“And so we commit the body … ”
*****
By the time Mark arrived in the city,
the initial shock had worn off. Alex
went to meet him and guide him to the island.
She was a little subdued and Mark, being almost painfully tuned in to
her emotions, took her hand and squeezed it.
“If this is a bad time … ”
“No.
Well, yes, it is, but it’s okay,” she replied. “The day we got home, we had some bad news. Joseph, our butler, had been killed in an
accident. He was .. so nice, so polite
and always so helpful. Nothing was ever
too much trouble for him. I’ll miss
him, Mark. If I get a little teary,
that’s why,” Alex explained. “I’m
hoping your visit will make me feel better.
Take my mind off things.”
“I’m so sorry to hear about
Joseph. I’ve never had a butler but ..
I can imagine the guy must have been invaluable to you.”
“He was. He was .. discreet, and loyal …
Most of the time, we never knew he was there. He just .. knew what we needed and provided it.” Alex felt her eyes fill with tears and she
sniffed them away. “We’re a little ..
disorganized right now, as you can imagine.
Joseph did so much and we relied on him … It’s hit us all quite hard, but especially Peri. He was almost like family to her. I have to ask you to make allowances,
Mark. None of us are .. exactly
ourselves so you won’t see us at our best.”
“It’s okay, Alex,” Mark said with a
brief, comforting smile.
She smiled too. The Legacy took its people and forced them
to see death. Friends, colleagues,
enemies, creatures … None of them were
easy and some were just plain difficult.
But they always picked themselves up again and battled on. If they let death get to them, they wouldn’t
last two seconds. It wasn’t ever a case
of just shrugging it off but they could deal with it. By the time Alex was parking her car in the garage and Mark was
guiding the Taurus in beside her, she was looking forward to his time here at
the house.
Mark studied the exterior with the
kind of open admiration only a professional architect could bestow.
“My lord, you live here?
Jeez, Alex, you never said! This
is fabulous!”
“Come on inside, I’ll introduce you to
everyone an’ give you the dollar tour.”
He took his bag and briefcase and
followed her back along the drive to the house, eyes wide and fascinated. The foyer brought him to a standstill.
“Oh, my God .. this is great!
I have got to get photographs
… ”
“Ah, Mark, you made it, I see,” Derek
greeted, emerging from the music room.
“Welcome to San Francisco and to Angel Island.”
“It’s good to be here, Derek. I’m sorry to hear about your butler. This .. is yours?”
Derek nodded. “For several generations.”
“It’s terrific. I can get some very good structural ideas
from this house.”
“Alex ..?” The voice came across from the stairs.
She turned, smiling. “Nick, this is my friend Mark Absolom. Mark, Nick Boyle.”
“Hey, pleased to meet you,” Nick said,
grinning as he crossed the foyer and held out a hand.
“We spoke on the phone,” Mark
recalled, shaking hands. “Good to
finally put a face to the voice.”
“Nick, could you see to some coffee in
the lounge?” Alex asked.
“Sure. In about .. a half hour?”
“That’d be great. C’mon, Mark, I’ll show you to a guest room,”
Alex said. “Then we’ll do the tour.”
“Start
the tour,” he immediately corrected. “I
won’t see everything in a half hour.
God, this is an amazing house
… ”
They went upstairs and the voices
faded. Folding his arms, Nick paused
next to Derek. “I don’t think Alex is
gonna get a look in this week.”
“She’ll bring him round,” Derek
commented mildly. “Where’s Peri?”
Nick sighed and shook his head. “Still searching.”
*****
“C’mon,” Merlin muttered to herself,
“you were never this stubborn when
you were alive … Don’t do this to me,
Joseph. It isn’t fair.”
She pushed on thru the forest, peering
thru the perpetual gray twilight. She’d
been looking for him for three days now.
The forest was big, almost infinite and she’d hardly scratched the
surface. She’d asked those she’d met
and they’d shaken their heads. She was
well off the beaten track now.
“Peri ..?”
She halted sharply.
“Is that you ..?”
Merlin swung around. She gazed at him, unable to speak for a
moment. Joseph came toward her.
“I appear to be lost.”
“I figured as much,” she replied. “I been three days trying to find you.”
“Where am I?” Joseph asked.
“In the forest.”
“I can see that much, Peri, but where is the forest?”
“Other side of life. You were on your way to the airport,” she
related, guiding him back to the paths.
