Treasure Box Part 16

It was just before dawn when he got onto the belt-way around Washington. With the blizzard there was so little traffic that he made better time than usual. The snow made everything feel silent, though Quentin knew that inside the car the noise was the same as always. He rounded a curve and the Mormon temple loomed, brightly lit as always, but even more dreamlike and fantastic in the falling snow. Right where the temple looked most like a Disneyland castle, someone had written in huge letters on an overpa.s.s Surrender Dorothy! Surrender Dorothy! The letters had been plastered over, but patches of lighter gray marked where they had been, which made him think of the caption and smile. The letters had been plastered over, but patches of lighter gray marked where they had been, which made him think of the caption and smile.Then he thought of the Wicked Witch of the West flying over Oz to write those words in the sky and the smile faded. No flying broomsticks for these witches. But still they flew. Who knew how many witches were observing him here in this car as he drove? Hi, Rowena. Howdy, Mrs. Tyler. Showing me off to the coven? Look, here's the boy! You should have seen him bouncing around with that succubus we sent him! Married her, poor sap! Can you believe it?What fools these mortals be.He got off the freeway at the toll road, which had been recently plowed but no one was driving on it, not westbound anyway. He was alone in a white world. One tollbooth was manned, but he drove through one of the coindrops because he didn't even want the human interaction of paying a toll. Now that he was near home, his sleepiness was almost overpowering. He started chanting exit names. Wolf Trap Farm Park. Hunter Mill. Wiehle. Reston Parkway. He got off at the Fairfax County Parkway, threw another quarter into a coindrop, and now there was some traffic. If one lonely pickup truck spinning its wheels at an intersection counted as traffic.He pulled the rental car into a snowfilled parking s.p.a.ce and walked past his own car, which had snow piled up to the windows. Most of the other cars were also covered, untouched since the blizzard started. No one in their right mind would have been out driving in this. The sky brightened a little as he climbed the stairs to his condo. The sun must have risen behind the snow and clouds. He let himself into his apartment, stripped off his clothes, and fell into bed.He woke just after noon. The phone was ringing. He answered it in his sleep."Wake up, Quentin!" the phone was shouting."What?" said Quentin. "Who is this?""For the ninth time, it's Wayne Read. Quentin, are you awake now? Say something coherent please. This is a test.""Hi, Wayne.""What did you do, drive all night through a record-setting blizzard? Have you got the brains of a roach?""Roaches all stayed in for the storm.""Smart roaches. If you're not going to wake up, Quentin, don't answer the phone, let your machine take it.""Didn't know I'd answered it. What do you want?""I have the name and address you wanted. They really are called Duncan but the number's not listed and they don't own the house so it wasn't easy finding them. Ray and Rowena Duncan." He gave the address. "The investigator there in DC says that it's a townhouse complex in Sterling, at Sugarland and Church. Sugarland crosses Dranesville Road at the last light before Route 7. Does all this mean anything to you?""Yeah.""Have you written this down, or should I call again later?""I'm writing it." He fumbled for a pencil. Then he realized that if he opened his eyes, the job would be easier. "It's bright. Sun must be shining.""Yeah, the blizzard is over for now. It's on the news. In California they love talking about eastern blizzards. It makes us all feel smart.""Californians need that now and then," said Quentin."Well, you are are one, so you'd know." one, so you'd know.""How'd you get the address?""Very clever detective work indeed, Quentin. Our guy in Manhattan drove up to the rest home, walked in, and asked the superintendent for the address of the next of kin of Mrs. Anna Laurent Tyler. The superintendent-I think you know her-""Sally Sannazzaro.""Thanks, I didn't want to try p.r.o.nouncing it myself. She asked who wants to know. He said he was representing Quentin Fears and she said OK and gave it to him. She also gave him a message for you.""If it's along the lines of drop dead, save it for later.""No, it's along the lines of sorry I was such a b.i.t.c.h, and Mrs. Tyler says sorry too, and please come back she wants to talk to you.""She called herself a b.i.t.c.h?""A direct quote.""Did the words 'cast iron' come into it?""She didn't elaborate, but I'm sure you can pick the metal you want.""So I guess she's not mad at me anymore.""Quentin, I would say that was the gist of the message. But I can repeat it if you want."Quentin didn't know why he felt so relieved, but he was almost giddy with it. "That's good. That's really good.""Have you been drinking?""Driving all night. I'm still not awake.""A word of advice. Don't go seeing these people until you are are awake." awake.""Sure.""See a movie. I recommend something light and stupid. Take your mind off your troubles. Not The American President The American President, that's too stupid. Not Sabrina Sabrina, it'll just break your heart that you're not in love. Broke mine anyway. Unless of course you are are.""Am what?""In love.""Wayne, am I paying three hundred an hour for this?""Three fifty. I'm paid to give good advice. Twelve Monkeys Twelve Monkeys will make you wonder if you're crazy, don't see that one either." will make you wonder if you're crazy, don't see that one either.""Do you actually see all these movies?""I have to do something while my wife is going around to country bars, Quentin. I don't like my job well enough to work late every night. Though I'll admit that your recent activities have kept me hopping. Sort of information central here. I keep getting reports from all fifty states about how Madeleine Cryer never existed there, either.""Sorry. You can call that part of the search off. n.o.body's going to accuse me of killing her. They've got more to fear from an investigation than I do.""Too late. I've already got all the reports and all the bills. Thanks to fax machines, every invoice is instantaneous.""So pay 'em. You need me to send you another check?""No, I've still got plenty in the account. Quentin, get up, take a shower, go to a movie. Some mindless sequel. Grumpier Old Men. Father of the Bride Two Grumpier Old Men. Father of the Bride Two. No, I take that back, that might depress you too.""Good-bye, Mr. Ebert.""Siskel. For Pete's sake, Quentin, I run every day. Good-bye."Quentin got up, showered, armed himself with a broom, and went out to clear the snow off his car. He didn't have a shovel but the ice chipper from the rental car helped him get the deepest stuff, which had frozen. Most of the other cars in the lot had already been cleared off. A lot of s.p.a.ces were empty now. People must be going back to work. Or else just getting out of the house before they went insane. Plows must have come through because the roads were drivable and traffic looked about normal.He took the broom back up to the front door but didn't even bother unlocking it to put it inside. Nor did he go in to get the address he had written down. He wasn't ready.Instead he took Wayne's advice, sort of. He drove to the Reston Town Center and put the car in the parking garage and walked to the theater. A big handmade sign in the window said Yes!!!!! We are open!!!! Yes!!!!! We are open!!!! Quentin walked up to the box office and asked what was worth seeing and the ticket seller said, " Quentin walked up to the box office and asked what was worth seeing and the ticket seller said, "Twelve Monkeys is the greatest movie ever made," so Quentin bought a ticket and went inside. It wasn't the greatest movie ever made but it was very good and every bit as disturbing as