3 Ghosts of Our Fathers (4 page)

“Variants?” Steven asked.

“Different elements of the recipe
that protect against specific things. The most common protection is a generic
protect-all kind of mixture. People who know what they’re doing can add variants
that make the protection strong in specific areas, like the one I gave you; it
has time protection variants. Your dad’s protection — it has dozens of
variants, some I’ve never seen before.”

Steven didn’t know exactly what to
make of this information, but he felt a little pride well up in him. Roy had
always been just a father, and a distant one at that. Learning that Roy had the
gift had distinguished him in Steven’s eyes and over the course of the past
year Steven had learned that his father knew far more than he could ever
imagine. But to hear that he was distinguished even within these esoteric
circles surprised him.

“You’ve had it, I presume?” Daniel
asked.

“Several times,” Steven answered.
“When he and I were working on a few problems.”

“If he ever decides to market that
stuff,” Daniel said, “he’ll make a fortune. I could spend the next ten years
trying to duplicate it and wouldn’t get close.”

“I’ll tell him that,” Steven said,
wondering which day Roy had said he planned on returning from his boat trip
with Dixon.

Daniel’s phone rang and he stepped
into another room to answer it. Steven took the opportunity to look around
Daniel’s workshop a little more. It reminded him of Eliza’s but without the
feminine touches. There was no comfortable sitting area, just tables loaded
with projects and devices. Along one wall there were bookcases with objects
placed on them about a foot apart from each other. They seemed to be on display
rather than for use.

Daniel returned from the other
room. “That was the auto place in Ellensburg. The car’s done. Oh, I see you’ve
found the unknowns.”

“I thought you might call them the
antiques, but based on the condition of some of them I was wondering if they
were just art,” Steven said.

“The term ‘antique’ doesn’t mean
much in my world,” Daniel said. “Those are the devices that I haven’t figured
out yet. Some of them I’ve had for years. I may never figure them out. But
every now and again I come across something that unlocks what one of them does,
and then I’m glad I kept it.”

Steven surveyed the contraptions.
They seemed like odd pieces of junk, without any value or technological
elements. One even looked like an old rusty can.

“Jump in,” Daniel said. “You’ll
see what I mean.”

Steven entered the flow and the
objects transformed. The rusty can looked like a round ball with deep etchings.
Several of the objects had a light yellow hue to them. The hue pulsed on a few
of them. He slipped back out of the River, feeling the slight stab of pain in
the back of his neck.

“Wow,” Steven said, turning to
Daniel. “You’ve just collected them over the years?”

“Some I came across, a couple I
bought and some were gifts,” he said. “When people know you collect a certain
thing, they feel compelled to give you more of that thing for your birthday or
Christmas. I’ve got boxes of the duplicative crap I’ve been given by
well-meaning friends. My work and collection is more specialized now, and most
of these objects on the shelves are rare.”

“If I ever decide to give you a
gift,” Steven said, “it will be a CD or something. No time objects.”

“Thank you,” Daniel said. “Unless,
of course, you want to give me some really cool and rare time object. Please
don’t hesitate in that case.”

“How would I know if it was cool
or rare?” Steven asked. “I’m guessing you can’t determine the value of these
items on the internet?”

“Ah, giving gifts to collectors is
a bitch, isn’t it? A CD will be fine.”

Steven drove back to Seattle,
dropping Daniel in Ellensburg to retrieve his car. On the way, Steven quizzed
Daniel more about the time objects and their capabilities. Daniel had some
interesting stories to tell and the two hour drive went quickly.

As they pulled into Ellensburg,
Daniel turned to Steven.

“Do you mind if I tag along?” he
asked. “On your visit to Olympia?”

“No, I wouldn’t mind at all,”
Steven replied. “You’ve been extremely helpful so far. It would be nice to have
you along.”

“I have to admit I’m intrigued,”
Daniel said. “I’d like to hear what he has to say.”

“Sure, you can stay at my place
tonight,” Steven said, “and we’ll drive to Olympia first thing in the morning.
Should we just continue on and I’ll bring you back out to get your car?”

“Oh no,” Daniel said, “that’s way
out of your way. I’ll pick my car up now and follow you. That way you won’t
have to drive back out here.”

Steven drove Daniel to the auto
repair shop and dropped him off. Soon they were back on the interstate,
convoying to Seattle.