“There was an accident.”
“Oh, yes. I recall. The bus ran
over something and the driver lost control.
We ended up in a ditch at the side of the road, the bus tipped over on
its side.”
“And .. you died in the wreckage. This forest,” Merlin explained, “is where
the dead come to recover from the ordeal of passing over. You can stay here as long as you want, then,
when you feel ready, you .. cross the river.”
“I see,” Joseph said, nodding
thoughtfully. “And .. are you dead
too?”
“No, I’m not.”
His face cleared of its worried
frown. “I’m very pleased to hear
that. Master Nick would have been very
upset.”
They walked in silence for a while.
“So .. how is it possible for you to
be here if you’re not dead?” Joseph
then inquired.
“Well, now you’re here, I can tell
you. I’m a Flamefall. A warrior of good. I have the ability to .. cross over to the other side an’ go
back. When you’re settled in your new
.. existence, I can come visit you. I
can bring others to visit you. It’ll
seem like you never died.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“Only .. I won’t clean any silver,
okay?” she added. “Just to get that one
outta the way.”
“I understand. You’d be a guest, not a resident.” He walked on a few more steps. “Your parents .. they live over the river?”
“Yeah, they do. Being Flamefalls themselves, they can make
the journey back as well .. and whenever they want,” she added, sounding a
little pained.
“Oh, I’ll look forward to seeing them
too then. Maybe invite them to supper
or something.”
“They’d like that, Joseph.” Merlin halted and regarded him. “There’s no rush. You got eternity now. My
advice is to pace yourself. Take your
time here, rest, recover. Dying is a
shock. You need a while to get over
it.”
He nodded. “Wise advice, Peri.”
“You got any messages I can take back
an’ pass on?” she asked.
“Yes, I do.” He paused. “Will you tell
Dr Rayne that I’m very sorry I let him down so badly.”
“You want me to tell him you’re
sorry.”
He nodded.
Merlin wanted to slap him for
that. She wanted to tell him it was a
dumb message. But she didn’t.
“Okay. I’ll tell him, exactly.”
“Thank you,” Joseph said earnestly.
“Now, I want you to listen to me. This is important. The dead come to this forest.
All of ’em. Good, bad, makes no
difference. Once they go over the river
.. they get separated out. But this
side of the river .. no. Now the people
here who are okay tend to stay on the paths.
The ones you should keep away from, they go off the paths.”
“Stay on the paths.”
“Or very close to them, yeah.”
“All right,” he said.
“I got your package for you and I left
it in the pantry, just like you said.
It’s still there. I thought I’d
mail it back to England for you.”
“I wouldn’t bother if I were you,”
Joseph said with an enigmatic smile.
“I’d leave it exactly where it is .. for now.”
“Okay,” she shrugged. “Well .. is there anything else I can do for
you, or tell you?”
“No, I believe I’m fine. I’ll rest for a while .. then cross the
river.”
“It’s that way,” she pointed. Then she stepped forward and hugged
him. “Place isn’t the same without you
on my case all the time. I miss you,
man.”
“Visit whenever you want,” he
whispered, returning the hug.
*****
Nick went to the kitchen to get a beer
from the icebox. Derek followed him.
“You wanna beer?” Nick inquired.
“Why not?” Derek agreed. He looked round as he sat at the table. “It feels .. like there is a gaping hole in this
room.”
Nick sat opposite him and silently put
the second bottle on the table. Derek
stared at it for a long moment.
“Whatever it is, you can say it,” Nick
invited.
“I don’t want you to think I’m
insensitive. Even to me .. it sounds a
little cold.”
Nick put the bottle to his lips and
drank for a second. “In the Teams,
there’s a saying. It .. acknowledges
that, sometimes, there’s nothing anyone can do. You just have to .. accept it an’ move on.”
“Really. What’s the saying?” Derek inquired.
“Shit happens.” Nick grinned quickly. “Now who sounds insensitive?”
But Derek nodded thoughtfully. “I understand. And .. in that spirit, we have to discuss hiring a
replacement. Obviously, not immediately. Joseph .. has not yet been buried. But it is something we must at least think
about. And any prospective candidate
must have his, or her, background thoroughly investigated.”
“Soon as you get a list of names, I’ll
start digging. It isn’t cold,
Derek. It’s practical .. but I wouldn’t
say anything to Alex or Peri just yet.
Give it a few more days.”