Wayne had said it would be. The message seemed to be, you can't change anything and you'll end up dead so why try? But it was certainly heroic, almost n.o.ble along the way. And everybody struggling to figure out what was real and what wasn't, Quentin absolutely knew what that was like. Also, the movie left him wondering how they decided that Bruce Willis got three naked b.u.t.t shots and a fleeting moment of frontal nudity in the battle scene, while Brad Pitt only had one b.u.t.t shot while he bounded around on beds in the mental hospital. Was there some hierarchy of nudity in Hollywood? The more millions you get, the more you get to moon the audience? is the greatest movie ever made," so Quentin bought a ticket and went inside. It wasn't the greatest movie ever made but it was very good and every bit as disturbing as Wayne had said it would be. The message seemed to be, you can't change anything and you'll end up dead so why try? But it was certainly heroic, almost n.o.ble along the way. And everybody struggling to figure out what was real and what wasn't, Quentin absolutely knew what that was like. Also, the movie left him wondering how they decided that Bruce Willis got three naked b.u.t.t shots and a fleeting moment of frontal nudity in the battle scene, while Brad Pitt only had one b.u.t.t shot while he bounded around on beds in the mental hospital. Was there some hierarchy of nudity in Hollywood? The more millions you get, the more you get to moon the audience?It was with thoughts like this that he walked through the dazzling sunlight to the Rio Grande, which was doing decent business for four-thirty in the afternoon. He sat down and looked at the menu while the couple at the next table talked about how nice it was to get out of the house, a lot better than having the police discover them later after they murdered each other, and should we get two orders of pork tamale appetizers or just split one, and where are the chips, didn't the waiter hear them when they asked for more chips? Quentin looked up at them-a red-cheeked dark-haired woman and her husband with blond thinning hair-and he said, "I'm not eating my chips, do you want them?"They seemed horribly embarra.s.sed at having been overheard and refused his offer with thanks and apologies. But Quentin had meant it. He had momentarily forgotten that at a restaurant everyone is supposed to pretend there's an eight-foot wall around each table. Except the waiters, of course, who are supposed to pretend that each table is the only one they're waiting on. Like living in a small town. Notice me when I want to be noticed, but why are you prying when I want to be left alone?The waiter brought the other couple their drinks and then came to Quentin's table to get his order. As Quentin spoke to the waiter, he saw the couple raise their gla.s.ses to him in a cheerful toast. He smiled back at them. OK, so maybe sometimes the walls did did come down. come down.He ate, he went home. The sun was setting. He couldn't put this off forever. He got the address and drove to the dwelling place of the witch who had chosen him to be her enchanted tool.There should have been a flame leaping from a chimney, or the silhouettes of devils dancing on the window shades. Instead it seemed a perfectly ordinary northern Virginia townhouse, in a row of five with varied facades in a feeble attempt at individuality and charm. Much like Quentin's own. The porch light was on.I know you're expecting me, he said silently. I know you've been watching me, you've been waiting for me to work up the courage to come here. So go ahead and open the door and end the pretense.But the door remained closed.He climbed the steps and rang the bell. After a reasonable wait, a man came to the door. "Yes?" he said."Mr. Duncan?" asked Quentin."Yes. Do I know you?""My name is Quentin Fears.""I'm sorry, but I'm not expecting you. Should I be?""Are you serious?" asked Quentin. But to all appearances the man was completely oblivious as to who Quentin was and what he was there for. "Mr. Ray Duncan?""Yes." The man was growing a bit impatient."Your wife is Rowena Tyler Duncan?""What about her?""And her mother is Anna Laurent Tyler?""Yes." Now he looked concerned. "Has something happened to her?""I'd like to come in, if I might, and talk to you and your wife together.""Who are are you?" Ray demanded. you?" Ray demanded."I was at the rest home yesterday, talking with Sally Sannazzaro. With the airports closed I had to drive the whole way to talk to you today.""If you have a message from Ms. Sannazzaro, why didn't she simply call?"Quentin was through talking. Whatever game these people were playing, he was fed up with it. He stood and waited in silence.Finally Duncan's curiosity overcame his suspicion. He opened the door wider and invited Quentin inside.It was your ordinary overdecorated living room. Perhaps a little bit too Architectural Digest Architectural Digest, but not so much as to offend the eye, as long as you stood with the fireplace at your back. Quentin took that position, but not for aesthetic reasons. It gave him a view of the front door, the pa.s.sage to the kitchen and dining room, and the stairs leading up to the bedrooms."Have a seat, Mr.-Pierce, was it?""Fears, Mr. Duncan." Quentin sat in the red paisley chair, moving the white pillows from it and laying them on the floor. "Is your wife at home?""Fixing dinner."Quentin thought of the breakfast he had at the Laurent house in Mixinack, and had no pity. "Please bring her out here.""State your business, Mr. Fears."Quentin's patience was done. "I've come here this once. I won't come again. And I won't stay another minute unless your wife faces me now.""Faces you! Sir, you can pick yourself up and head for the door or I'll-"A woman appeared in the pa.s.sage between kitchen and dining room. "What is it, Ray?""Don't come out here, Ro. In fact, call the police, please. We have an intruder here who-"But the woman ignored his instructions and came on through the dining room to the living room.Quentin could not help but think that he had seen her before. For that matter, now that she stood beside her husband, they both looked vaguely familiar. But she especially-he had had seen her. Spoken with her? Whatever the occasion, it wouldn't come to mind. Perhaps it was simply that she bore some resemblance to Madeleine. After all, Rowena created the succubus, it had to have some of its creator inside it. seen her. Spoken with her? Whatever the occasion, it wouldn't come to mind. Perhaps it was simply that she bore some resemblance to Madeleine. After all, Rowena created the succubus, it had to have some of its creator inside it.Inside her her. Whom was he trying to fool? He still thought of Madeleine as a woman, as his wife, despite his best efforts to expunge her from his heart."Rowena Tyler Duncan," said Quentin. "My name is Quentin Fears."When she showed no reaction to his name, he went on. "I spoke with your mother last night."Rowena's face darkened. "What do I care?" She turned to leave the room."And I rode back to Mixinack with Mike Bolt."She stopped and, slowly, turned back to face him. She looked agitated. "Our old gardener.""Chief of police in Mixinack now," said Quentin."I'm glad to hear it.""Married and has several children."Rowena nodded.Ray Duncan was a bit nonplussed. "Who's this Mike Bolt guy? What are you talking about?""A childhood friend of mine," said Rowena."Oh, don't be so modest," said Quentin. "She enthralled him years ago. In the kitchen of her mother's house, as I heard the story.""What do you want," Rowena whispered fiercely."Don't be coy," said Quentin. "I'm not here because of what I I want. I'm not the one who's been playing games, Rowena. Quite the contrary. So drop the pretense and tell me what you want so we can decide what to do about it." want. I'm not the one who's been playing games, Rowena. Quite the contrary. So drop the pretense and tell me what you want so we can decide what to do about