Of Daughter and Demon (8 page)

“How’d you do that?”

He sighed, took another nip from his flask.
“You saw my card, right, Harry?”

“Yeah, so? How’d you see what was in my
head?”

“Do you remember what the card said I
did?”

“Dogmatic Investigator, wasn’t that it?”

“That’s it exactly. I’m a Dogmatic
Investigator. Normal rules don’t apply to me, Harry.”

“But how’s that let you see in my head?”

“Answer me this. Who do you think I work
for?”

“I dunno, Bobby Johns tole me the
church.”

“Who does the church work for? Ideally, I
mean. Not the pope.”

“God?”

“That’s right Harry. I work for God.”

This guy is fuckin’ crackers. “So Sonny Jesus
up there let you look into my head.” I start inching my hand toward
the gun in my pocket, not because I think this guy’ll try anything,
but just in case.

“Not really. Look, like I said, I don’t have
time to go into all this with you right now, so listen to me and
don’t ask any questions. I work for the true Gods, the two true
creators of the universe. Different cultures see them as Allah,
Jesus, the sun, whatever. I’ve been given the job of looking into
things like this, like the demon that killed your daughter. I’m not
a normal man, Harry. I can do things normal men can’t. Like look
inside your head, and see that a minute ago you called me crackers,
and that you’re moving your hand closer to your gun, not because
I’ll do anything, but just in case.”

And whattaya say to this, Alice? I rub my
eyes and he’s still there, and I still can’t talk.

“Like I said, Harry, I’m short on time, I got
a lot of other cases I’m working, you know how it is.” He took this
silver pocket watch outta his pocket, flipped it open and looked
into it, I caught just a glimpse but what I saw wasn’t the face of
no watch. A kind of purple light flooded outta this watch, and what
I seen looked like Everything, Alice. It was all the stars and all
the planets and all the people right here on earth, all of it, all
in this little watch. All of it was spinning, moving toward ends I
can’t imagine, but it was beautiful, and it was a little terrible,
too.

Cain Dulouz flipped his watch shut and took a
long pull outta his flask. “I have to go, Harry, but I’ll be in
touch.”

I was lookin’ right at him, Alice, and I know
you seen this from up there in heaven, and maybe now that you’re up
there this kinda thing don’t seem so strange to you, but it made my
brain itch, made me think I was losing it. He started fading away,
like a shadow when the sun goes down. He started blending into the
fence he stood in front of, the blacktop he stood on, the bridge
and the city and the sky beyond him.

“I suggest you talk to your ex-wife,
Harry.”

I could see the bridge through his head when
he said that. I could see the ground through his feet, and the
ghost turned and walked down the path, a cold wind blew and then he
was just gone.

I stood there for I don’t know how long. I
couldn’t really move. I didn’t know if I wanted to, and you know
how I am, Alice, I can’t never be doing nothing, remember how I was
when you was little? I got even worse after you was gone, but you
know that now. But it was like that cold wind blew him away and
took part a me with it.

A lady jogged by and gave me this look like
she figured I’d be foaming at the mouth and raping her if it was
ten at night instead of ten in the morning. I guess I looked kinda
funny just standing there, staring at the place I last saw that
Dulouz. Another fella walked by, this time an old bum, he stunk
something awful and his hair was all gone, from what I could see
from underneath his hat it looked like his skin was turned a dark
bruise color and was rotting away, he had these flakes on his
shoulders like black dandruff, and he was pushing a cart full a
cans and bottles and random trash. He asked me if I was OK.

I tole him to piss off I think, and then my
head started clearing a little and I walked back across the grass
toward where my car was parked. When I closed my eyes I could still
see that glowing purple Everything that I seen in his watch, and at
the same time I hoped it’d stop and also never go away. Ain’t that
funny?

