After the Cure, Deirdre Gould [the beach read TXT] 📗

paced to the door and opened it just a crack so that she could hear as Frank told him firmly and quietly to get lost.

“HE ATE HIS WIFE. AND A KID. A KID,” Terry yelled. A baby down the street began to squall and Nella watched as a few men emerged from their front doors. Most were half dressed, their scars twisting like vines on their faces and legs and arms. Some were missing limbs. A few were carrying weapons. Bats, hockey sticks, golf clubs, tire irons, all shining like teeth in the light from the windows. She watched Terry recoil, their presence reaching through the thick haze of drunk and hate. “I see,” he said, nodding conspiratorially, “You’re all zombies.” He stumbled and Frank caught him before his face could hit the pavement. Terry shoved him off. “Ge’ off monser. James Grant tole me whatchu done. I know whatchu are. ‘ID YOU KNOW HE’S THE LAWYER FOR PATS- PAAAAZ- FOR THE GUY WHAT DID THIS TO YOU? ‘ID YOU KNOW HE’S GOING TO HELP THE GUY GO FREE. ALL OUR LIVES IS RUINT BUT THOSE THAT DID IT, THEY GETS TO GO FREE. AN’ THIS ZOMBIE PROLLY GETS A SHITLOAD OF MONEY FOR IT. YOU BELIE’ THAT?”

The neighbors began descending from their stoops. Almost at the same time. Some hobbling, some smoothly sauntering, but all closing in on Frank and Terry. Nella held her breath and she checked the gun in the light filtering through the crack in the door. Ten or a dozen men formed a half circle around the two. Nella could see Frank’s posture change. He grew bigger, lengthening as his muscles tensed and straightened and his long hands clenched.

“Oh shit,” said Terry.

One very large man in the group of neighbors growled, “You’re awfully lost Immune. This is our home. You aren’t welcome here.”

“Can go where I want,” said Terry, puffing his chest out in false bravado.

Another man slapped a tire iron on his open palm as he closed the distance between the crowd and Terry. “Yeah? You know what we do to Immunes here?”

Terry shook his head. A reedy man circled around behind Terry while the one with the tire iron kept talking. Nella felt like shrinking away from the door to hide, but she remained still. “Well,” said the man with the tire iron, “When we get tired of taking chunks out of each other and an Immune wanders in . . .”

“We eats ‘em!” said the reedy man in a falsetto shriek and snapped his teeth together with a sharp click that even Nella could hear. Terry screeched and scrambled away from the group. He dropped the bottle as he ran back toward the City’s center, not even bothering to stop and pick it up. Nella heard the men erupt in low chuckles and the lights in the windows slowly began winking out. But Frank still looked ready for a fight and she couldn’t bring herself to quite relax. He turned toward the collapsing circle of neighbors and she could see the stress lines on his brow even in the half light. His scar pulsed and jittered as if he were grinding his teeth. She half opened the door, but the large man said easily, “You okay Frank?” and the reedy man clapped him on the shoulder.

“Yeah,” said Frank and she watched him relax and uncoil. She decided not to move and stayed in the shadow of the open door. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring trouble to anyone but myself. I don’t even know why I chose to do this anymore.”

“No one could think ill of you if you decided to drop the case Frank,” said the man with the tire iron, “God knows you’ve as much or more cause to hate Pazzo as the rest of us.”

Frank glanced uneasily back at her. Me? She thought, he’s worried that I’ll be upset if he drops the case? “Even people we hate deserve to have their say. We’ve all done things we aren’t happy about. Wouldn’t we all want the same?” Frank asked, as if someone had argued with him. Nella suspected this had been a long and frequent discussion in the neighborhood.

“We know why you’re doing it Frank,” said the large man, “No one here’s going to harass you about it.”

“Thanks.” She could hear the relief in his tone of voice.

“C’mon guys, it’s late,” yawned a neighbor. The others split gently, each shaking Frank’s hand or slapping his back and calling “goodnight” over their shoulders.

“Go on,” said the reedy man, pushing Frank back towards the house, “Your girl must be out-of-her-mind worried. And tell her I didn’t mean any harm.” He clicked his teeth together again, grinning.

“You shouldn’t keep her cooped up like that Frank,” said the big man, “It’s not polite you know. My wife said she was a good Doc. Helped her a lot in the Cure camp.”

Frank laughed, embarrassed, and Nella blushed behind the door. “Okay, we’ll have a block party or something. We’ll be more social I promise.”

He padded easily back to the door and flipped on the light. “See, I told you they gossiped,” he said, without commenting on the gun in her hand. She replaced it in the pack without apologizing for it.

“Are you okay?” she asked as he caught her around the waist.

“I’m okay. Are you?”

She nodded and blew out a shaky breath in relief.