it."Rowena and Ray looked at each other. Whatever pa.s.sed between them, it did not make them more cooperative."Sir," said Ray, "you seem to know more about us than we're comfortable with, but I a.s.sure you that we have no idea who you are."He seemed so honest that for a moment Quentin wondered if perhaps he had had been fooling himself. But Mike Bolt had seen the writing on the signs, and on the door back in the Laurent house. And Madeleine had disappeared, leaving no foot-prints. It was real, it had happened, Mrs. Tyler admitted it, and Rowena been fooling himself. But Mike Bolt had seen the writing on the signs, and on the door back in the Laurent house. And Madeleine had disappeared, leaving no foot-prints. It was real, it had happened, Mrs. Tyler admitted it, and Rowena was was a witch. a witch."I know more than you think," said Quentin. "I know that Rowena looked into her mother's mind many years ago and saw a memory of what seemed to be a terrible crime. And for all I know, it was was a crime, a monstrous, indecent act. The murder of Rowena's brother, Paul, when he wasn't yet two years old." a crime, a monstrous, indecent act. The murder of Rowena's brother, Paul, when he wasn't yet two years old."Rowena covered her face with her hands."Ro, is this true?" Ray seemed genuinely appalled."Your wife, Mr. Duncan, is quite aware that her mother believed that it wasn't Paul she was killing, but rather something that she calls 'the beast.' It's Mrs. Tyler's belief that this creature took possession of her young son's body, and from then on her true son was already gone and could never be recovered. All that was left was for her to kill the beast. But not quite kill it. She kept it imprisoned somehow in a box that is kept in the parlor of the family mansion on the Hudson. Am I getting this right, Rowena?"Her face still buried in her hands, Rowena nodded."But for some reason, Mr. Duncan, Rowena has decided she wants that box open."Rowena looked up, startled. "Oh, no. Oh, please, no."Ray was alarmed as well. "What is it, Ro?"Rowena leapt to her feet and rushed to the foot of the stairs. Then, changing her mind, she hurried back to her chair and sat down, wringing the tail of her shirt. "It's none of your business," said Rowena. "Nor Mother's!""Oh, that would be my opinion, too, if you hadn't drawn me into it with that whole charade that's been ruining my life for the past year.""Charade?" asked Ray."Why don't you you tell him, Rowena? He might accept it better coming from you." tell him, Rowena? He might accept it better coming from you."Rowena looked confused, but then apparently made up her mind. "You tell it, Mr. Fears. Tell us both.""Madeleine," said Quentin. "My wife. The succubus that you created, Rowena. Are you honestly telling me that your husband has no idea that you're a witch?"Ray rose to his feet and started for the kitchen. "I'm calling the police.""Stop, Ray," said Rowena."The man's insane, Ro.""No, we have to hear him out," she said. "We have to find out what's been going on."Ray leaned against the wall, clearly furious at having been vetoed by his wife."You believe your wife Madeleine is a succubus created by a witch, Mr. Fears?" asked Rowena."She took me to the house you grew up in. I was made to believe that it was occupied. I met several of your dead relatives, and a couple not so dead. Your mother was there, in spirit if not in body. And your brother Paul, though of course Madeleine called him 'Uncle Paul.' Just as she called Mrs. Tyler 'Grandmother.' " And then Quentin stopped. Because, while his words clearly caused Rowena great pain, it was just as clear that she was hearing of all this for the first time. And now it finally dawned on Quentin that if Madeleine had been created by Rowena, why wouldn't Rowena have made her a woman of her own age? She was more or less the same age as Quentin. And Rowena could easily have supplied all the memories needed to make Madeleine completely convincing as a child of the sixties and seventies, like Quentin.Instead Madeleine had been ignorant of many things she should have known. She covered it by pretending to have had a sheltered childhood, but in fact Madeleine could not have been the creation of a grown woman. Especially not in the parlor, where she had become a petulant, spoiled brat, acting like a child of... ten."Your daughter," Quentin said softly. "Of course she's also... one of you.""A witch," said Rowena miserably. "Ray, go wake up Roz.""Ro, you know how she hates us to waken her from a nap.""What's she doing?" Quentin asked. "Flying around spying on people?""She doesn't understand how dangerous it all is," said Rowena.Ray was at the foot of the stairs. "What are you talking about?""Please, Ray. Go get her."Ray sighed and trotted on up the stairs.Rowena faced Quentin and spoke earnestly. "My daughter is a remarkable girl, Mr. Fears. Very talented and... strong. Maybe if I had let my mother teach me, I could have controlled her the way my mother was able to control me during my child-hood. A child with such powers, such knowledge-it takes extraordinary care to keep them from running amok. But I couldn't trust my mother on anything, not after what she did to Paul.""You never knew Paul.""Yes I did," said Rowena. "He came to me every day as I was growing up."Quentin knew the truth at once. "That wasn't Paul, Rowena. That was the beast."She shook her head, then burst into tears. "I don't know," she said. "I just knew that I didn't want Mother to... if she was the kind of woman who killed disobedient children, then how could I bring my daughter under her care? I haven't been able to control Roz for years now. I'm afraid sometimes that she's controlling me me. She studies things, figures them out, and... whole days disappear and I don't know what happened. I know she rules her father. He's completely enthralled. When I did that to Mike, I had no idea, I didn't know what I was doing. I've left him alone ever since-""Then who's been sending him to try to murder your mother?"Rowena's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, no. No, she couldn't.""Yes I could, Mother," said a petulant child's voice from the stairs.A young girl slowly came down the stairs, her hair looking a bit slept-in, but otherwise neat as a pin. Quentin could imagine how she had looked during her nap-arms at her sides in perfect symmetry, nothing moving, the way Mrs. Tyler lay while her spirit was off keeping watch or whatever it was she did with it. Rewriting traffic signs, for instance.Then the girl's face became visible as she finally got to a low enough step, and Quentin realized why Mr. and Mrs. Duncan had looked so familiar. He had seen all three of them before. In the Giant food store on Elden Street, right before his first hallucination of Lizzy."That's right, Quentin," said Roz. "You didn't like me, as I recall.""I thought you were an insufferable spoiled brat."Roz gave her best cutey-pie grin. "Well, I showed you you, didn't I?""Showed me I was right.""Showed you what real power is!" Her smile turned vicious. "You had your treasure of a sister in your mind. Comparing her to me me. So I made you see her. Drove you crazy with it."Quentin glanced at Rowena, sitting in her chair, and Ray Duncan, who had followed his daughter down the stairs and was now sitting on the couch. How were they taking this?They both sat staring off into s.p.a.ce."I shut them down," said Roz. "There's no reason for them to know all this.""You created Madeleine just to torture me for daring to think what's obvious to everyone who sees you?""No, stupid. I showed you your sister because of that. But then, when you were sitting there watching the vision I made for you, what should happen but she turns up!""Who?""Lizzy," said Roz. "Your dead sister. Her spirit. Well, I wasn't calling her. She didn't even notice me. It was you who called her. What a joke on me! You had some of the power! Who would have guessed it?""Nothing like what you can