by Lee Goldberg
In a few seconds, Clara was going to turn against him, and then the Plebneys would follow suit. Marty couldn’t let that stop him, even if it meant calling in Buck and using force. Because if Marty didn’t leave with Clara, he’d be haunted for the rest of his life with that last image of Molly, holding that picture out to him, her eyes pleading, calling to him with her last breath…
And by remembering that, what didn’t make sense before now was perfectly clear. Molly did tell him.
“Angel,” Marty said.
Clara nodded.
“Is that the secret word?” Alan asked Clara gently.
“Yes,” she said, then looked up at Marty with big, wishful eyes. “Will you take me to see my Mommy?”
Marty looked at the Plebneys. It was up to them now.
Alan glanced at his wife, who gave her nod of acceptance, then he turned to Clara. “Martin is going to take care of you for a while.”
“Where’s my Mommy?” Clara asked, stuffing the burnt, wrinkled picture into her pocket.
The three adults shared an awkward moment of silence. None of them wanted to tell Clara the horrible news yet. Some day soon, perhaps even today, Marty would have to tell Clara that her mother was dead. And on another day, a long time from now, he would have to tell her how her mother died and all the things she said to him. Eventually, he’d have to hurt her and it was a pain he knew would never go away, for either of them.
“We don’t know,” Alan replied. “But we know that wherever she is, she loves you and wants you to be safe. That’s why she sent Martin to take you home.”
Faye gave Clara a kiss on the top of her head. “That’s from me and Mr. Plebney. You’ve been a very, very good girl. Now you have to be a good girl with Martin too. We’ll see you soon.”
Clara nodded shyly.
Marty held his hand out to Clara. “We’re going on a long walk, but I’ve got a problem. I hurt myself and I need someone to help me. Would you be my helper?”
She nodded and took his hand.
He squeezed her hand and let her lead him out again through the sideyard.
They found Buck pacing nervously out front, waiting for them. Buck flashed Clara his biggest, most winning smile.
“This is my friend Buck,” Marty said. “He’s going to walk with us.”
“So this is the beautiful princess I’ve heard so much about,” Buck said. “You are even more enchanting than I imagined, your highness.”
Buck did an elaborate bow. Clara didn’t say anything. She was obviously intimidated. Marty couldn’t really blame her.
“See those big shoulders? You know what they’re for?” Marty asked. “Giving beautiful, little princesses rides so they don’t get tired on long walks. Would you like him to give you a ride?”
She shook her head no. “You said you wanted me to help.”
“So I did,” Marty turned to Buck. “Sorry.”
Buck flashed his smile at Clara again. “Well, if you change your mind, your Highness, you just snap your fingers.”
The three of them walked in silence for an hour, working their way west on Ventura Boulevard as darkness fell. Marty was afraid to say anything to her for fear it would lead back to questions about her mother.
Silence was much safer.
Each step was more painful than the last, but feeling her tiny hand in his somehow made him feel stronger, that he could take on anything if that’s what it took to keep her safe. With just that touch, his own life took second place to hers.
Clara unknowingly emboldened him when they came to the inevitable moment when they had to cross the LA river again. He didn’t want to show any hesitancy or fear in front of her, so he simply hustled her across the overpass as quickly as he could without fainting from the pain.
If Buck sensed any of this, he kept quiet about it, but not silent. He whistled Disney tunes as they walked. Marty didn’t know if it made Clara feel better, but it helped him. He wished Buck had started whistling downtown instead of talking. The whole journey would have been a lot more pleasant.
The moon shone brightly over the frontier storefronts and wood-plank sidewalks of old town Calabasas, a collection of over-priced restaurants, antique stores, and real estate offices. The small street was designed to replicate the ambience of the stagecoach stop that existed there in the 1860s. Despite its genuine historical underpinnings, the street still looked like an abandoned movie set and, as it turned out, was about as sturdy. Against the quake, the buildings folded up flat like cardboard boxes. The wood planks of the sidewalk splintered violently, snapping with such force that torn boards were thrown into the trees, snagging in the branches.
