’ve helped me so much. I really owe you a lot. This will be our last session, though.”
“I’m so sorry, Billy.”
Billy saw a silent tear run down her cheek which she didn’t sweep away like most people would do, embarrassed to have feelings for a madman. That surprised him. It was the first sign of humanity he had witnessed in the woman who professed to dedicating her life to helping others.
“I'm sorry too. Goodbye, Cindy.”
Billy rose from his seat and walked to the door.
“Oh, Billy?”
“Yes?”
He stopped and looked back.
“Goodbye.”
Billy struggled with knowing how to tell Lisa and Allison about the diagnosis. Even now, standing and staring at the man who had plotted to kidnap his two lovers and make slaves of them, he had no idea how to articulate what he was feeling. He wanted to exterminate this man and his partner with his own hands. Yet being so close to death himself, he found that he cherished life so much he couldn’t dare take it from anyone, even someone who deserved it.
He sensed Yelena's words were meant for him. It was his choice whether those men were entombed in a prison of their own making or spent the rest of their days in a penitentiary from which there would be no escape. He wished more than anything that someone else would make that choice for him.
Chapter 54—The Perfect Life
"How did you know there were clowns in the house, Jem?"
Events unfolded so quickly the night before that Allison never stopped to consider the little girl's words. She distinctly remembered Jem saying something about clowns. Lisa had gone to the tavern with Yelena to help the old woman manage the place until the men returned.
Allison and Jem sat together on a blanket under one of the hoary pear trees that grew in back of the Victorian, part of an ancient orchard that still bloomed each spring. Allison knew it was one of Jem's favorite spots.
"Did you see them from your window?"
"I dreamed about them, mom. I told daddy about my dream so he would be ready, so he could protect us."
"When did you dream about the clowns, Jem?"
"It was the night Yelena stayed here, when you brought her home. She came to my room to show me something. At first I thought we were awake. Lots of times I don't know if I am sleeping or dreaming. We're awake now, right?"
"Yes, sweetie, we're awake."
"I thought so. In my dream, Yelena said to come on. She showed me a passageway in the house I didn’t know was there. I thought I knew all of them. She brought me into your room but no one was there. She told me I had to remember where the passageway was at so we could hide there. That's how we got downstairs that night, remember?"
"I do remember that, Jem. You opened a bookshelf. I never knew that passageway was there either."
"She said there were clowns in the house; we had to go downstairs to watch them, to see what they were doing. I was afraid but Yelena took my hand and told me she would take care of me. She said not to be scared. The clowns couldn’t see us.
"A clown had broken out a window in the kitchen. He was old and he smelled bad and he stood looking around like he was lost and searching for someone. Another clown brought mommy and you into the room. He was younger and he looked like you, mom. You and mommy were both tied up and you were crying. I wanted to run to you, to help you, but Yelena held me back. She said we were dreaming... that what we were seeing wasn’t real. Until then, I thought we were awake.
"The younger clown had something dark all over him. I didn’t want to know what it was. For some reason it scared me. Yelena said we had to go back upstairs now. When I blinked my eyes I woke up in bed and it was morning. At least I think I woke up. Sometimes I think I wake up but I'm still dreaming. I wondered what happened to Yelena and if the clowns were still in the house."
"That must have been so scary for you, Jem. I'm so sorry."
"They're not coming back, are they?"
"No, sweetie, those clowns will never bother us again."
"I'm glad. Now I want to back inside to my room and lie down for a little while, mom. I have a headache. Bye."
As the little girl skipped away Allison thought how lucky she had been to stumble across the old tavern by the sea called Twenty Nine Katz and the people there and how her life had been so inexorably altered by that event. She had searched for a perfect life in all the obvious places. She had rejected Billy Austin's advances thinking how poverty-stricken he was, and now according to Yelena she was losing him all over again.
A tear spilled onto the blanket upon which she sat and then another. She desperately needed to feel her lovers' arms around her. Rising, she went inside to check on Jem. Something in the little girl's words bothered her but she couldn’t quite say what it was.
She missed Lisa. Every time they were away from each other even for a few minutes Allison couldn’t help thinking of her. Walking through the living room whispers seemed to creep up from the floorboards all creaking Lisa's name, as if the house missed her too.
She had never realized what a truly strange and old mansion they were living in until Jem led them through one of the haunted passageways. It was as if she was initiating them to a secret no one else was privy to.
Jem was asleep. Allison stood in the doorway of her room staring at the l
ittle girl. She seemed as pale as an angel. The poor thing had been troubled by headaches of late. Not that she ever complained... rather, it was only in passing that Allison noticed the increasing frequency of how Jem would gently excuse herself to go upstairs and lie down.
"The house loves us, mom. Stand still a minute. Pretty soon you'll see the light. This old house will protect us always and never hurt us."
Allison wasn’t so naïve as to believe inanimate matter could take on a life of its own. Houses didn’t love anyone. They were made of wood and wire, not flesh and bone. Only the living could love and protect.
Yet the little girl seemed so sure... and she'd been right. When the darkness inside the passageway had threatened to overwhelm Allison senses and send her into a full blown retreat, the walls began to glow seemingly of their own accord.
She knew there had to be a logical scientific explanation... perhaps some weird sort of bioluminescent fungus was growing on the walls which emitted light or maybe—and quite possibly more likely—the old walls were so full of cracks and rents that light from outside filtered through.
Still, it had been dark outside when they made their sojourn through the haunted passages. There were no street lights nearby... Allison remembered Billy saying how they should have a light installed in the driveway but it hadn’t been done yet.
"You probably think I'm crazy, don't you."
Lisa was drunk when she told Allison the tale about the night her first husband Richard died. Allison remarked how she couldn’t imagine the trauma it must have caused a young wife with a new baby to know the man she loved was gone forever.
"He's not gone. He's right here, Allison. When I walked outside that night and stood in the orchard holding Jem in my arms, something washed over us. It was so strange. Suddenly I could smell Richard's scent all over me, all over Jem. "
Allison remembered losing her father... how she dreamed incessantly about him. Though she didn’t voice that to Lisa, she imagined her lover was more than likely caught up in the depths of despair and grasping at any straw floating her way.
