Unclean Spirit Page 12

  Mag looked straight into Saul's eyes. "Antichrist."

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  While Patsy and Lukas discussed Paul, Marybeth zoned out and found herself reminiscing about things that hadn't crossed her mind in years. Her parents had died in a car crash many years ago, leaving her extremely wealthy. Marybeth remembered how shocked she had been when the family attorney had notified her that her folks had left everything to her. Perhaps they had actually loved her after all. At any rate, it was the Warriner money that had afforded the Forsythe family the opportunity to move out into the boonies and live their lives quietly and comfortably. Sure, they could have lived in grand style anywhere in the world but their values had not been usurped by the allure of the riches money could buy. Marybeth, Patsy, Tamara, and Paul lived in Van Horn because they cherished peace, tranquility, and relationships untainted by greed. Thanks to Marybeth's parents, the same individuals who had thrown her out of the house when she had professed her love for Patsy, the Forsythe family would be financially secure forever after.

  As Marybeth’s reverie continued, Benjamin's face intruded upon her thoughts. Sweet, adorable Benjamin. Prior to coming to terms with her homosexuality, Marybeth had spent a couple of her teenage years screwing every little rich boy her parents threw at her. One of these dalliances had resulted in pregnancy. Needless to say, Mr. and Mrs. Warriner did their best to convince their daughter to have an abortion but Marybeth was stalwart in her refusal to terminate the little life. So, as behooves any parents who value appearance above all else, the Warriners sent Marybeth to Switzerland for the last five months of her pregnancy. When she returned with her infant, the Warriners would tell their friends that they had adopted a baby. That had been the plan. Unfortunately, plans often fizzle into "could've beens."

  Marybeth's labor had been difficult and the infant was born prematurely and with the umbilical cord wrapped around his little neck. Although the doctors and nurses had done their best to save the newborn, their efforts were unsuccessful and tiny Benjamin died at the age of twelve hours.

  Marybeth, despite her own physical exhaustion, had sat vigil at her child's crib. Finally, realizing that the infant would not survive, the doctors placed Benjamin in Marybeth's arms, which is where he stayed until he took his last Lilliputian breath.

  Marybeth had been a child herself then, but that did not prevent her from experiencing a mother's grief. She blamed herself then for Benjamin's death and she blamed herself still.

  "Hey, M.B., where are you?" Patsy asked the question, but she already knew the answer--she had seen that faraway look on her love's face before and she knew that Benjamin had invaded Marybeth's thoughts.

  "Huh?"

  "Earth to Marybeth! Snap out of it, girl, we'll be home soon."

  Lukas listened to the exchange between Patsy and Marybeth as he stroked Penelope's soft fur. He felt fine now and was anxious to get home to his family. There was, though, something nagging at him, something he couldn't quite get a handle on, something about serpents and crosses and...death.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  The Fifth Night

  It had been a long day for Paul. The echocardiogram and EEG hadn't required any effort on his part, but Paul was unaccustomed to inactivity so lying still for assorted examinations had been trying for him. Starr and Tamara had left for the day which was just as well because Paul was feeling cranky. His head hurt, his leg hurt, and his back ached from being in bed so much. And if one more nurse came in to check his pupillary responses he would just scream!

  It was still early evening but Paul drifted off to sleep and, although no one was around to see it, his physical form gently rose and hovered briefly above his bed.

  Saul and Mag had tried to convince Charlie to stay the night at Saul's house, but to no avail. Charlie was expecting "Puss and Dick" and he wanted to have a decent meal ready for them. As Saul pulled the Bronco away from the ranch, Mag gazed back toward the house and saw Cooter drag his blanket off the porch and into the barn.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

  Lillie hadn't been expecting Lukas so she was surprised when Patsy and Marybeth dropped him off.

  "What's wrong? What are you doing home so soon? Where's the truck?" Lillie was concerned, so her questions came in rapid succession.

  "Slow down," Lukas implored, "I'm okay. I think I had a touch of the flu while I was in El Paso so I left the truck with Tamara and Starr and bummed a ride back with Patsy and Marybeth."