Derek nodded again. “With Rachel away and Alex occupied for at
least a week – ”
“We can do it.”
“If the funeral is soon .. would you
represent the Luna Foundation?” Derek asked, looking up.
“You don’t wanna go?” Nick queried,
surprised.
“I do .. and I will, if things
permit. You’ve shown, more than once,
you can hold things together here, alone if you have to. But if I can’t, for whatever reason, I’d
like you to go in my place.”
“Sure,” Nick agreed at once. “One of us should .. and I think Peri will
go anyway. She was quite close to
Joseph.”
“Yes … ” Derek looked round the kitchen again. “He was never an intrusion.
You could hardly say he was loud .. yet there is this .. terrible
silence. I keep expecting to see
him. Quietly getting on with his work
… He’ll be difficult to replace.”
“I don’t think you could replace him,”
Nick remarked. “But you can hire a new
butler.”
*****
Merlin woke and stretched. She was a little stiff and definitely
hungry. She sat up, swung her bare feet
to the floor, and slowly stood. She
went thru a quick stretching routine to loosen up the muscles and joints, then
smiled to herself.
He was okay.
The next time she went to see him,
he’d be settled in a new house or apartment.
Maybe even an archetypal cottage with roses around the door. It’d have a little herb garden somewhere out
back. And they’d have tea on the patio.
If Joseph was okay, Merlin was
okay. She felt the sadness slip away,
vanish into the mental trashcan where all resolved emotional problems were
dispatched. Time to pass on the good
news and help the others get their balance back.
She opened the door and set off along
the hall. She heard voices – Alex and
an unknown male voice – and she frowned slightly.
Isn’t there supposed to be some guest
staying ..?
The voices were drifting toward the
landing and Merlin slowed to an ambling crawl, suddenly very interested in the
condition of the wood paneling, curious about who was with Alex. Eventually, they reached the stairs where
Merlin was .. just about to descend.
“Oh .. Peri,” Alex said.
Merlin halted and turned. “Alex.”
Mark felt twin beams scan his face.
“This is my friend Mark Absolom,” Alex
introduced, putting him – and her – out of their respective miseries. “Mark, this is Peri.”
“Nick’s wife,” Mark remembered.
“Yeah. Pleased to meet you,” Merlin said, shaking his hand. “You’re .. the Cypress Grove guy. And
the Hidden Valley guy.
“That’s right!” he laughed.
“I hear you’re an architect so I guess
it makes sense that you’d get the strange houses.”
“I guess it does,” Mark agreed,
amiably. “You must be into major league
weird as well.”
“No,” Merlin replied. “No, I don’t do weird. I’m interested in it, but I don’t investigate
it. Weird is definitely Alex’s province
.. and the others,” she hastily added.
“So .. do you have a .. a province?”
Mark ventured.
Merlin thought about it. “Security,” she said. “Nick an’ I cover the security. He deals with the physical an’ I deal with
the spiritual.”
“One of God’s cops, huh?” he grinned.
“Something like that, yeah,” she
agreed, smiling. “Alex, do you have a
moment? I’d like a very quick word in
private.”
“Sure. Mark, would you wait here?”
“No problem. I’ll spend it getting my bearings.”
Merlin led Alex back along the
hall. “I found him,” she said
softly. “He’s fine. Really.
He’s .. resting up for a while but .. looking forward to receiving
visitors.”
Alex closed her eyes and gave a long
sigh of relief. “Oh,” she whispered,
“thank God … ” Tears brimmed quickly
and fell. “I can sleep a little easier
now.”
“So can I,” Merlin grinned. “No more gloomy faces, okay? Enjoy your time out with Mark.”
Alex hugged her. “Thank you.”
“No big. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go cheer up two more gloomy
faces. And you can continue the tour.”
“Right.”
Merlin went back to where Mark was
waiting – and not just waiting, he was studying the shape of the windows and
the paneling – and, with a cheerful wave, headed on down the stairs. Mark turned to Alex.
“I thought you said Joseph’s death had
hit her pretty hard,” he commented.
“It had .. but she’s over it now. And .. so am I.”
Mark’s eyebrows rose, and then he
shrugged. Since Cypress Grove and then
Hidden Valley, Mark had learned there were many strange things in the world
and, sometimes, the best course of action was not to ask questions.
“Where next?” he asked brightly.
*****
Derek and Nick glanced up as she came
in. Then they sat up slightly.
