This Present Darkness (49 page)

“We have no choice. Our necks are on the block right now; we’ve got to save ourselves!”

“Well, I certainly intend to do that. Doris and I are going to disappear, and fast, and I’d advise you to do the same. We sure can’t stay around here.”

“So where do I reach you?”

“I won’t tell you over the phone. Just wait to hear from Norm Mattily’s
office. It’ll mean I got through to him, and that’s the only way I’ll be any good to you anyway.”

“If I’m not here, if I’ve skipped town or ended up dead, have him contact Al Lemley at the
New York Times.
I’ll try to leave word with him.”

“I’ll see you again sometime.”

“Let’s pray that you do.”

“Oh, I’m starting to pray a lot these days.”

Marshall hung up, locked all the doors, and headed for home.

BERNICE LAY ON
her couch with an ice bag over her face and an uncomfortable bandage around her rib cage, and she really did want a phone call. She had already thrown up once, her head was throbbing, and she felt miserable, but she wanted a phone call. What was happening out there? She tried calling the
Clarion
, but no one answered. She called Marshall’s home, but no one answered there either.

Well, what do you know! The phone rang. She snatched it up like an owl grabbing a mouse.

“Hello?”

“Bernice Krueger?”

“Kevin?”

“Yeah, man …” He sounded very nervous and high-strung. “Hey, I’m dying, man, I mean I am really scared!”

“Where are you, Kevin?”

“I’m at home. Hey, somebody came in here and tore the place apart!”

“Is your door closed?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why don’t you lock it?”

“Yeah, I got it locked. I’m scared, man. They must have a contract out on me.”

“Be very careful what you say, Kevin. What we heard about our phones being bugged is probably true. They may have bugged your phone.”

Weed didn’t say anything for a moment; then he cursed out of sheer fright. “Oh man, I just got a call from you know who! You think
they heard us talking?”

“I don’t know. We just have to be careful.”

“What am I gonna do? It’s all going down, man. Susan says she’s got the goods, and it’s all going down! She’s gonna split that place—”

Bernice cut him short. “Kevin, don’t say another word. You’d better tell me in person. Let’s meet somewhere.”

“But won’t they know where we’re meeting?”

“Hey, if they know they know, but at least we’ll have some control over what they hear.”

“Well, let’s do it quick, and I mean
quick!
”

“How about that bridge a few miles north of Baker, the one over the Judd River?”

“The big green one?”

“Yeah, that one. There’s a turn-off right at the north end of it. I can be there by …” Bernice looked at her wall clock. “… let’s say 7.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Okay. Good-bye.”

Bernice immediately dialed the
Clarion.
No answer. She dialed Marshall at home.

THE TELEPHONE IN
the Hogan kitchen rang and rang, but Marshall and Kate remained silent at the kitchen table, letting it ring until finally it stopped.

Kate, her hands shaking just a little, her breathing consciously controlled, looked at her husband with tear-filled eyes.

“The telephone has a way of bringing consistently bad news,” she quipped, her eyes dropping for a moment.

Right now Marshall had as much intestinal fortitude as an empty garbage bag, and for one rare occasion in his life he was at a loss for words.

“When did you get that call?” he finally asked.

“This morning.”

“But you don’t know who it was?”

Kate took a deep breath, trying to stay on top of her emotions. “Whoever it was, he knew just about everything about you and me, and even Sandy; so he wasn’t just a crank in that respect. His … credentials
were very impressive.”

“But he was lying!” Marshall said angrily.

“I know,” Kate answered assertively.

“It’s just another smear tactic, Kate. They’re trying to take away my newspaper, they’re trying to take away my home, and now they’re trying to destroy my marriage. There isn’t now, nor has there ever been any kind of goings-on between Bernice and me. For crying out loud, I’m old enough to be her father!”

“I know,” Kate answered again. She took a moment to build up strength to continue. “Marshall, you are my man, and if I were ever to lose you I know I’d never find one better. I also know you’re not a man given to just tossing around his passions. I have a prize in you, and I’ve never forgotten that.”

He took her hand. “And you’re all the woman I could ever handle.”

She squeezed his hand as she said, “I do have confidence that these things will never change. I suppose it’s that kind of confidence that’s kept me hanging on, waiting …”

Her voice trailed off, and there was a moment of silence. Kate had to choke down her emotions, and Marshall couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Marshall,” she said finally, “there are some other things that haven’t changed either, but those things were supposed to change; you and I agreed together that they would. We agreed that things would be different after we moved from New York, that you would take it easy, that you would have more time for your family, that maybe we could all get to know one another again and patch things up.” The tears began to flow and it was difficult for her to speak, but she was committed now, so she kept going. “I don’t know what it is, whether the ultimate scoop simply tags after you no matter where you go or if you concoct it on your own, time after time. But if I were to ever be jealous or suspicious of another lover, that’s what the lover would be. You do have another love, Marshall, and I just don’t know if I can compete with it.”

Marshall knew he’d never be able to fully explain everything. “Kate, you’ve no idea how big this whole thing is.”