  "Why didn't you call me? I swear, you can be such a turd sometimes!

  "Are you really all right now? Should I call Dr. Feener?"

  "I'm fine, Lill. I didn't call because I knew you would just worry. And no, there's no need to call Saul Feener. I just want to take a long, hot bath, then I'll tell you about my trip to El Paso.

  "Where're the boys?"

  Lukas didn't look ill so Lillie believed him when he said he was fine.

  "Sleepover at Tony Miranda's house. They'll be back in the morning.

  "You bathe and I'll warm-up some homemade chicken soup for you."

  Once his body was clean and his belly full, Lukas told Lillie the truth of what had transpired in El Paso. He even went so far as to share with his wife the evil countenance that he had perceived in Paul.

  "Oh, for heaven's sake, Lukas! You had to have been feverish and you know how wacky you get when your temperature is too high. Either that or you've been reading too many Stephen King novels!"

  "Yeah, hon, I suppose you're right."

  Charlie, determined to treat Pu...Marybeth and Patsy with more respect, had prepared a dinner of ham steak and red potatoes. The ladies, surprised and grateful, ate the meal with gusto. Charlie had even set a dish of Albacore tuna out for Penelope but, much to everyone's surprise, she wouldn't touch it. In fact, she would not even stay in the kitchen at all.

  "That's odd," commented Patsy, "Pen loves tuna. Wonder what's up with her? Guess she misses Starr."

  "Could be," offered Charlie, "but I 'spect it's 'cause of the snakes."

  "WHAT SNAKES?" Marybeth and Patsy exclaimed in unison.

  And so Charlie explained about the reptiles, and about everything else that had been going on at the ranch.

  "God, Charlie, this is too weird." And so Patsy told Charlie about everything that had been going on with Paul.

  "I knowed I shoulda been goin' to church reglur!" Charlie admitted as he opened his bottle of Johnny Walker Red.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

  While Charlie tended to the animals and prepared to lock things up for the night, Patsy and Marybeth sought out Penelope. They found her exactly where they expected her to be, smack in the middle of the bed that resided in Starr's old room.

  "You know, Pen," Marybeth said, "you're a mighty smart cat! Starr's right about you--you do know things.

  "Here, we brought you room service."

  Marybeth had no sooner set the dish of tuna down than Penelope began to devour it.

  No one at the ranch rested well that night: Patsy's sciatica started acting up; Marybeth could simply not find a comfortable position in bed; Charlie, sleeping with a loaded gun at his side, dreamed of snakes with boils on their heads; Cooter crawled underneath his blanket and quivered throughout the night; Penelope padded downstairs and stood vigil at the kitchen door.

  No one in the Duncan household rested well that night: Lillie kept waking up to check on Lukas; Lukas dreamed about a horned Paul Forsythe.

  No one at Saul's house rested well that night: Saul dreamed about the Antichrist character in The Omen; Mag tossed and turned as he dreamed about a nun who drifted across the desert while eating a marmalade sandwich.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

  Mag followed Saul to the Chamber of Commerce the next morning; he wanted to pick up some literature about Van Horn. Mag was trying to ascertain if there was anything in the town's history that might suggest that the place had a supernatural bent. Mag and Saul then had breakfast at the Smokehouse Restaurant on West Broadway.<
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  "What population of this Van Horn?" Mag inquired.

  "Oh, I don't know, maybe around three thousand."

  "Have counted fifteen motels so far. Why tiny town need so many motels?"

  Saul waited to answer until after Mavine, the seventy-something waitress, had brought their orders of Huevos Rancheros.

  "You know, I've asked myself that same question. I expect it's because so many truckers pass through here each day. Not only that, Van Horn is known as 'The Crossroads of the Texas Mountain Trail' so we get a lot of tourists who are on their ways to places like the McDonald Observatory, Big Bend National Park, or Marfa."

  "Marfa. Have heard of it. Is where strange lights appear?"

  "That's the place."

  "You have seen these lights?" Mag wanted to know.