But this wasn’t the real Calabasas, which was more appropriately symbolized a few blocks further west by a Mediterranean-style shopping center that boasted the world’s largest Rolex timepiece, mounted over a Ralph’s Supermarket that had its own full-time sushi chef.
They were so close to home now, Marty wondered if Beth would hear him if he screamed her name.
“We’re almost home,” Marty said excitedly.
Clara stopped. “You said you were taking me home.”
“I am,” he said.
“But I don’t live here.”
Marty looked at her and suddenly realized the terrible misunderstanding they had. They were so close to home, in a few minutes it wouldn’t have mattered. Why couldn’t he keep his big mouth shut?
“I’m taking you to my house,” he said as sweetly as he could.
“I want to go home,” Clara said, her little chin trembling, her lips drooping into a frown.
“I know you do. I’m sorry you misunderstood,” Marty said to Clara. “Your mommy asked me to take you to my house.”
“Why?” she cried.
He looked to Buck, who shrugged helplessly. This was Marty’s problem.
“Because she wants you to be safe,” Marty replied.
“I want to go home!” Clara jerked her hand away from his and marched off in a crying fury, stomping her feet.
Beth would know how to handle this better than he. She was great with kids. All he had to do was get Clara to go a few more blocks and it would all be over.
Marty turned and whispered to Buck. “Maybe you ought to grab her and carry her the rest of the way.”
“I don’t know how to carry a child,” Buck replied.
“You carry them like a bag of groceries.”
“So I hold her by the hair and swing her beside my leg?”
Marty was about to reply when he realized something. He didn’t hear Clara crying any more.
He didn’t hear her at all.
“Clara?”
Marty turned to see her standing absolutely still a few yards away, staring in horror at the tiger, a dead Labrador in its slavering jaws.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The Land of Make-Believe
N o.
At first, Marty thought he was hallucinating, then he remembered the circus banners along Ventura Boulevard, and knew this was real. The tiger must have escaped during the quake.
The big animal let out a low, rumbling growl, its eyes locked on Clara.
“Don’t move, Clara,” Marty whispered, “and don’t look into his eyes.”
Marty had no idea if that was going to help, but he had to tell her something to make her believe he knew what he has doing.
Buck took out his gun and whispered. “The kid is in the way.”
Marty nodded and moved slowly towards her.
The tiger didn’t like that, or he decided Clara looked tastier than what he already had. He dropped the dog carcass and growled again, exposing his moist, bloody teeth.
Marty saw that the dog’s throat was almost entirely ripped apart, its head barely attached by a few strings of torn flesh. And he couldn’t help thinking what those same jaws would do to Clara’s neck.
Clara whimpered and stepped back. The tiger advanced slowly, the muscles in his hind legs twitching.
Marty was too f
ar away to reach her. There was only one thing he could do: Make the tiger come for him. It worked in Jaws 2 for Roy Scheider, who whacked an oar against a 6-million-volt electric line and got the shark to chomp on it. So Marty whacked his stick against the ground and prayed Buck was a good shot.
“Hey, tiger, look at me you ugly son-of-a-bitch.”
The tiger did, snarling.
“Yeah, that’s it, I’m the one you want,” Marty yelled, banging his stick and hobbling towards the animal. “Come and get me if you’ve got the guts.”
The tiger lowered his head and snarled, taking a slow step towards him and away from Clara.
Marty glanced at her and whispered. “Run Clara!”
She did and at the same instant, Marty roared and charged the animal. The tiger pounced. Marty dived to the ground and Buck fired twice, the gunshots sounding like explosions.
The tiger leaped over Marty and kept on running, scrambling into the protection of the bushes and the darkness beyond.