“You found him,” Nick breathed.
“Beer. Good thinking,” she said, going to the icebox. “I’m thirsty just as much as I’m starved.”
“Peri – ” Derek began.
“Yeah, I found him. He’d gotten lost. Wandered quite a way from the paths. He’s fine. Accepts what’s
happened to him. He asked me to pass on
a message to you, Derek, and I quote – please tell Dr Rayne that I’m very sorry
I let him down so badly.”
Nick grinned. Derek gave a small, quiet laugh, sad yet
overjoyed.
“That’s Joseph .. to a T,” Derek commented. “Sorry that he let me down.”
There was something in his voice, some
small thing that made Merlin pull up.
“Derek, listen to me,” she said,
coming to the table. “It was an
accident. It was not your fault. You didn’t cause the accident. You were not even in the same country. How could you possibly have prevented
it? Let it go.”
“He’s .. really all right?”
“He’s fine! He’s taking a while to rest an’ recover, and then he’s gonna
cross the river. He’s looking forward
to having visitors.” She put a hand on
his shoulder. “Really, Derek. He’s fine.”
Nick watched her sit down. A moment of silence passed.
“Look,” Merlin went on. “Don’t get me wrong, okay? I don’t mind helping out in the
circumstances, but .. I can’t do it long term.
You’re gonna have to get a new butler.”
Nick looked across at Derek. “Joseph’s fine. Let it go.”
*****
“ … of the dear departed into the
ground … ”
*****
“Really? And he worked at the San Francisco Legacy house ..? How terribly unfortunate .. for him. Hmm.
Thank you for telling me.”
He hung up the phone and looked back
at the newspaper. Several people had
suffered horrible injuries and some were still in a critical condition in the
hospital. Three people had died in the
accident. Martha Hopkins. Sam Cottismore. And Joseph Millward. A
terrible, tragic waste of life. And a
golden opportunity. The wheels, long
rusted and believed never going to move again, creaked into motion. The shadow lengthened.
*****
Merlin leaned in closer. “They didn’t come back last night,” she
breathed into Nick’s ear.
“So ..?” Nick murmured.
“I saw her take a bag.”
He grinned quickly. “Ah, but did he take a bag as well?”
“Uh huh.”
His grin widened. “She’s all grown up. No law says she can’t.”
Merlin pulled back. “You think this one has legs to go the
distance?” she asked, eyes bright.
Nick swiveled his chair round to face
her. “I think it does, yeah. And I can see big problems as well.”
Merlin’s eyes grew round. “Alex would leave the Legacy?”
“No.
Mark was saying yesterday about how he’d like to open up a West Coast
office. He’d be local. Alex might move out but she wouldn’t have to
leave. And Mark is good for her. He knows enough about us without knowing
anything about the Legacy, an’ he doesn’t put pressure on her. Derek told me how useful Mark was in Hidden
Valley.”
“So where’re the big problems?” she
asked, shaking her head. “I can’t see
any.”
“How about Jack?” Nick asked in reply.
Merlin put a hand to her mouth. “Oh dear .. you’re right.”
“Jack does know what we do an’ he an’
Alex get along very well. She could get
caught between the two of ’em an’ end up with nothing.”
“We can’t let that happen. Alex deserves more than that.”
“And we can’t interfere. It has to be her choice because it’s her
life.” Nick turned back to his
workstation. “Mark’ll be gone in a
couple of days. We’ll see how Alex
takes it.”
Merlin nodded. “Rachel’s back in a couple of days.”
“Never a dull moment around here,” he
commented.
*****
Derek nodded. “Yes, I understand. There has to be an investigation into the
cause of the accident and, until that is concluded, the body cannot be
released.” He listened for a
moment. “I would appreciate that. As soon as you know, please call me
again. We would like to send at least
two representatives. Joseph .. was a
valued employee and we miss him very much.
If there is anything at all we can do … ” He nodded again, more briskly.
“Thank you. I’ll await your call
then. Goodbye.”
He hung up and stared blindly at the
wall for a moment. He realized that
Merlin was right, telling him to let it go but he had to agonize for a few more
minutes. She’d asked him how could he
have prevented it?
I have seen threatened accidents, and
possible death. My vision always tells
me the truth .. and I have saved lives by acting on what I’ve seen. If I had just .. made contact with Joseph
before he left, I might have been forewarned.