do.""Yeah, well, I'm kind of remarkable. The way Uncle Paul was. Only Mother didn't kill me the way Grandmother killed her precious baby boy. That's a nice thing to find in the family closet.""You only got your mother's memory of it, with all her misunderstandings.""I would have gotten Grandmother's memories directly, but I knew how strong the old lady is. She and Mother were battling it out constantly. That's how I learned half of what I know, watching their struggles to keep each other from watching them. It was easy to take control of Mother-she was completely off her guard. And Father, of course, is just a human.""And therefore not worth considering.""I need him for a phone call now and then.""You're telling me you just improvised all this?""Come on, why not?" said Roz. "You were stronger than most humans. I thought about that for a few minutes and I realized that maybe I could use you to open the treasure box for me.""Is that what your mother calls it?""Mother has no idea what it really is or how to use it. Power beyond belief. Grandmother filled her with horror stories about it, but that's because neither of them has a spark of creativity. Me, I think of all kinds of things that no one has ever thought of before. Least of all the dragon. It can be killed, which only sets it free to possess somebody else. It can also be captured, which is what Grandmother did. But I've done research neither of them thought of doing. There are are books, if you know how to sort the nonsense from the truth. I'm only eleven, but I'm-how to say it mildly?-the school system calls me 'gifted.' " books, if you know how to sort the nonsense from the truth. I'm only eleven, but I'm-how to say it mildly?-the school system calls me 'gifted.' "Quentin wanted to smack that smug little mouth."So much for your being a nonviolent kind of guy, right, Quentin?"He also hated the way she called him by his first name."What would be better?" she asked. "Should I call you 'Tin'?"In that instant, she stopped being a little girl. She was transformed into Madeleine. Quentin's heart leapt in spite of all he knew.And then she was Madeleine naked, prancing around the room like a stripper in some cheap movie.He had done it before; he could do it now. He forced himself to know that she wasn't real.She didn't go away."It's harder to get rid of me," said Madeleine, sitting in Ray's lap and twirling his hair, "when there's a real person inside the sh.e.l.l."Harder but not impossible. Quentin remembered the bratty little girl and after a shimmering moment there she was, sitting on her father's lap, twirling his hair."You're a terrible lover, you know, Quentin. Any woman who ever sleeps with you is going to have to fake every o.r.g.a.s.m."It was obscene hearing language like that from a child."Your fault, Quentin," she said. "I wasn't interested in any of that stuff till you you started pawing at Madeleine that night in your living room. It was obvious I was blowing it, so I had to read up and spy on Mom and Dad and figure out what this s.e.x c.r.a.p was all about. I finally got it, though, didn't I? Made all your fantasies come true, didn't I?" started pawing at Madeleine that night in your living room. It was obvious I was blowing it, so I had to read up and spy on Mom and Dad and figure out what this s.e.x c.r.a.p was all about. I finally got it, though, didn't I? Made all your fantasies come true, didn't I?"Quentin looked away from her in shame."Oh, come on, here you are, you wanted to face me, didn't you? So face me. Be a man. Buck up.""You don't want me to be a man," said Quentin. "You want me to be a tool.""But we did did have fun, didn't we? Playing with politics like we did. We made a great pair, spending your money to change the face of American politics. Whoever rules America rules the world. If you'd had the stomach for it, I might have forgotten all about the treasure box and gone for the big game. Not the '96 elections, but by the year two thousand we would have been ready. Both candidates for president would have belonged to us. But you just couldn't do it. Couldn't follow through. I knew from then on that you'd be nothing but trouble. So... plan B." have fun, didn't we? Playing with politics like we did. We made a great pair, spending your money to change the face of American politics. Whoever rules America rules the world. If you'd had the stomach for it, I might have forgotten all about the treasure box and gone for the big game. Not the '96 elections, but by the year two thousand we would have been ready. Both candidates for president would have belonged to us. But you just couldn't do it. Couldn't follow through. I knew from then on that you'd be nothing but trouble. So... plan B.""The treasure box.""It was really plan A all along, I knew that," said Roz. "I knew you'd wimp out because that's the way you are, soft at the core, like Mother. You just don't have the heart to do anything powerful. Even keeping her like this-I couldn't do it if she had any spine at all. She's a witch! She could shuck off my control if she wanted to. If she even knew I was doing it. But she keeps thinking that she loves me, and that makes it easy to control her. The way I could control you as long as you loved Madeleine.""But you couldn't get me to open the box.""That was Grandmother. She didn't know it was me, of course, because I cover everything I do with Mother's spirit. Just some of it, to serve as my mask.""So it's you controlling Mike Bolt. Through your mother. And you constantly blocking Mrs. Tyler from seeing what you're doing.""Easy easy easy.""But you can't do everything at once.""I don't have to. I just follow the people who matter. The people who amount to anything.""You're afraid, though," said Quentin. "Or you wouldn't be trying to kill your grandmother.""Of course I'm afraid, bonehead. This is powerful stuff we're dealing with. This dragon, it's no joke! And Grandmother can interfere. I want her out of the way. She's overstayed her welcome by about a decade.""By coincidence, your lifetime.""She's a baby-killer, Quentin. She deserves to die." Roz giggled. "Come on, get in the spirit of this."Quentin shook his head. "I came here thinking that maybe we could do business. Maybe we could work out a way for me to get you what you want and have done with it. But no, I don't think so.""I'm not worthy?" she said with mock regret."Who needs a beast with you in the world?"The words didn't even seem to sting her. "Everybody's a critic. Well, let's see. That means Quentin Fears doesn't want to go back to Grandmother's house and open my treasure box for me. How sad for me! Poor Roz doesn't get her way! Boo-hoo! Boo-hoo!"Come on, you evil little witch, get to the point."Impatient, huh? Like I said, I only follow the ones that matter. For instance, that investigator your lawyer hired here in DC. While you were in talking to the grande dame, I was out at his car, enthralling him. He's mine, Quentin. So he gave you the address of this house, sure-when I was ready.""Ready? You were taking a nap.""You went to a movie and had dinner. I had things to do. The point is-you remember, I was making a point-the point is that your little investigator, he also ran an errand for me."Quentin felt sick, though he had no idea what she might have made the fellow do."He went to a graveyard in California and did a little digging," said Roz. "Got me a nice chunk of your sister's body. And since I also knew her name-you didn't know that was needed, did you?