The gunshots were still echoing in Marty’s ears as he struggled to his feet, the wound in his side oozing blood again. At least that was the only place he was bleeding. Clara ran to him crying and hugged him as tightly as she could. He wanted to cry too, only with frustration at the malevolent God that was tormenting him.
A tiger? You attacked me with a fucking tiger? Haven’t I been through enough already?
Clearly the answer was no. Fate wasn’t through with Martin Slack yet. At this point, Marty wouldn’t be surprised if he stepped on his front lawn and sank in quicksand.
Buck came up behind them, still holding his gun.
“Thank you, Buck,” Marty could feel Clara’s little heart pounding.
“That’s what the gun is for. Let’s get moving. I don’t want to be here if Tony the Tiger comes back for his sugar flakes.”
Marty straightened up, wincing in pain. His blood had gotten on Clara, but if she noticed, she didn’t care. She looked up at him, still trembling, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I want my mommy.”
“I want mine, too.” Marty held his hand out to Clara. “You were very brave, Clara. Can you be brave for me for a little while longer?”
She sniffled and took his hand. Marty gave her a gentle, reassuring squeeze and they started walking, giving the dead dog a wide berth. They also kept a watchful eye out in case the tiger returned or a swarm of locusts happened to show up or a freak tornado touched down. Marty was ready for anything now.
“That was a big tiger,” Clara said, relieved and a bit proud of herself.
“Yes it was,” Marty said, feeling exactly the same way. This was an adventure they’d shared and survived, learning something about each other at the same time. The girl was tough; he knew that now. Clara stood up to the tiger without making a sound. He was certain she’d survive the loss of her mother and emerge stronger from the ordeal.
And Clara, for her part, knew that this stranger could be trusted, that he would protect her and comfort her as her own mother would.
They soon came to the sprawling shopping center that was the town square of Calabasas. People were bathing in the artificial pond on the corner, underneath the cracked, synthetic boulders of the fake, non-functioning waterfall and the sign advertising the center. Behind them, the giant Rolex had fallen and smashed into the parking lot.
When they rebuild this place, Marty thought, they should consider a Timex instead. It takes a licking and keeps on ticking, and it’s probably a lot cheaper.
Marty, Clara, and Buck followed the street that sloped behind the center and rose into the hills, leading them finally to the red tiled guard house and iron gates of Oakridge Hills Estates.
If this had been a movie, Beth would have been waiting for him at the gates, crying with happiness. But it wasn’t, and neither was she. It was too dark, and there were too many trees shrouding the steep hill, for Marty to see how badly hit the community was and to anticipate the odds of Beth being alive beyond those gates.
He would soon know, one way or the other.
There was a man standing behind the gate watching them approach. His hands were on his hips, right above the holstered gun clipped to the braided leather belt of his Ralph Lauren chinos. He wore the weapon like a man proud of his erection. He’d obviously been waiting all his life for a chance to strut around with it and he was going to enjoy every moment.
“That’s close enough,” the man held up his hand, motioning them to halt. “State your business.”
“My business?” Marty asked incredulously, letting go of Clara’s hand as he hobbled up to the gate. “I live here. Open the gate.”
“I don’t know you.”
“I don’t care. My name is Martin Slack, I live at 19067 Park Marbella and I want to go home. Now open the fucking gate.”
“Do you know him, Walter?” The man turned to look at a balding man in a polo shirt and pleated shorts who was sitting on an icebox a few yards behind him.
“Nope,” Walter replied. “Never seen him before, Bob.”
Bob turned to Marty again. “I guess that settles it.”
“Oh really?” Marty looked back at Buck. “Can you believe this guy?”
“You want me to handle this?” Buck asked.
“No, this is my home, Buck. I’ll deal with it.” Marty took another step towards the gate.
“I advise you to stay where you are,” Bob said, letting his hand hover near his holster for emphasis. “This is a private community and these are desperate times. There are a lot of people who’d like to get in here right now and take advantage of our resources. So until order is restored, these gates are staying closed.”