I could have passed on that warning.
I didn’t .. put a hand on his shoulder.
I didn’t even shake his hand and wish him well. I .. let him go.
Could I have prevented it? Maybe.
I’ll never know because now it’s too late.
He sighed and, reluctantly, pushed it
away. It was all very well learning
from past mistakes, another completely to then set them aside, especially when
death was involved. Especially when it
was such a pointless death.
There was a knock on his door. “Come in,” he called, picking up a file and
opening it.
Merlin halted just inside the door.
“Ah, Peri. Something I can do for you?”
“Maybe.”
“Sit down,” he invited, putting the
file down again and looking attentive.
Slowly, she sank onto the single chair
on the other side of the desk. “I was
sitting out there, watching Nick work, and I suddenly felt .. something.”
Derek frowned. “An attack?”
“No, not that. It was .. self pity. A big crashing wave of it. Came from this office.” She leaned forward. “I am gonna tell you this one time, okay?”
“Let it go,” Derek muttered. “I am trying.”
She shook her head. “What I’m gonna tell you will help you let
it go. I know, this is tough for you,
Derek, but you’re torturing yourself for no reason. It doesn’t matter how you live your life – all that does is
affect where you end up. What you do,
each day, doesn’t buy you more time, and everyone has a time to die. My parents – you couldn’t find two better
people. They died way too soon, in a
car wreck caused by a blown tire. They
didn’t die in combat but in an accident.
Accidents happen, Derek. You
might have seen it, you might have tried to prevent it. Tell me, do you have to physically touch
someone to get a vision?”
Derek shook his head.
“No, if it’s something really
important, you don’t need contact, do you?
If it was, say, something critical, something .. life or death, you’d
just .. see it. The fact that you
didn’t .. doesn’t that tell you anything?
It was Joseph’s time to die. If
it wasn’t, he wouldn’t be dead. He’d be
one of the survivors of that accident.
Beating on yourself only hurts you. It doesn’t make any difference to
Joseph. He is fine. He’s looking forward to having my parents
round for supper.”
She watched his face, saw the hope
battling with the remaining doubt.
“Look, I’ve taken Nick to visit with
his parents and his brother. I’ve taken
Rachel and Kat to visit with Patrick and Connor. I’ve taken Alex to visit with Julia and with her
grandmother. I’ve taken you to visit
Megan and I really, really wish I could take you to visit your father but I
can’t do that. What I can do is take
you to see Joseph. Let you talk with
the guy. Would that put your mind at
rest?”
Derek nodded. “Yes, it would.”
“All right. We’ll do it, but not just yet.
Give him a chance to .. get settled.
Otherwise, it’d be like having guests show up while you’re still
unpacking the crates.”
He smiled. “In .. a couple of weeks?”
“Make it a month,” Merlin
advised. “Or .. and I speak from
experience, you’ll find yourself working hard for a cup of coffee an’ a
Danish.”
“One month then,” Derek agreed.
“And, in the interim, if I feel any
more self pity from you, you’ll wonder what’s hit you,” she warned.
“I’ll mind what I think,” he
accepted. “And feel.”
“Thank you.”
*****
“ … ashes to ashes … ”
*****
“The wanderer returns … ” Nick commented,
grinning. “And a day early.”
Rachel put down her suitcase and
shivered. “I’m asking myself why. It’s cold here!” she laughed. She shrugged off her jacket and raked a hand
thru her hair. “Where is everyone?”
“Alex is in the city with her friend
Mark who has been here almost a week an’ leaves tomorrow. Derek’s in his office doing whatever it is
Precepts do. Peri’s over at Paradise
Drive dealing with mail .. I think. And
I’m on my way to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee.”
“Kat ..?” Rachel called. “Hurry up, sweetie! I wanna shut this door.” She looked back. “Why don’t you just call Joseph?”
Nick looked down. “There was an accident … ”
“Oh no,” Rachel sighed, her eyes
closing. “I can’t believe it … ”
“Peri’s been to see him. He’s fine.
Don’t feel bad,” Nick urged.
“But .. it means, for now, we gotta get along on our own.”
She nodded. “Well .. I can help out now I’m back. And I’m sure Kat will volunteer as well.”
“For what?” Kat inquired suspiciously
as she came thru the door. “Hi, Nick.”
“Hey, kiddo. Good vacation?”
Kat rolled her eyes dreamily. “It was the best!” She looked to her mother.