-since I knew her name, I was able to summon her. He just got back with it this morning. I've got your sister all locked up tight. A prisoner just like the dragon. Only she's she's not powerful at all. She can't get out, not even a little bit of her. She just exists inside her-well, let's just call it her not powerful at all. She can't get out, not even a little bit of her. She just exists inside her-well, let's just call it her home home, why don't we?""The beast already has you.""I'm stronger than the dragon. That's what Mother and Grandmother have never taken into account. What if somebody comes along who's so strong she doesn't have to kill the beast, or imprison it? I'm the one who will tame tame the dragon, and ride it wherever I want." the dragon, and ride it wherever I want.""Cowboy in the rodeo," said Quentin."And you'll help me, Quentin. It'll be in your body that the dragon lives while I'm riding it. I think that's only fair. I gave you the best year of your life. Well, not quite a year, but close enough. Once I got the hang of it, you had better s.e.x than any man ever gets, night after night. And I was good company, too. The perfect wife. I paid in advance for the use of your body now. You won't suffer, you know. In fact, you and your precious Lizzy will be reunited. When your body dies, anyway. Nothing lasts forever, right? You have my word that after the dragon has your body, Lizzy comes out of the-place. Free again. So you get paid again. Come on, Quentin, it's a good bargain. Your sister for my dragon. Plus the happiest year of your life. You can't ever say you were cheated."Quentin felt as if he were already dead."You may even get some vicarious pleasure out of seeing how the dragon and I use your body. You're thinking that I'm pure evil, I know that, but you're wrong. I'll use all that power to do good. Unite the world under one strong ruler. Peace on earth. Good will toward men. Hitler was. .h.i.tler before the beast got him. Caligula was already a strutting little b.a.s.t.a.r.d."What do you think you you are? are?"Sticks and stones, Quentin. That's all I ever wanted power for. To do good for everybody. You'll see, this is all for the best. You were lucky to be chosen. And when I get old enough and reach p.u.b.erty, I'll probably mate with your body, so that your children will inherit the kingdom of the whole earth. Like the book of Revelation promises-a thousand years of peace.""It also promises devastation.""That all depends on how stubborn people are about resisting me. You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs. Don't wince at the cliche, Quentin. It only became a cliche because it's true."Quentin rose to his feet and walked on leaden feet toward the door. "I won't help you," he said."Oh, Lizzy will be so sorry to hear that.""She'll understand.""But you don't understand, Quentin. This isn't something temporary. If you don't help me, I'll never, never let her out."Quentin stopped in the doorway. "Your lifetime and never are two different spans, little girl. You only think think you're immortal." you're immortal.""I don't have to live forever. I just have to bury your sister's dwelling place in the backyard, and-tell me, Quentin-who's going to dig it up? How many thousands of years before erosion finally exposes it? And even then, you don't know what her container is made of. But I'll give you a hint. It isn't biodegradable."Quentin could hardly breathe, he was so filled with impotent rage.Roz got up from her father's lap and skipped to the stairs. "I'm just a little, little girl," she said. "You shouldn't be so mad at me.""I want you to die," said Quentin."Someday I will. Now say good-bye to my parents."She bounded on up the stairs.Almost at once, Mr. and Mrs. Duncan came back into focus. Ray looked quite startled. "I must have dozed off, for heaven's sake! What was I thinking of?"Rowena, however, had an unutterable sadness on her face as she looked up at Quentin."I can't deny it anymore," she said. "My daughter rules me, doesn't she?""Only because you love her," said Quentin. "Though how and why, I can't guess."Tears flowed down Rowena's cheeks. "Because she's mine. Because I'm not my mother. I love love my children." my children.""Your mother loved her children too," said Quentin. "But give your mother credit for this much: The beast stole stole her child. She didn't raise hers to be a monster." her child. She didn't raise hers to be a monster.""Do you dare to judge me?" said Rowena.Quentin shook his head. "I don't judge you for what you've done, or haven't done. But if you let her do what she's planning, then I blame you, yes.""I don't care what you blame me for," said Rowena. "I'm not my mother!""Too bad for the human race," said Quentin. "Too bad for your daughter. She thinks thinks she can control the beast." she can control the beast."Suddenly Rowena and Ray went slack again. Roz appeared at the top of the stairs."That's enough, Quentin," she said cheerily. "A little learning is a dangerous thing.""And absolute power corrupts absolutely," Quentin answered."Bite me," she said. Then she gave him a little wave. "Open the door and out with you, babe."He wanted to think of something he could say that would wither her with its brutal cleverness. But nothing came to mind. And there was no point in trying to talk to Rowena and Ray, not when they were in this condition."Roz," he finally said."Yes, Tin, my pet?" She spoke the term of endearment so ironically that it cut him to the heart. Because he would would be her pet, if she won her gamble. If she lost, he would still be the dragon's mount, the beast's own steed, and Lizzy would never get out of prison. be her pet, if she won her gamble. If she lost, he would still be the dragon's mount, the beast's own steed, and Lizzy would never get out of prison."Maybe I'll do it," he said."Lizzy will be so glad to hear it.""You've got to bring Lizzy with you. Whatever you've got her in, bring it.""Not a chance," said Roz. "You think I'm stupid? I'm just a widdow widdow girr." Her baby talk made him want to smack her all over again. "We wouldn't want nasty badums to stw.a.n.gow me, would we?""As if I could.""Just in case you get any ideas about that," she said, "remember that I'm I'm not an illusion like Madeleine was. If it comes to a fight between us, I'll win. You can't fight a witch, Quentin. You aren't that strong." not an illusion like Madeleine was. If it comes to a fight between us, I'll win. You can't fight a witch, Quentin. You aren't that strong.""If I decide to do it, how do I let you know?""I'll know, you big silly goof." She did her cutesy giggle again."What makes you think you'll succeed this time, when last time you failed?""I have a better plan.""For instance?""I'll be there myself this time," she said. "And there'll be a little less interference.""You're no match for your grandmother, if that's what you mean.""I'm a match for anybody," she said. "I'm younger than Alexander was when he inherited his father's kingdom.""You're not as smart as you think you are.""You're not smart enough to judge. Now go away, Mr. Fears. My parents get so stiff and sore when I put them out like this, sitting up."Quentin opened the door and left, the door ajar behind him. He was halfway down the steps when he heard her. "That was a childish gesture, Quentin! Leaving the door open! What a big baby!"He ignored her and returned to his car.There had to be a way to stop her. The trouble was, he didn't know enough to have any hope of discovering it. But that was all right. Mrs. Tyler wanted to see him again. She would help him figure out what to do to get Lizzy free without turning loose the beast upon the world.Though he also knew that if it came to a choice between Lizzy's freedom and saving his own life, or even saving the world, he wouldn't even have to think about it. His own life was worthless to him now. And the world? The world could take care of itself. The dragon had been abroad in the world before, and the world survived. Besides, even dragons don't live forever. Peter, Paul and Mary didn't know what they were talking about.Dragons die, yes. Wouldn't that be a joke on Roz and the beast, both? If he took a huge dose of poison just before opening the treasure box? Let the dragon have his body, and then it drops dead!But that wouldn't get Lizzy out of the prison. He had to have a better plan than that. Mrs. Tyler would know what he should do. He had to get back to Mrs. Tyler.