  "Nope, never have. I've had occasion to go to Marfa several times, even went one Labor Day during the Marfa Lights Festival, but I've never seen anything unusual. Hell, what I've seen here lately beats the crap out of anything Marfa has to offer!"

  Saul knew he was going to have a busy day at the office, that's why the men had driven their own vehicles into town. Even though Saul's house was no more than a fifteen minute walk from the office, he needed his Bronco readily available in case of emergencies. Mag, ham that he was, stopped in the office long enough to make Wanda's heart go pitter-patter. Once Mag had made his exit, Wanda commented, "It's men like him who make me wish my butt wasn't the size of Outer Mongolia!"

  Mag drove around town for a while and saw absolutely nothing that captured his interest. Yes, he had to admit to himself, the mountains were nice, but that was about it. The main drag didn't even have a street sign, or if it did it was extremely well concealed.

  Mag decided that he had seen more than enough of the pseudo-town, so he went back to Saul's place and began reading about Van Horn.

  Patsy could hardly move when she awoke. She had been plagued for years by degenerative disc disease and when it flared-up the pain in her back and left leg was unbearable. There really wasn't much Patsy could do about the discomfort; Ibuprofen took the edge off but she mostly had to lie around in a jackknife position. Dr. Feener had told her time and time again that if she would lose some weight she would probably experience fewer painful episodes. Was there, Patsy wondered, anything that doctors didn't think could be cured by weight loss?

  Marybeth was tired when she awoke, but she got up, unpacked for herself and Patsy, and went downstairs to feed Penelope. She found the cat sitting by the kitchen door and assumed that she was awaiting her breakfast.

  "Okay, girl, here I am. Let's go in the kitchen and get some grub."

  But, once again, Penelope would not enter the kitchen, so Marybeth placed her food and water in the hallway.

  "You know, kid, first time someone steps in your food, you'll be glad to come into the kitchen."

  Charlie wasn't around, but there was a fresh pot of coffee brewing. Marybeth made some toast and when the coffee was ready, she took a tray up to Patsy.

  Charlie was cleaning the barn. Cooter had already gobbled-up his breakfast.

  "Listen, ol' son, yer friend, Penelope, is here. Onest I'm done with the chores, I'll bring'er out to see ya."

  Cooter's ears perked-up when he heard "Penelope." He and the cat had quite a friendship and whenever Pen came to the ranch she and Cooter were inseparable.

  About an hour later, Charlie went to the house and found Pen patiently sitting at the screen door.

  "Okay, catface, let's go see Cooter."

  No sooner had Charlie opened the door than Penelope hightailed it for the barn.

  "Damnedest thing!" Charlie smiled as he watched Pen and Cooter reunite.

  While Patsy napped, Marybeth cleaned house. It was obvious that Charlie had picked-up a bit but that he hadn't actually dusted or vacuumed.

  "Wonder how that happened?" Marybeth said to herself as she spied the Forsythe family picture that lay broken beneath the fireplace mantle.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

  The literature Mag had picked up at the Chamber of Commerce was limited in its scope, and so, it appeared, was Van Horn. The town apparently owed its 1881 creation to the Texas and Pacific Railroad. Big deal, thought Mag, many towns arose in the West secondary to rail transportation. The area had also been home to hostile Apaches at one point in its history, but what part of Texas hadn't had its share of Indians? No, Mag decided, there was nothing about Van Horn's past that could explain its present, at least not as far as preternatural phenomena were concerned.

  Marfa, Texas, however, was a different matter. True, Marfa was about seventy-five miles away from Van horn, but so what? Since when did demons pay heed to mileage? Mag had heard of Marfa's famous "Mystery Lights," but he really knew nothing about them; he was surprised to learn that there had been reported sightings of the shining orbs for over a hundred years. The curiosity, also referred to as the "Ghost Lights," consisted of dancing or stationary balls of light, some colored, some not. By all accounts, scientific inquiry had failed to identify the oddity's origins. Could these lights, Mag wondered, be related to what was going on at the Forsythe ranch?

  Saul had finally been able to contact Javier Gomez and was stunned by what the physician had told him. Paul had given Dr. Gomez permission to tell Saul everything, and he had done just that.