“Volunteer for what?”
“Helping out here, doing stuff like
making the coffee, a little cooking.”
Rachel smiled bravely. “Not the
best news to come back to, Kat. There
was an accident and Joseph won’t be coming back. He died.”
Kat’s eyes promptly filled with tears.
“I know, sweetie. It’s hard,” Rachel whispered, hugging
her. “It’s okay to feel sad and to miss
him. But I am also very sure that Peri
will take us to visit, if you wanna go.”
Kat nodded.
“I’ll tell her to put you on the
waiting list,” Nick commented dryly.
“Joseph’s gonna need to set up a social calendar at this rate.”
That made Kat laugh. “Sure, I’ll volunteer to help out,” she
said. “You want me to start now?”
“That’d be very good of you,” Rachel
accepted.
She nodded. “Black, no sugar,” she said to Nick and headed away to the
kitchen.
“So .. you say Alex’s friend Mark is
in town,” Rachel went on, her eyes twinkling.
“This would be the Mark from High School, don’t ask, that’s all I’m
gonna say?”
“One an’ the same,” Nick nodded.
“I see,” Rachel grinned. “And .. is it working out?”
“Seems to be.”
“Good. I’m pleased for her.”
“He’s thinking of setting up an office
out here,” Nick added.
“Really?” Rachel’s eyebrows rose.
“Now that does sound promising.”
“Uh huh, especially as Derek’s vetted
the guy an’ declared him acceptable material.”
She stared at him. “What else happened while I was away?” Rachel
demanded.
“Got a few hours ..?” Nick wondered.
*****
“You got my number?” Mark asked again.
Alex nodded. “Yes,” she repeated patiently.
“Call me,” he begged.
“You know I will.”
“Every night ..?”
“It’ll be early in the morning if I call
at night,” she laughed.
“You know what I mean,” Mark said
softly.
“Yes, I do,” Alex smiled.
He looked at her. “This week .. it’s really been special. I think the people you work with are a
fabulous group. An’ it was real nice meeting
Rachel yesterday. I could talk with her
for hours. About attorneys, I
mean. But the best part .. not
including the house .. was spending time with you. When we were in college .. I asked you to marry me, an’ you said
no. I think you were right to say
that. We were both way too young. But .. I’ve never met anyone who makes me
feel I’d wanna grow old with them, not since you. You’re the only one, Alex.”
He took her hand. “They’re about to call my flight so I don’t
have much time an’ this isn’t the place so I’m not gonna ask you again, not
here, not now. But I want you to think
about it because, next time I’m out here, I am
gonna ask you to marry me.”
Alex blinked. She’d been half expecting this yet it still
came out of the blue.
“Okay .. I’ll think about it. Seriously.”
“Thank you,” Mark said. He laughed suddenly. “You’ve made me very happy, saying that.”
His flight was called and he took her
in his arms, kissed her and felt the kiss returned. Memories of the passionate nights they’d spent in the hotel
filled their minds for a long, desperate moment. They clung to each other, not wanting to say goodbye, not wanting
to part.
“Call me,” he begged again.
“I will,” Alex promised thru her
tears. “Every day.”
“I gotta go. I don’t want to but .. I gotta go.”
She nodded. “Safe journey.”
They embraced fiercely one last time,
then Mark broke away, picked up his bag and briefcase and walked to the
gate. Alex stood there, forcing herself
to stay put and not run after him. At
the gate, he paused to look back and smile.
She waved.
“I love you, Alex Moreau!” he shouted.
“I love you too,” she called.
He grinned and went thru. Alex made it to her car before she broke
down and cried.
*****
“ … dust to dust … ”
*****
“The nineteenth,” Derek repeated. “At eleven o’clock. Yes, we will be there. At least two of us. The parish church of Saint Paul, followed by
the interment at Bicknell Avenue. Yes,
I’ve made a note of it. Oh .. yes, that
would be very useful, thank you. The
Thistle public house.” He listened for
a moment. “Thank you very much for
telling me. Goodbye.”
He hung up, rose, and went out to the
control room. Nick looked round.
“The nineteenth at eleven o’clock.”
“I’ll organize the flights. We’ll need to go two days before. Fly back the nineteenth or the twentieth?”
“The twentieth.”
“Into Heathrow?”
“Yes,” Derek nodded. “Apparently, The Thistle public house has
rooms to rent at a reasonable price and the food is good.”