17. Hair

Quentin called the rental car company and explained why the car he rented at La Guardia was about to be left at Dulles. The clerk he talked to had a singsong nasal voice, which would have been annoying enough by itself. What really drove him up the wall was her air of complacent superiority and utter unwillingness to admit the tiniest shred of merit in Quentin's position."That car isn't authorized for return at another airport, sir.""But that's where it's going to be returned.""But you can't return it there, sir.""But that's where I am.""You signed a contract promising to return the car to La Guardia.""There was a storm. La Guardia was closed down.""A contract is a contract. Don't you keep your contracts, Mr. Fears?""I'm trying to return the car. You have an office at Dulles."This cycle was repeated about three times before Quentin finally lost patience. He didn't raise his voice. In fact, he spoke more quietly. "Let me explain it to you very simply. You don't have a choice because I didn't have a choice. La Guardia was closed and I had to get to DC. Now I'm here, and I'm flying back to New York from Dulles. FAA regulations won't allow me to check the car as luggage.""You signed a contract, Mr. Fears. If you don't intend to-"Quentin was fed up with being accused of breaking his word. "I'm saying this only once. If you want to talk instead of listening, that's fine with me.""Go ahead, Mr. Fears.""I paid for the collision damage waiver. That means if I wreck wreck the car I don't have any problem about not returning it. Also, if the car is stolen I'm off the hook. So either you can have your people at Dulles accept the car, or I'll leave it at a Seven-Eleven with the keys in the ignition and the motor running, and you can have your insurance company reimburse you. Which will it be?" the car I don't have any problem about not returning it. Also, if the car is stolen I'm off the hook. So either you can have your people at Dulles accept the car, or I'll leave it at a Seven-Eleven with the keys in the ignition and the motor running, and you can have your insurance company reimburse you. Which will it be?""You'll have to speak to my manager.""I have a better idea. You You speak to the manager. If he or she has any questions, here's the number of my attorney." speak to the manager. If he or she has any questions, here's the number of my attorney."Quentin put his kit into a bag along with his last clean shirt, socks, and underwear. He'd buy more if he needed it. He also took his cellular phone, and on the way to the airport he called Wayne Read and told him about his problem with the rental car company."Quentin, you shouldn't let clerks like that get to you. The madder you get, the more they enjoy it.""I know, Wayne. They get a little power and it goes to their heads. I just don't want to be delayed.""I'll call them. Don't worry about it.""I'm five minutes from Dulles.""I'm very, very quick."He was. The car return people accepted his contract without a quibble. "That's just fine, Mr. Fears. All taken care of."Sometimes it was very nice to have money and lawyers. Why ordinary people didn't strangle arrogant bureaucrats more often, Quentin didn't know. But then, bureaucrats were were ordinary people. Maybe most people simply understood about having to obey stupid rules at work. They went along because they didn't want to cause some other poor schmuck any trouble. Everybody had to do what it took to keep their jobs. ordinary people. Maybe most people simply understood about having to obey stupid rules at work. They went along because they didn't want to cause some other poor schmuck any trouble. Everybody had to do what it took to keep their jobs.Yeah, but they didn't have to take so much pleasure in it.As he walked through the airport he thought, So I have money and that means I can buy my way free of a lot of petty annoyances. Somebody bothers me, I can have my lawyer deal with it. Is that evil, somehow? To have that much power? How much power do you have to have before you're a monster? How easy do you have to make your own life at others' expense before you're evil and deserve to be destroyed?Sitting on the plane, Quentin decided that he hadn't crossed the line. Yet. He knew he wasn't a tyrant. Yet. But he also knew that the line wasn't very clearly drawn. When did Roz cross it? Because he was pretty sure that she had. Controlling your own parents, using them as tools, creating a succubus to seduce some poor sap into sacrificing his body so you can try to harness an even worse monster than yourself-all those things were over the line.At the same time, he had to recognize that once he turned things over to Wayne, there was no guarantee that it would all be handled kindly and politely. For all he knew, Wayne was the lawyer from h.e.l.l, calling the head of customer relations and explaining that Quentin Fears, who had enough money to carry out a hostile takeover next week, was being hara.s.sed by an ignorant clerk in the New York office and could he please be allowed to return his car at Dulles? And then the company bigwig got on the phone and took care of everything. Part of which might be the serious chewing out of that clerk at La Guardia. Or maybe a bad evaluation. Or maybe losing her job. Maybe because she had messed with the wrong man, with Mr. Big Shot Millionaire, that clerk was going to go home and tell her widowed mother and three younger siblings, of whom she was the sole support, that she had lost her job.Just because I don't see how it's done doesn't cleanse me of evil that's done in my name, with my money. Maybe the only difference between me and Roz is how far over the line we've chosen to go, and how honest we are about what we want in the world. I tell myself I never sought power, that I don't care about money, that I'm just going about doing good.The woman at the car rental company in New York was a jerk. She probably didn't lose her job or even hear about the matter again. But Quentin didn't know. Just as Roz had no idea of what she was doing to the people she controlled. That private investigator who flew to California and somehow managed to dig up the grave of a girl who died decades ago and take some part of her body-he couldn't stop himself, but now he had to live with having done it. Roz didn't care. Roz didn't wonder about it. But was that the only difference between them-that she didn't have a second thought about it, but he wondered and felt a little guilt?Besides, how did he know she felt no guilt? Maybe she was racked with it all the time, but went ahead because she knew she was doing good doing good. She would unite the world under one government. She would end all war. No more Bosnias or Rwandas, Somalias or Chechnyas. Lebanon at peace. Chiapas without corruption or oppression. Colombia without the cartelistas cartelistas. Joyous celebrations of liberty in Tiananmen Square. The end of mismanagement in Zaire. The end of a.s.sa.s.sinations in Haiti. If these were the dreams of Roz's heart, then who was he to say that the few lives she ruined weren't a fair price for the good she would accomplish? How was her action any different from a government drafting soldiers and sending them off to die in a n.o.ble cause? There were were n.o.ble causes. Why couldn't this child's cause be n.o.ble, too? n.o.ble causes. Why couldn't this child's cause be n.o.ble, too?Almost he could make himself believe that there was no moral difference between himself and Roz. That he had no right to judge her. That it really came down to a contest for survival. The law of the jungle. On her side, powers far beyond any that Quentin could bring to the battle. On his side, whatever advantage came from age and experience over the shortsightedness and impulsiveness of youth. But morally, no real difference between them. Or worse-that the hopes of the world rested on her victory, and if he succeeded in thwarting her, the one bright hope for the future would be extinguished.No no no, he shouted inside himself. That isn't right. That's all a lie. But he couldn't think of how he could ever be sure.Is she she the one putting these doubts into my mind? Trying to get me to come along willingly? The succubus wasn't enough, so let's try hoodwinking the boy. the one putting these doubts into my mind? Trying to get me to come along willingly? The succubus wasn't enough, so let's try hoodwinking the boy.But it didn't work that way. These witches could make people see things. They could enthrall them and force their obedience. They could cause people to forget things. But they couldn't enter Quentin's mind and force him to think a certain way, or he would never have been able to win free of his belief in Madeleine when she returned to him in his bed. These doubts came from his own mind. He was still his own man, alone inside his head.Roz can't make me think a certain way-but she can can see what I'm thinking. And that means that if I'm to have any hope of stopping her, I can't