I drove around the city a bit, called Fifties
Chick from a pay phone on the corner but didn’t get no answer.
Around two I drove back up the hill to Angie’s. I drove up to the
little kiosk and this time it was different fella, one I never seen
before, so maybe they didn’t tell him I was here a couple nights
back because he called up to the house and I expected to hear Angie
screaming at me to fuck off or something, she had a pretty foul
mouth when she wanted one, your Ma, but right away the guy buzzed
me up, no hassle, never even asked to see my ID. I wondered if that
butler was calling the cops, or if they’d set the dogs on me when I
got outta my car. I had dogs set on me before though, not by Angie
of course, but dogs don’t care who sets ‘em on you, and they all
stop cold when you boot ‘em in the throat. All a dog can really do
is bite ya, so ya just stay away from the mouth and you’re
fine.

I got outta the car and there was no dogs set
on me, even though I still half expected it. The butler opened the
door and gave me this big smile like I was his best buddy and he
offered to take my coat.

“Come in, come in!” he said. “Ms. Angela will
be with you shortly, asked me if I might show you into the drawing
room to wait for her? Very good, sir, and may I get you a
beverage?”

Something was up here, for sure. None of what
he said sounded like he was really telling me I was scum, I was a
puke, like it normally did, like it did a couple nights ago when I
was up here.

“You call the cops, buddy?” I asked. He
looked insulted, like I was asking him if he butt-fucked his gramma
or something.

“Of course not, sir! Why on earth should we
call the police? You don’t need them do you? Were you in an
accident or something?”

“Huh? No, no. I was just trying to uh, to
joke with you a little, Carl. Don’t mind me.”

He laughed like it was the funniest thing he
ever heard and I asked him if I might have a cold bottle a soda,
not that I wanted one, it was just a bit too early for beer and it
was the only other thing I could think of right away. I also wanted
to get him outta here and get my bearings back. He came back and
left the soda. I felt dizzy, maybe even a little sick. I’ve felt
sick for so long, it seems, Alice, I think I’d die a shock if I
woke up feeling good,
really
good, whole.

Angie showed up. She was all decked out in
diamonds an’ a little black dress, but to me she looked better
before, back when we were all living together, back before the
divorce and before you were taken. Now she wears too much makeup
that she don’t need and all these fancy clothes an’ things, like
she’s running from something.

“Harry!” she says. “How are you?” Her eyes
are clear, too clear, like shards of broken glass and ice. She’s
putting off a kinda energy I ain’t never felt from her before,
feels like something a giant wasp would put out.

But I gotta try though, I gotta try for you,
Alice.

“I’m OK,” I said. “Where were you,
Angie?”

“When?”

“Today. Earlier?”

“Was I supposed to be somewhere, Harry?”

“It’s Monday.”

“And...”

“And the funeral I told you about? I can’t
believe you forgot about this, Angie. Or did you just decide to
skip it cuz you’re still mad at me?”

She sighed deep and rubbed her temples like
she was getting a headache. She did that a lot after you was taken
away, Alice.

“Harry, have you been taking your
medication?”

“Whattaya talking about?”

“And I talked to Joe just yesterday
afternoon; he said he hasn’t seen you in a couple months. Now
doesn’t your doctor say it’s important for you to be social?”

“Doctor? And Joe who? Donovan?”

“Yes, Joe Donovan. You remember him, Harry,
your friend from the police force?”

“Whattaya talkin’ to me that way for, Angie?
And yeah I remember Joe, Jesus, I seen him two nights ago, and this
morning, too.”

“You saw Joe Donovan two nights ago?”

“Yeah, I seen him right before I came to talk
to you.”

“Harry, he
told me
he hasn’t seen
you.”

“I did see him! I brought Alice’s body in to
him, and he was at the funeral today!”

“Harry, again, dear,
have you been taking
your medication
?”

“What medication? Why weren’t you at the
funeral, Angie? I mean, it’s OK if you was too upset, we all deal
with things a little different, and--”

“Oh! Mr.
Fucking
Mental Breakdown is
going to tell me how to
deal
with things?”

“Mental breakdown? What the fuck--”

“Goddammit Harry! It’s been over for four
years!”

“I know you feel bad for giving up,
but--”

“I never gave up! We already
knew
. We
know
she’s been dead for four years. You
found
the
body, in that house out on River Way. Don’t you remember that,
Harry?”

“Sure I do! I tole ya, it was two days
ago!”

