Night Shift
Page 75
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Harvey wasn’t interested in either subject, so it was easier for him to listen to the voice. In fact, he found it impossible to ignore. After a second, he stepped out of the room and went down the stairs, unsteady on his feet. It was unlucky for Harvey that the stairs were carpeted, or he would have made quite a lot of noise and maybe someone would have stopped him.
But that didn’t happen.
Harvey was supposed to be on duty at the desk, of course, but who’d even noticed that he wasn’t there? No one! Marina would be on duty in a few minutes. (Harvey did not know that Lenore had given Marina the night off.) There was a bell on the desk, anyway, to summon help if a traveler should stop in. Like anyone ever did! This damn place!
Harvey hardly realized he was crossing the lobby floor to the doors. No one saw him leave, and the tinkle of the chime on the door didn’t even register to the little group in the common room. They could only hear the rain beating down.
Harvey was soaked to the skin within seconds of stepping outside. He dimly understood what he had to do, now that he could hear the voice more clearly. He didn’t have a gun or a knife or anything sharpedged with him, which he realized was his fault. The only person in town who could sell him a blade was the two queers across the road, but their knives were all antique. The pawnshop had knives, but they were under lock and key. The bitch who ran that witch shop had knives, but she always looked at him like he was a problem she had to solve.
Then the demon supplied him with a good idea. Harvey lay down on the road just a little out of the direct radius of the stoplight. In the heavy rain, the next truck that came along passed through the green light without even noticing the bumps.
The demon was delighted at this rich meal, and he felt more blood a bit farther afield. He began pulling the really ripe one, the really tasty one, the one the witch despised.
And Kiki, who’d been staying a motel in Marthasville with a cowboy she’d met at the Cartoon Saloon the day she’d left Midnight, accelerated in her drive to the crossroads. Where she had to be. NOW.
36
The rain stopped at four thirty though the clouds did not clear, and Quinn and his son went out immediately to sprinkle the salt and ash on the outline of the circle. In the gloom, the two didn’t spot the body until they were halfway around. More than one truck had passed through by then, so it wasn’t a recognizable shape.
Though Diederik had the strong stomach of a tiger, he vomited after he realized he was looking at Harvey Whitefield.
“We can’t call the police,” Quinn said. “They’ll be here forever, and we have to do this tonight.”
“But Mrs. Whitefield,” Diederik protested. “She should know.” He liked Lenore, who had always been nice to him, unlike Harvey. Diederik wasn’t grieving for the man but for his wife.
“She should, yes, but we can’t risk a demon rising while the cops are here,” Quinn said reasonably.
“What do we do with him?”
“Let’s move him to the side, so no one will worry about him until the ritual is over. And if the ritual doesn’t work, his body will be the least of our worries.”
They did move the body, which was very unpleasant, and they covered it with an old sheet of plastic the Rev used when he was digging graves in the animal cemetery. Then the two weretigers resumed their task. The salt-and-ash mixture stuck to the painted line very well because of the damp air and wet pavement.
“Do you think Fiji is scared?” Diederik asked quietly. He was carrying the bucket, and Quinn was using a large scoop to distribute the mixture.
“Sure she is,” Quinn said. “For a human, this must feel degrading. They’re very modest about no clothes in public.”
“Let’s switch,” Diederik suggested, and when they had swapped scoop and bucket, he said, “They don’t like to talk about sex even when they’ve had it, either. Even when they’ve had it with you.”
“You have to go with their feelings,” Quinn said philosophically.
“If she picks one of us, and she gets pregnant, will the child be one of us?”
“We talked about this when you began to want Marina. The baby would grow up to be a very healthy person its whole life. And the chances are also good that the child would be athletic and strong. But no, it wouldn’t be able to change.”
Diederik clearly pitied such a child. “I hope someday I can find a tigress, Dad,” he said.
“I found your mother,” Quinn said. “And I’d given up hope.”
“If there’s one tigress, there can be more.”
“Absolutely.” Quinn looked over at the chapel to see the Rev standing on the steps.
“Diederik, run tell the Rev about Harvey and ask him to say a word over the body,” Quinn said, and Diederik hurried over to the old cleric. Quinn saw the Rev nod and walk unhurriedly to the deformed corpse to kneel beside it.
The moment he did, a half-familiar car swerved up and almost hit the Rev, who proved he still had excellent reflexes. The old man threw himself to the left. Diederik and Quinn were only a few feet away and they both leaped farther, startled and furious.
A woman got out, a woman who smelled familiar, too. “It’s Fiji’s sister!” Diederik said, but Quinn was already moving to intercept Kiki, who was staggering toward the intersection. Luckily, no vehicles were coming, but Kiki lay down to wait for her death. She screamed when Quinn yanked her up by her arm. Fiji’s door opened and she ran out, afraid the demon was breaking free early. She dashed toward the struggling group.
The demon screamed, too, in outrage and desire. And he moved so powerfully that the ground began to tremble.
As doors flew open and the people of Midnight poured out of their houses, Kiki struggled with the weretigers. She was intent on dying. The Rev sent Fiji to fetch a rope from the tool shed to bind her, and the three men managed to get her into the chapel.
Fiji said, “I need to be with her!”
Quinn said, “No, we can deal with her. He called her to hurt you. You have to be mentally ready for tonight. He’s trying to distract you.”