allow myself to think of my own plan. Which means I can't see what I'm thinking. And that means that if I'm to have any hope of stopping her, I can't allow myself to think of my own plan. Which means I can't have have a plan. Which means I might as well give up, because she a plan. Which means I might as well give up, because she does does have a plan and I'm one of the p.a.w.ns. have a plan and I'm one of the p.a.w.ns.Aw, don't sell yourself short, Tin, old boy, he told himself. You're at least a knight. Maybe a bishop. Maybe even a rook.But not not the queen. the queen.And the king was locked inside the treasure box.That's my mistake, he realized. Roz is not the enemy. No matter how much I hate and fear and resent her, no matter how I might want to avenge my humiliation at her hands, the real danger is the one who stole Paul Tyler's life from him and waits now for the lid of the box to open so he can leap to another body and take control. The beast seduced Rowena with its lies. How did he know it wasn't also seducing Roz? Come to me, I'll serve you, you can rule over me. You're the one with the power. I'll jump into that Quentin Fears's body and then you enthrall him and you've got me. Good plan! Good plan!Roz is not the enemy. Roz is being fooled by the beast as surely as I was fooled by Madeleine.And truth to tell, in the contest between Roz and the dragon, Quentin might not even qualify as a p.a.w.n. Even as the game unfolded, he wouldn't understand what he was seeing. They were out of his league.At La Guardia he rented another car-from a different company this time, because he didn't want to think again about what he might or might not have done to that clerk. He drove north on roads now banked with snow like canyon walls on either side, where the plows had pushed it all. No scenery, just the white lights of oncoming cars, the red lights of the cars ahead, and the looming walls of filthy snow.As he neared Mixinack, he read Mike Bolt's number off his card and phoned him. Maybe it was crazy to go back to him, knowing that he had been under Roz's control. But now that Rowena was more aware of what was going on, Roz wouldn't have such free access to him. As long as Bolt stayed away from the rest home, he was a good man. A friend. And he had a right to know how this all came out.Bolt answered the phone."This is Quentin. I'm about five minutes out of Mixinack. You offered me a place to stay. The couch in the den or something.""It's midnight," said Bolt. "Are you serious?""I met Rowena today. She's living in Virginia.""Is she... what you said? Is she your enemy?""She's a witch, Bolt. But I'm not good at picking out bad guys and good guys today. We'll talk about it when I get there.""Is she coming here? Will she come to Mixinack?""I think so," said Quentin. "For all I know they beat me here.""You really drove back to DC last night in that storm? They said n.o.body was getting through.""They were off by at least one. They always are.""And you're already back.""Yeah, well, I'm a frequent flier.""So come on over." Bolt reminded him of how to get there. And then: "Is she still beautiful?""Rowena?""No, her dog.""Mike, you're married."The joking tone was gone when he answered. "Please. Tell me.""She's beautiful, yes." Though Quentin was quite certain that she would look even more beautiful to Bolt than she looked to him."I wasn't crazy to love her, was I?""Bolt, we're all crazy to love anybody. But it drives us even crazier if we don't.""Was that, like, a wise and pithy saying?""You better have it posted on your fridge before I arrive."As he negotiated the side streets of Mixinack, which hadn't been as thoroughly plowed as the highways, Quentin finally found the moral certainty he had been wishing for and despairing of all the way there. It was Lizzy. Lizzy held hostage. The right and wrong of it just didn't matter in the face of that. He would do what it took to get Lizzy out. And that meant staying alive himself, alive and free. Because he was pretty sure that whether the beast won or Roz did, Lizzy's bright spirit would be forgotten in her prison cell if Quentin wasn't there to find her and let her go.

Bolt's wife was up when he got there. Quentin saw at once that she had been asleep; her hair was tousled despite the brush that had been pa.s.sed over it a couple of times, and her eyes were heavy with weariness. But she met him with a smile when Bolt introduced them. "My Leda," he said, casting an arm across her shoulder."Caf or decaf?" she asked, shrugging off her husband's arm and playfully jabbing at him with her elbow."No coffee," said Quentin. "You shouldn't have gotten up, I didn't want to be any trouble.""If you didn't want to be trouble, you'd've stayed in a motel," said Bolt. "Come on, Quentin, how many times you think we have millionaires sleeping on our couch? Let us play the openhearted host.""You're very kind. Decaf then, or hot chocolate.""Which? Got 'em both," said Leda."Chocolate then."She made hot chocolate for all three of them, and then pulled a half-finished quart of vanilla ice cream out of the freezer. They all put a dollop of the ice cream into the hot chocolate and then took spoonfuls of it, ice cold and scalding hot at the same time. As he ate, Quentin noticed the swans all over the kitchen. Swans of wicker, porcelain, stuffed fabric, wood; painted on pots, printed on paper and framed, embroidered on cloth, patterned in the wallpaper."Leda and the swan," said Quentin. "I guess that means the swan is you, right, Mike?""The G.o.d in disguise who comes and carries off the beautiful damsel," said Bolt. "Zeus. G.o.d of lightning and thunder. Thunder bolts bolts, right?""Careful," said Quentin. "It makes Hera jealous.""Yeah, well, there is no Hera," said Bolt. "The woman who gets up at night with my kids, she's the only woman for me."She smiled at him, wan with fatigue, but pleased nonetheless at what he said. "Look at him, this is my romancer," she said. "The swan could pick me me up, I don't think it could fly. G.o.d never made no swan that big." up, I don't think it could fly. G.o.d never made no swan that big."Quentin could hear how she exaggerated the Bronx in her speech as she modestly refused her husband's worshipful words. A sweet woman, a good woman. And Bolt did love her. Too bad how he was in thrall to a witch whose daughter now had control of her and of the men she happened to possess. If Rowena wanted him, he'd walk away from Leda without a backward glance. And yet he'd know that he had done it. Could he bear living with that? Roz certainly wouldn't care; would Rowena?They finished the chocolate. Quentin refused to talk about his plans. He didn't have any. He couldn't afford to have any. Drive to the rest home? Stay here waiting for Roz to arrive?Leda went back to bed after rinsing the mugs. Bolt showed Quentin to his room. Not a couch, a fold-out bed, nicely made. A TV with a remote. "Not the Ritz," said Bolt."Beats Motel Six, though," said Quentin."Good night, then. You won't need no alarm in this house. We'll keep the door closed, but the pitter-patter of little feet will probably sound like World War II.""I won't mind."Bolt turned to go."Mike. Would I be wasting my time if I asked you for the loan of a gun?""You don't need a gun. Guns just go off and hurt people.""You know what I'm up against.""You can't shoot women who don't leave footprints, Quentin.""The ones I'll be with, they leave footprints.""Have you ever fired a gun?" asked Bolt."I promise you I won't shoot it around any civilians.""What's to stop them from taking it away from you and shooting you with it?""I've got to have something, Mike.""I'll get you something for self-defense. But don't even think about lethal force, Quentin. If there's any lethal force needed, I'll do it.""You plan to be there?""Wouldn't miss it.""But will you be a free man, Mike?""What do you mean?""Rowena owns you, Mike. Her mother said so.""Her mother's lying," said Bolt cheerfully. "I owe her a lot, but what she says about Rowena, you just got to consider the source."No point in arguing with him. Maybe Mike would be an a.s.set, maybe he wouldn't. But since Quentin refused to think of any plan besides to wing it, he didn't let himself consider the question."Aw, don't look so glum, Quentin. Just think-you've been seduced by a succubus and now you get to have a showdown between the witches and the macho guys.""Sweet of you to include me with the macho guys," said Quentin."That's what it means to be... pals." Bolt grinned."Not just guys, but pals." Quentin laid his hand on his heart. "I'm touched."Bolt shook his head. "Yeah, well, just remember that if one of us has to die in that house tomorrow, I sure hope it's you.""I know Leda wouldn't have it any other way," said Quentin.Bolt closed the door behind him as he left. Quentin undressed, and as he crawled onto the creaking, sagging fold-out bed with the paper-thin mattress he knew it would be the worst night of his life. He was asleep in three minutes.