She shook her head. She didn’t want to hear it. “That’s not at issue here. As a matter of fact, I’m sure it is big, it is extremely important, it probably does warrant the amount of time and energy you’ve
put into it. But what I am coping with now is the detriment that this whole thing has been to myself, to Sandy, and to this family. Marshall, I don’t care about comparisons; no matter where Sandy and I have been placed on your list of priorities, we are still suffering, and that is the direct problem that I’m dealing with. I can’t care about anything else.”

“Kate … that’s what they want!”

“They’re getting it,” she countered abruptly. “But don’t you dare blame anyone else for your failure to live up to your promises. No one else is responsible for your promises, Marshall, and I am holding you responsible for the promises you made to your family.”

“Kate, I didn’t ask for this to come up, I didn’t ask for this to happen. When it’s all over—”

“It’s over now!” That stopped him cold. “And it’s not really a matter of choice for me. I have my limitations, Marshall. I know there’s only so much I can take. I have to get away.”

Marshall was too weak to say a word. He couldn’t even think of any words. All he could do was look her in the eye and let her speak, let her do whatever she had to do.

Kate kept going. She had to get it all out before she would be unable to. “I talked to my mom this morning. She was very supportive of both of us, and she’s not taking sides at all. As a matter of fact—and you might find this interesting—she’s been praying for us, for you in particular. She says she even dreamt about you the other night; she dreamt that you were in trouble and that God would send His angels to help you if she prayed. She took the whole thing pretty seriously, and she’s been praying ever since.”

Marshall smiled weakly. He appreciated that, but what good was it doing?

Kate came to the bottom line. “I’m going to stay with her for a while. I need time to think. And
you
need time to think. We both need to know for sure just which of your promises you are truly willing to live up to. We need to get it settled once and for all, Marshall, before we go one step further.

“As for Sandy, right now I don’t even know where she is. If I can find her I might ask her to come with me, although I doubt she’ll want to leave Shawn and everything they’re involved in.” She drew a deep breath as this new pain took hold of her. “All I can say is, you don’t
know her anymore, Marshall.
I
don’t know her. She’s been slipping away and slipping away … and you were never here.” She couldn’t go on. She buried her face in her hands and wept.

Marshall found himself wondering if he should even go to her, comfort her, put his arms around her. Would she accept it? Would she even believe that he cared?

He did care. His own heart was breaking. He went to her and gently put his hand on her shoulder.

“I won’t give you any pat answers,” he said quietly. “You’re right. Everything you’ve said is right. And I don’t dare make any more promises now that I may not be able to keep.” The words hurt even as he forced himself to say them. “I do need to think about it. I need to do some real housecleaning. Why don’t you go ahead? Go ahead and stay with your mom for a while, get away from all this mess. I’ll … I’ll let you know when it’s all over, when I’m settled on what’s important. I won’t even ask you to come back until then.”

“I love you, Marshall,” she said as she wept.

“I love you too, Kate.”

She rose suddenly and embraced him, giving him a kiss he would remember for a long time, a kiss when she held him desperately tight, when her face was wet with tears, when her body trembled with her weeping. He held her with his strong arms as if he were hanging on to his very life, a priceless treasure he might never have again.

Then she said, “I’d better just go,” and gave him one final hug.

He held her for one last moment and then said as comfortingly as he could, “It’ll be okay. Good-bye.”

Her bags were already packed. She didn’t take much. After the front door quietly closed behind her and their little pickup truck eased out of the driveway, Marshall sat alone at the kitchen table for a very long time. He numbly stared at the woodgrain patterns in the tabletop, a thousand memories flooding through his mind. Minutes upon minutes passed without his heed; the world went on without him.

At last his stupor crumbled as all his thoughts and feelings came to rest on her name, “Kate …” and he cried and cried.

GUILO BIT HIS
lower lip and surveyed the valley below, along with his two dozen warriors. From their vantage point halfway down the mountain slopes and in among the rocks, the Strongman’s Lair was a boiling, humming caldron of black spirits, their myriads forming a swarming, living haze over the cluster of buildings below. The sound of their wings was a constant, low-pitched drone that echoed back upon itself from the rocky crags all around. The demons were very disturbed right now, like an angry hive of bees.

“They’re building up for something,” a warrior observed.

“Even so,” said Guilo, “something doesn’t feel right, and I would venture to say it has to do with
her.
”

All around the complex, vans and trailers were packed with everything from the office supplies right down to Alexander M. Kaseph’s stuffed trophies. The personnel were now going through their dormitories, packing up their personal belongings and sweeping out the rooms. Everywhere there was a pervading excitement and anticipation, and people clustered here and there, chattering in their native languages.

In the big stone house, secluded from all the activity, Susan Jacobson worked hurriedly in her private room, consolidating a huge box of records, ledgers, documents, printed matter. She was trying to eliminate anything she didn’t absolutely need, but almost every item seemed indispensable. Even so, only one suitcase—now sitting on her
dresser—would have to contain it all. So far, the load was too bulky to fit in the suitcase and too heavy for Susan to carry even if it did.