  "Dr. Gomez, I can appreciate how difficult it must be for you to even consider Paul's belief that something 'unique,' shall we say, is going on with him. And, I certainly don't want you to think I'm a resident of la-la land, but..." And so Saul told Dr. Gomez about odors and abscesses and snakes. He didn't want his colleague to think he was totally bonkers, though, so he chose not to tell him about Hillie, devil-cats, disembodied voices, and Mag.

  When Javier hung up the phone, his first thought was, "Everyone in that fucking town is crazy!" After due consideration, however, he had to admit that what Dr. Feener had told him certainly lent credence to Paul's claims.

  "Shit," Javier mumbled aloud, "where's an exorcist when you need one?"

  CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

  "Other than time-consuming and boring, it wasn't bad at all." Paul was referencing the stress test that he had just completed.

  "How about your leg, Dad? Much pain?" Starr inquired.

  "Actually, no. That's odd, too, because it hurt like the dickens last night. Hell, maybe the wounds are gone, miraculously cured like my hand. Wouldn't that just send Dr. Gomez over the edge? He'd have to consult his own bloody shrink!"

  "Paul, that's not funny...well, maybe it is just a little amusing," Tamara admitted.

  Right on cue, Javier entered the room and was greeted by laughter.

  "What's so funny?"

  "Private joke, Doc," Paul offered.

  Paul's leg wounds weren't gone, but they did show evidence of granulation tissue, a sign that they were beginning to heal.

  "I'll give you this, Mr. Forsythe, your body's restorative abilities are exceptional. And," Javier continued, "speaking of exceptional..." The doctor told the Forsythe's about his phone conversation with Saul.

  "Holy shit!" was all Paul could say.

  Javier joined Starr outside the hospital while she had a cigarette.

  "No lecture on the evils of smoking, Dr. Gomez?"

  "No, no lecture. In fact, may I bum one?" Javier had quit smoking years ago, but he badly/wanted a cigarette. "God, I'd almost forgotten how satisfying tobacco is." The doctor inhaled deeply as he savored the sweet rush of nicotine.

  "So, Doctor, do you still think we all belong in a loony-bin?"

  "Starr, I never..."

  "Of course you did," Starr interrupted, "and I can't say that I blame you. But now, perhaps, you are more willing to at least contemplate the possibility of an 'other-worldly' explanation for my father's present situation.

  "Please forgive me if it sounds like I'm proselytizing, I don't mean to. It's just that I need, for several reasons, for you to not dismiss us as crazies."

  "Several re
asons?" Javier wanted to know what those reasons were.

  "Well, I just mean that Dad's health hinges on your ability to treat him properly...oh shit, that didn't come out right at all!"

  Javier could see the blush on Starr's face.

  "It's okay, I know what you mean. But what are the other reasons?" Javier thought he knew; at least, he hoped he knew.

  Starr was very attracted to Javier Gomez and she wanted to let him know that. But she was afraid. Afraid of rejection. Afraid that the timing was all wrong.Afraid of opening her heart to a man who, for all she knew, had a wife and children. Starr had successfully avoided meaningful romances for the past few years; sure, she dated, but she always ended her relationships before they really got started. Her failed marriage had negatively colored her perception of men and, more importantly, of herself. There was, though, something about this physician that made Starr want to destroy the personal barricades she had erected. Question was: Could/should she do so?

  "Dr. Gomez, I..." But Javier's pager suspended whatever it was Starr was going to say. "It's Telemetry. We best go up there, it might be about your father.

  "We will continue this conversation later."

  The call from Telemetry wasn't about Paul Forsythe, it was about his wife. Tamara had fainted.

  CHAPTER SIXTY

  Tamara's syncopal episode had been brief and she was conscious by the time Javier and Starr reached her.

  "Dr. Gomez, Mr. Forsythe asked us to page you when his wife fainted," reported the nurse. "Her blood pressure was 70/40 while she was unconscious; it's now 100/60. Even though there's no history of diabetes, I did a bedside blood sugar and it was 80.