“Harry!” she screams, and starts crying. “Two
days! It wasn’t two days ago. It was four
fucking
years ago
and you have to let this go!”

“I just came from the cemetery, I put her in
the ground today, and you wasn’t there!”

“Oh my god,” she said quietly, and then
looked at me closely. “You don’t remember seeing Bobby today?”

“Joe said he couldn’t come to the funeral cuz
he couldn’t get his shift covered.”

“I just got off the phone with him, Harry. He
said he stopped in at the bar and you wouldn’t talk to him,
wouldn’t even look at him! He called me because he’s your
friend
, Harry. He’s concerned you’re having another
episode.”

“What? Wait, now...”

“I know, Harry, I know you’re confused, and
it’s OK. We’re getting you help. But you have to take your
medication.”

I got angry then, Alice, and I almost hit
her. I feel bad about almost hittin’ her, cuz nobody should ever
hit a broad, not ever, not for nothing, but I almost hit your Ma.
She was talkin’ crazy, Alice, and it was scaring me.

“What medication!” I yell right in her
face.

She paused for a moment; hand on her mouth,
tears in her eyes. She took me by the hand and led me to a chair,
and then she kneeled next to me, still holding my hand, and she
began to talk.

“Listen to me, Harry. Four years ago someone
took Alice away.
One day later
, you walked into that house
on River Way and you found our daughter, our little Alice, and
she’d been murdered. We had a funeral. And you were right, Bobby
couldn’t get his shift covered, but that was
four years
ago,
not today! Today is the
anniversary of her
funeral
,
but Harry…Harry, it was
four years ago
. You tried going back
to work, but you’d changed, and no one blames you, no one thinks
any less of you. But then you killed someone, Harry. You went to a
park and arrested a man, some crippled man, one of his legs was
normal, the other was...different, it was
smaller
, and you
took him down to the basement where you found Alice, and you beat
him death. Do you remember that? The man with one leg smaller than
the other? The man you killed?”

I feel like I’m in a dream, a nightmare.
“Gimpy?”

“Yes,
Gimpy
, that’s what you kept
calling him. And your friends on the force helped cover it up
because the man was a convicted child molester. That’s why you have
that pension, Harry. You’re disability checks that come every
month? And Bobby Johns, he sold you that bar of his
father’s—practically
gave
it to you--so you would have
something to do, something to get out of bed in the morning
for.”

“Nah, Angie...this ain’t...”

“Yes, Harry.
Yes
. They sent you to a
psychologist, remember Dr. Donaldson? He’s been helping you with
all of this? When he first tried to give you medication you called
him a Nazi and wouldn’t talk to me for a week, but you went back,
Harry. You let him help you before, but for him to help you; you
have to take your pills. You
have
to, or this happens.
You’ve come here like this before, all confused, thinking things
have really happened that only happened in your mind. Last time you
said you’d been visited by a man, oh, what was his name? You said
he worked for God and that he told you whoever killed Alice was a
monster, a devil or something. Do you remember that?”

“I...I saw him today. He said to come talk to
you.”

“And remember what Dr. Donaldson said?”

“Mikey...Donaldson”

“Yes, that’s right, Harry! Dr. Michael
Donaldson. He said that the man who claimed he worked for God was
really your subconscious, telling you to get help.”

“What’re ya doing to me, Angie? I don’t feel
so good...”

“Let me call the doctor for you, Ha--”

“No! I don’t want no doctor. I gotta sort all
this out.”

“He can help you.”

“No! I gotta do it on my own.” I stood on
shaking knees, Alice, you gotta help me here, I just don’t know
what’s happening, I feel like I been drugged up or something, I
feel like laying down and giving up. I looked into Angie’s eyes and
she was a little fuzzy cuz my eyes had watered up a little.

“You’ve started seeing things again,” Angie
said. “The man that said he worked for God, you said you saw him
today? Has he called you on the phone again?”

I just stared at her, because I couldn’t
think a nothing to say.

“And what about that woman? That woman from
the fifties that you used to tell me worked in the bar? She’s not
real, Harry. Neither of them are. Have you seen her, too?”