Fiji began to protest, but then she thought, He was drawing people who didn’t like me. He was able to draw my sister. And she trudged back into her house. The chapel was cold and damp, but at least Kiki couldn’t commit suicide if she was secured inside.
But that didn’t happen.
Harvey was supposed to be on duty at the desk, of course, but who’d even noticed that he wasn’t there? No one! Marina would be on duty in a few minutes. (Harvey did not know that Lenore had given Marina the night off.) There was a bell on the desk, anyway, to summon help if a traveler should stop in. Like anyone ever did! This damn place!
Harvey hardly realized he was crossing the lobby floor to the doors. No one saw him leave, and the tinkle of the chime on the door didn’t even register to the little group in the common room. They could only hear the rain beating down.
Harvey was soaked to the skin within seconds of stepping outside. He dimly understood what he had to do, now that he could hear the voice more clearly. He didn’t have a gun or a knife or anything sharpedged with him, which he realized was his fault. The only person in town who could sell him a blade was the two queers across the road, but their knives were all antique. The pawnshop had knives, but they were under lock and key. The bitch who ran that witch shop had knives, but she always looked at him like he was a problem she had to solve.
Then the demon supplied him with a good idea. Harvey lay down on the road just a little out of the direct radius of the stoplight. In the heavy rain, the next truck that came along passed through the green light without even noticing the bumps.
The demon was delighted at this rich meal, and he felt more blood a bit farther afield. He began pulling the really ripe one, the really tasty one, the one the witch despised.
And Kiki, who’d been staying a motel in Marthasville with a cowboy she’d met at the Cartoon Saloon the day she’d left Midnight, accelerated in her drive to the crossroads. Where she had to be. NOW.
36
The rain stopped at four thirty though the clouds did not clear, and Quinn and his son went out immediately to sprinkle the salt and ash on the outline of the circle. In the gloom, the two didn’t spot the body until they were halfway around. More than one truck had passed through by then, so it wasn’t a recognizable shape.
Though Diederik had the strong stomach of a tiger, he vomited after he realized he was looking at Harvey Whitefield.
“We can’t call the police,” Quinn said. “They’ll be here forever, and we have to do this tonight.”
“But Mrs. Whitefield,” Diederik protested. “She should know.” He liked Lenore, who had always been nice to him, unlike Harvey. Diederik wasn’t grieving for the man but for his wife.
“She should, yes, but we can’t risk a demon rising while the cops are here,” Quinn said reasonably.
“What do we do with him?”
“Let’s move him to the side, so no one will worry about him until the ritual is over. And if the ritual doesn’t work, his body will be the least of our worries.”
They did move the body, which was very unpleasant, and they covered it with an old sheet of plastic the Rev used when he was digging graves in the animal cemetery. Then the two weretigers resumed their task. The salt-and-ash mixture stuck to the painted line very well because of the damp air and wet pavement.
“Do you think Fiji is scared?” Diederik asked quietly. He was carrying the bucket, and Quinn was using a large scoop to distribute the mixture.
“Sure she is,” Quinn said. “For a human, this must feel degrading. They’re very modest about no clothes in public.”
“Let’s switch,” Diederik suggested, and when they had swapped scoop and bucket, he said, “They don’t like to talk about sex even when they’ve had it, either. Even when they’ve had it with you.”
“You have to go with their feelings,” Quinn said philosophically.
“If she picks one of us, and she gets pregnant, will the child be one of us?”
“We talked about this when you began to want Marina. The baby would grow up to be a very healthy person its whole life. And the chances are also good that the child would be athletic and strong. But no, it wouldn’t be able to change.”
Diederik clearly pitied such a child. “I hope someday I can find a tigress, Dad,” he said.
“I found your mother,” Quinn said. “And I’d given up hope.”
“If there’s one tigress, there can be more.”
“Absolutely.” Quinn looked over at the chapel to see the Rev standing on the steps.
“Diederik, run tell the Rev about Harvey and ask him to say a word over the body,” Quinn said, and Diederik hurried over to the old cleric. Quinn saw the Rev nod and walk unhurriedly to the deformed corpse to kneel beside it.
The moment he did, a half-familiar car swerved up and almost hit the Rev, who proved he still had excellent reflexes. The old man threw himself to the left. Diederik and Quinn were only a few feet away and they both leaped farther, startled and furious.
A woman got out, a woman who smelled familiar, too. “It’s Fiji’s sister!” Diederik said, but Quinn was already moving to intercept Kiki, who was staggering toward the intersection. Luckily, no vehicles were coming, but Kiki lay down to wait for her death. She screamed when Quinn yanked her up by her arm. Fiji’s door opened and she ran out, afraid the demon was breaking free early. She dashed toward the struggling group.
The demon screamed, too, in outrage and desire. And he moved so powerfully that the ground began to tremble.
As doors flew open and the people of Midnight poured out of their houses, Kiki struggled with the weretigers. She was intent on dying. The Rev sent Fiji to fetch a rope from the tool shed to bind her, and the three men managed to get her into the chapel.
Fiji said, “I need to be with her!”
Quinn said, “No, we can deal with her. He called her to hurt you. You have to be mentally ready for tonight. He’s trying to distract you.”
Fiji began to protest, but then she thought, He was drawing people who didn’t like me. He was able to draw my sister. And she trudged back into her house. The chapel was cold and damp, but at least Kiki couldn’t commit suicide if she was secured inside.