In the morning, Quentin pulled on his clothes and staggered into the kitchen, where Leda was making pancakes and slapping them down on the kids' plates. "Don't you want to use the bathroom before you eat?" she asked."If the pancakes are ready now," he said, "I'm not going off to the bathroom and letting these these guys eat them all." guys eat them all."The kids laughed and Leda introduced them and they ate breakfast together. Not until they had charged off to school did he realize that he hadn't seen Bolt this morning. Why hadn't he noticed? It was incredible that he hadn't noticed.Roz, what are you doing?"Where's Mike?" he asked, dreading the answer."Oh, he had some errands he had to run. He told me to tell you that's the burden of the working man. Also I'm supposed to give you this." She handed him a small spray can. Nothing was written on it by the manufacturer, but a label saying "MixPolDep" had been affixed to it. "It's Mace. The real thing, not pepper spray. Tear gas. He says don't use it outdoors because it's bound to blow right back in your own face, and if you use it indoors make sure your hand is no more than a foot from your target's face.""He really thinks I'm a klutz, doesn't he?""I don't know about that," said Leda, "but he gives the same instructions to new cops when they start working for him.""I can live with that," said Quentin. "Thanks for the breakfast. Best meal I've had in a week."Which was true. What he had thought he was eating in the Laurent mansion was better, but it wasn't, strictly speaking, a meal."Should I wait for him to get back?" Quentin asked."He says do what you need to. If you aren't waiting for him at the department, he'll drive on out to the house. Don't start without him, he says.""Fair enough," said Quentin.Then dread stabbed through him and he thought, I wasn't going to let Bolt out of my sight. I've got to go looking for him. He's already got at least an hour's head start on me. Got to call Sally and warn her that Bolt is on the loose.But he didn't call her. He went to the bathroom and showered and shaved and got dressed in the last of his clean clothes. Maybe it would be the last time he'd ever need clean clothes anyway.For a moment, as he left the house, he remembered vaguely that he had some kind of errand to run. Something that had seemed very urgent when he thought of it back in the kitchen, right after breakfast, but what was it? Couldn't remember. Well, if it was that urgent it would come back to him.He drove to the police department. The receptionist said, "Chief Bolt was here a minute ago. He stepped out for a minute. He says for you to wait."Only then did he remember his urgent errand, and in that moment relief swept over him. Bolt had just stepped out. Everything was going to be fine.He opened the door and found Sally Sannazzaro waiting in Bolt's office.She jumped to her feet. "I can't believe it," she said. "Mrs. Tyler said I'd find you here. I thought she meant that Chief Bolt would tell me how to reach you, but no, here you are!""It's fate," said Quentin. "You drove all the way down here? You must have left at five in the morning.""I left at eight. The roads are clear and it's later than you think.""Thanks for not holding a grudge," he said."No, I was terrible. Bolt just gets under my skin. Maybe he fools you with a nice-guy act, but I swear he's evil."Quentin shook his head. "When he's himself, he's a good guy. He loves his wife and kids.""Well, I guess I've only seen him when he wasn't himself," said Sannazzaro. "What about you? Are you yourself right now?""I hope not," said Quentin. "I'm trying to work up the courage to do some really stupid and dangerous stuff today.""If you know it's stupid..." But she didn't finish the sentence. They both knew that sometimes stupid, dangerous stuff had to be done."What brought you down here?" asked Quentin."I'm on Mrs. Tyler's errand," she said. "Somehow she knew you'd be here.""Amazing woman. I guess this means she's talking to you again.""She's so alert since you visited. Even more than when she first came to the rest home. She a.s.sures me that you didn't cure her, but Quentin, I-can I call you Quentin again? Still?"He had a sudden impulse to say, Only if I can call you Mrs. Fears. But he didn't say it. He knew at once that this sudden desperate desire he felt for Sally Sannazzaro was nothing but eve-of-death syndrome. The same need that made soldiers on the verge of war want to marry someone or sleep with someone, to leave seed behind in case they didn't come back.She misunderstood his hesitation. "So you're still angry?""No, I'm not angry at all. I don't know what I'm feeling. Please call me Quentin."She rested her hand on his for a moment, to cement their reconciliation.Then she took a large manila envelope out of her purse. It had been folded in quarters to fit. She unfolded it, opened it, and pulled out a Ziploc bag filled with gray hair."She sent me her hair? hair?" Quentin asked."I didn't say she was sane, Quentin, I just said she was alert. I can't explain it to you-she got up, found the scissors, and hacked her hair off before I even got there this morning. She looks dreadful but she said you'd know what it was for. And if you don't, there's a note.""What does it say?""She didn't tell me I could read it."He thought of the grande dame, complaining when he didn't seal the note he was leaving with her, and he smiled."You think I read it anyway?""I smiled because I knew you didn't," said Quentin.She rolled her eyes. "That was mean," she said."Mean?""Of course I read it. One of my residents cuts off all her hair, gives it to me in a plastic bag, and tells me to take it to a millionaire in a town where he doesn't live so how do I know he's even there, and you think I didn't read the note?"By now Quentin had it open and was reading it.Dear Quentin,If this is with you, then I am with you. Wear it over your heart. It isn't much, but it's all I can do for you now. Don't let it touch your skin. If it touches your skin, it won't be able to resist taking you, even if it wants her more. It's in your hands. G.o.d be with you.Yours sincerely, Anna"You read this?" asked Quentin."Does it make any sense to you?"It hadn't at first. Until he realized that when she said not to let it touch his skin, she didn't mean her hair, she meant the beast. Or did she?"She's crazy, isn't she?" asked Sally. "I love her, but the old lady's gone bananas, hasn't she?""Is that a clinical term?" asked Quentin."It's a serious question. I knew she was mentally gone as soon as I read it. But I couldn't let it go. I knew I had to come down here and show it to you.""She's not crazy, and you know it," said Quentin.Sally hesitated a moment, then nodded. "I know. But I want to know what this is for."Quentin opened his shirt, then took it off. "Bolt must have some duct tape in here somewhere. He's too macho to have nothing but this wimpy office tape."Sally joined him in opening drawers and file cabinets. "So you aren't going to explain anything?""Sally, all I'll do by explaining is make you think I'm even crazier than Mrs. Tyler.""Here it is. This file drawer is like a tool cabinet.""Help me tape this bag over my chest, would you? And don't bother with the cheap joke about putting hair on my chest. I know how stupid this looks.""Quentin, I don't know what you think you're doing, but this isn't exactly a bulletproof vest, you know." One thing Quentin really liked about her: She might be complaining, but at the same time she was still taping.He h