“I live here,” Marty had enough of Bob. He looked at the bald guy on the curb. “Hey, Walter, go get my wife. Bob can watch me.”
Walter got up, but Bob motioned him to stay. “Sit down, Walter.” The bald guy did as he was told. Bob glared at Marty. “I got a better idea. Why don’t you show me some ID?”
Yes, that was a good idea. In fact, it would have solved everything. The only trouble was, Marty didn’t have it. He left it with the Plebneys and he knew Bob wasn’t going to accept any explanations.
But Marty didn’t come all this way, and go through so much, to let Bob stop him.
“Sure,” Marty reached into his jacket for the ID he didn’t have, pulled out his gun, and aimed it right at Bob’s pudgy stomach. Bob made a lame move for his weapon.
“Go ahead, Bob, reach for your gun,” Marty said. “By the time you undo the snap on your holster, you’ll already be dead.”
Bob swallowed hard and raised his hands.
Marty glanced at the bald guy. “I thought I told you to get my wife, Walter.”
Walter nodded frantically and scrambled up the hill. Marty hoped the guy didn’t have a heart attack before he reached their house.
“Now Bob, I want you to pull that holster off your belt and slide the gun under the gate to me before I shoot you just for being a prick.”
Bob looked like he was going to cry. He hated parting with his gun, but he did as he was told, set the holstered gun on the ground, and gently kicked it under the gate. It slid to Marty’s feet.
“Pick up the gun, Buck.” Marty said.
Clara stepped forward hesitantly and reached for the gun.
“No, Clara. Don’t touch that,” Marty said. “Let Buck do it.”
“I don’t see him,” she said.
Marty looked at her, then over his shoulder. There was no one there. Buck was gone.
“Where did Buck go?” Marty asked her. She stared back at him with a blank face. “Did he say anything to you?”
Clara shook her head. “He only talks to you.”
“You’re not right in the head, buddy,” Bob said, his voice quavering. “Put the gun down before you hurt me or the little girl.”
“Shut up,” Marty looked down the barrel of his gun at Bob and became aware of the weapon in his hand for the first time.
Where did that come from?
With a trembling hand, he lifted his jacket and looked under his arm.
He was wearing a holster.
Which meant…
Marty quickly closed his jacket and checked his shoulder.
The gunshot wound wasn’t there anymore.
Which meant…
He recognized the gun now. It belonged to Heller. It was a prop from the show he was visiting when the quake struck. Marty had the gun all along. And it was full of blanks.
Which meant…
Which meant all those times Buck was pitching himself as a series, talking about what a well-developed character he was, Marty was selling to himself.
Buck was already a character. A totally fictional one.
Buck did not exist. He never did.
“Oh my God,” Marty muttered to himself, falling to his knees and closing his eyes, letting the gun fall to the ground.
No wonder Buck sounded just like that voice in his head. Buck was that voice in his head.
That Red Cross nurse was right, Marty thought, he did take a severe blow to the head. He’d been hallucinating for days.
His conscious mind tried to warn him, over and over again. Buck was one-dimensional. Buck’s actions were cliches. It was impossible for Buck to survive the flood; it was an extraordinary contrivance that Buck found him impaled on that spike.
Why didn’t he see that before? Why couldn’t he accept it?
Because I needed Buck.
Without Buck pushing him, challenging him, forcing him to examine himself, he never would have survived. Marty had come to that realization long ago. Buck was there for Marty when he needed him and was gone when he didn’t.
I’ve gone totally, completely insane, he thought. Maybe all of this is in my mind. I’m not even here. Maybe I’m still under my car, buried beneath a pile of bricks.
He was afraid to open his eyes. He didn’t want to know the truth.
“Marty, oh my God, Marty.”
It was Beth’s voice. But was it real or, like Buck, a figment of his imagination?
He felt her arms around him, her tears on his cheek. “Please, Marty. Say something, are you all right?”
Slowly he lifted his head and opened his eyes.