“It won’t be the last time you know,” he brushed a loose length of hair from her forehead. “It won’t be Terry, I think I can safely guarantee that. But it’ll be someone. Maybe not drunk next time. Maybe mean and sober.”

“I know.”

“Maybe I should take you home. You’ll be safer there until the trial is over.”

“Don’t you dare. You want me to lie awake every night worrying that you got killed? I’ll just drive down here and sleep in the car every night.” She pulled him up the stairs so he wouldn’t think of it any longer. They carefully cleaned the glass up together and Frank pushed the desk over to cover the broken pane.

Nella was exhausted. She had barely fallen asleep when Terry had thrown the rock through the window, and it had already been very late. She pressed her cheek against his chest. Her breath fell on him in a warm, curling mist. “Frank,” she said, already more than half asleep, “I won’t be upset if you want to give up the trial. I’ll understand if you can’t do it, knowing what you know now.”

“I can do it. It’s just going to be harder.” Frank’s voice was bitter and slow.

“We could find a boat. We could just disappear.”

He stroked her hair with his fingertips. “Nella, would you really disappear with me? We might never come back.”

Nella yawned. “I know.”

“After the trial.”

“Stan said we should go see the jeweler tomorrow. Say we’re finding a ring. I think he knows I love you Frank . . .” She murmured, trailing off into sleep.

“What jeweler?” asked Frank, but she didn’t hear him.

 

 

The Jeweler

“I don’t like this plan,” Sevita grumbled. Nella sighed and strained to see into the power plant’s dark interior.

“You couldn’t think of a better one,” she said, giving up and turning back toward her friend. “Besides, what could happen? This guy is just a jeweler. Pazzo wouldn’t have any co-conspirators. He’s too controlling for that.”

“Why couldn’t I have gone instead of Christine?”

Nella laughed. “You’re too well known. It would have been career suicide. If anyone, it should have been me and Christine that went.”

“You’re no good at lying. He would have seen right through you.”

“I know, I know. This way no one gets caught.”

“That’s so boring,” Sevita grumbled.

Nella laughed. Sevita tapped her fingers along her knee and Nella rolled the window down for some fresh air. “You’re sure that’s all he brought in with him?” Sevita asked.

“Hmm? Oh, Dr. Pazzo, yeah, three pens, an almost empty wallet and a dead cell phone.”

“Well did anyone check the lab where he was found?”

“Yeah, I asked Frank that too. He says they took everything apart inch by inch for the investigation.”

“What about weird places, like inside the vending machines or those tubes he pretended were feeding them?”

“You aren’t going to rest until you see it for yourself, are you?”

“Frank must have access to it, as part of the defense team.”

“Ask him.”

“Can’t you ask him for me? He’s more likely to say yes to you. He’ll say yes to anything you ask,” Sevita smiled slyly at her.

“I doubt anyone will need much persuading. Go to Judge Hawkins and ask. They want you to document the case right? That’s part of it I would assume.”

“No, I asked already,” Sevita pouted, “He said it would influence people’s opinions unfairly. Too much gore, it would inflame emotions or something.”

“Then don’t get Frank in trouble!”

“I’m not! I just think we should check to make sure Pazzo didn’t hide it there.”

“He would’ve expected the place to be searched. Besides, I know he wants to keep those samples near him. He can’t risk anyone finding them. But if you swear to me that nothing will get accidentally aired, I’ll ask Frank if we can look around.”

Sevita was satisfied and let Nella return to her worrying in peace. They didn’t have very long to wait. Christine was blushing on her way back to the car and wouldn’t meet their eyes. Nella was amused, thinking Frank must have kissed her to convince the guy. Frank was only a few steps behind and got into the car without saying anything. He looked nervous. Sevita leaned forward and picked up Christine’s hand.

“Chris, you dope, you had my ring on the whole time. How’s the guy going to believe you now?”

Christine glanced at Frank and he shook his head slightly. Nella just caught it. “We told him we wanted to upgrade,” said Christine still blushing.

“Well? What happened?” asked Sevita impatiently.

Nella leaned forward, forgetting Christine’s confusion and Frank’s warning. Frank started the car. “Dr. Pazzo was very specific about what he wanted. He ordered gold plated fountain pens for the defense attorneys. Even Dr. Schneider’s, although we hadn’t found her yet,” he said grimly.

Sevita glanced at her. Nella collapsed back into her seat, all the feeling draining into her feet. Sevita kept her voice low so Christine couldn’t hear. “That’s it, isn’t it?”

Nella nodded.

“Then why don’t we just go get the pens from his cell? That must be where he’s keeping them.”

“What if they aren’t there? Then he’ll know we’re looking for them. He might release it right there and then.”

“Can anyone get into his cell without him knowing?”

“Not until he’s in court. And then we’ve all got to be there.”

“You don’t, as long as you’ve already testified.”

Nella leaned forward, speaking over the whipping breeze that filled the car. “Frank,