“I’ll see if I can get a listing for
them, give ’em a call,” Nick agreed.
Derek paused. “As we’re speaking of food .. I believe it
is my turn to help Kat in the kitchen today.”
“I can do it,” Nick offered. “Rachel’s upstairs with Alex, having a heart
to heart.”
“No, we agreed turn and turn about,
and it’s my turn.” He still didn’t
move. “Alex seems to be taking Mark’s
departure hard.”
“She’ll get over it,” Nick
commented. “She can always call him, go
visit. And he’ll be back before she
knows it.”
Derek nodded. “I hope so,” he agreed sadly.
*****
“ … in the sure and certain hope … ”
*****
“Just tell me Emily Forrester isn’t
here,” Nick muttered, running a finger around his collar.
“She isn’t,” Merlin replied. “I checked an’ double checked the guest
list. Will you stop doing that? You’ll make your tie crooked.”
“I feel like my neck’s in a noose,” he
complained.
“Professor Abrams,” she nodded,
smiling at a guy who epitomized the word ‘distinguished’.
“Derek looks good in a tux. I don’t.”
Merlin collected two glasses of champagne
from a passing waiter and handed one to him.
“Use both hands. It’ll give you
something to do besides messing with your collar.”
“Ah .. Nick! You made it,” Carl greeted.
“Or were you strong-armed into it?”
Nick grinned. “You could say that, yeah. I still got the bruises.”
“Peri .. can be forceful in her
opinions,” Carl agreed cheerfully.
“Which is why we have so many new exhibits and a new annex to put them
in. She’s a godsend, she really is.”
You don’t know how true that is, Nick
mused.
“I was hoping she’d get you here this
evening. There are some new arrivals
I’d like you to take a look at when you can fit them in.”
“Sure, no problem. Not this week though. We’re flying to England in a couple of days,
won’t be back till the weekend.”
“Business?” Carl inquired.
“You remember Joseph?”
“Oh .. yes. I’m so sorry. A terrible
tragedy. You’re going to the funeral.”
“S’right,” Nick nodded. “If you wanna drop the items off, Alex an’
Rachel are gonna be there. I’ll look
’em over soon as I get back.”
“Thank you, yes,” Carl accepted.
“How’d you get ’em?” Merlin inquired.
“An anonymous donation, would you
believe?” he replied. “Obviously
someone with a lot of money because these things are .. beyond mere price. Or they could be. Once they are authenticated and if they’re genuine, collectors
would pay a king’s ransom for them.”
“I’ll have to break out the kid
gloves,” Nick remarked. “Where’re they
from?”
“The Holy Land. We’re not exactly sure but .. on initial
assessment and bearing in mind the exact location they were discovered .. we
think they could be from Sodom.”
“I thought nothing was left of that,”
Nick commented, frowning.
“Nothing of the buildings or the people, that’s true, and, for a long, long time, no one even knew where the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah actually were.”
Merlin nodded, thinking that they
hadn’t asked the right people.
Flamefalls had been working there.
That piece of history was part of her education.
“But, just recently, new research has
been undertaken and they think they may know.
If these items are from Sodom
.. it’s a major addition to our collection.”
“And someone just .. gave them to
you?” Merlin wondered.
“Our fame is spreading .. thanks to
you,” Carl said with a smile. “I must
go circulate .. seeing as it’s my name over the door.”
“Congratulations,” Nick grinned,
knowing Carl Chang felt as uncomfortable about that as Nick did wearing a
tux.
Merlin sipped her champagne
thoughtfully. The cream silk of her
cocktail dress showed off her golden tan to perfection. Of all the women there that night, she was
the only one to completely rivet the gaze.
And she would leave with Nick.
The flare of pride he felt made wearing the hated tux almost bearable.
“Wanna circulate too?” he asked.
“Sure,” she agreed distantly.
“Okay, I’m listening.”
Merlin smiled and looped her arm thru
his. Nick could’ve sworn he heard at
least half a dozen male hearts break.
“I’m just curious about those
artifacts.”
“Why?” he inquired.
“We thought we’d gotten
everything.” She thought for a moment
longer then shrugged. “It’s probably
not from Sodom anyway. Nicky, when you
take a look at them – ”
“Now you’re trained in the use of lab
equipment, you could always help me out,” he suggested.
“I was so hoping you’d say that,” she
grinned.
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