As he drove, observing Daniel’s
car in the rear view mirror, Steven was grateful Daniel was available and
willing to help. He felt a little lost without Roy around. He’d come to rely on
his father far more than he realized.
What a change,
he thought.
I
hardly ever see him for most of my life, now I miss the bugger when he’s gone
for a week.

He tried to remember what day Roy
said he’d be back.
He said he’d be gone a week,
Steven thought.
It’s
been about that. Maybe he’s back today?

Certainly Roy would have a
perspective on this. Roy always had a perspective. He could be cranky and
crass, but his heart was in the right place and he’d been there to help Steven
when he needed him most. Steven had come to rely on him.

What happens when he passes on?
Steven thought, then immediately felt guilty for considering the idea.
I
shouldn’t be thinking about that. Drop the subject.

They arrived in Seattle around
midnight.

“Let’s turn in,” Steven said, “I
want to be on the road to Olympia by 6 tomorrow.”

“Sleep with that object close,”
Daniel said. “Don’t leave it on your nightstand where our visitor might be able
to take it from you.”

“I think I have a solution,”
Steven said. He went to the bathroom and removed some ankle tape, then he bound
the rectangle Daniel had given him around his arm. The elastic of the tape kept
it firmly in place. He showed Daniel his arm.

“Perfect,” Daniel said. “And you
have the protection I gave you?”

“Yes,” Steven said, “I’ll down it
just before I get into bed.”

“All right. Wake me up if he shows
up.”

“Will do. Goodnight.”

Steven tried to sleep, but he was
still a little wired from the drive and the protection surging through his body
didn’t make it any easier. He wished he had Roy’s book so he could read more
until he felt sleepy. It didn’t feel right to remove the book from Roy’s house
without his permission.

He slipped into bed and turned off
the light. He felt around his neck. He could still feel the pain from his
encounter with the glass man the night before. He hoped Daniel’s object would
help if the man appeared tonight. Anticipation of the meeting was another thing
keeping him awake. He tried several sleep techniques he’d learned over the
years but none of them were working.

He turned over in bed, looking up
at the ceiling. Faint moonlight coming in through his bedroom window lit the
wall to his right. The shadow of the glass man was upon it; he turned to his
left and the figure was at his bedside. Steven instinctively raised his arm,
bandaged with the object inside, to his neck.

The glass man stood as a statue,
like before. Steven slipped into the flow.

“It’s almost time,” the man said.

Steven was surprised to hear the
voice.
The glass must be thinning,
he thought.
Time for what?

“Time to pay you back,” the man
said.

I haven’t done anything to you,
Steven thought.

“I paid with eighty years,” the
man said. “You’re going to pay with your life.”

The glass moved, but this time
Steven could observe the movement. The glass man moved his hand inches from Steven’s
face, then stopped. The man’s brow furrowed, frustrated. “What?” he said,
confused.

Steven didn’t respond. The man
didn’t seem to clue in that Steven had taken defensive steps.

The man growled. The glass moved
again, this time to a different pose. Same result, the man’s hand stopped
inches from Steven.

The man moved around the bed to
Steven’s other side. He observed Steven’s head following his movement, and
realized his ability to surprise Steven was gone. He let out another frustrated
growl. Then the vertical panes appeared, and within a few seconds he had left
the room.

It worked,
Steven thought,
exiting the flow. If he follows the same pattern he won’t be back again
tonight.

He considered waking Daniel but
then decided against it. The visit was over; he could tell him about it in the
morning. Time now to sleep. Six a.m. was only a few hours away.

Steven instead tossed and turned,
adrenaline now mixing with the protection. It was going to be a tough night.

-

On the drive to Olympia, Steven
related the incident to Daniel.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”
Daniel asked.

“He had come and gone within
thirty seconds,” Steven said. “And the good news is, your protection worked. He
tried several times to come at me and was stopped. He was clearly frustrated by
that. He eventually gave up and blipped out.”

“Well, I’m glad of that,” Daniel
said.

“He did say ‘I paid with eighty
years, and you’re going to pay with your life.’ I wasn’t sure what to make of
that.”

“Well,” Daniel offered, “the eighty
years must mean the time binding. If the binding was to make him pay for
something, like a punishment, I wonder what he did.”

“That’ll be agenda item number one
with Garth,” Steven said.

Traffic was still light so early
in the morning, and they soon found themselves navigating to the Tall Pines facility
in Olympia, a few minutes after 7 a.m.

They walked into the lobby. It was
large, open, and beautifully furnished. There were several couches in different
areas of the room, and several seniors were moving through to a larger room in
the back where breakfast was being served.

Wow, this is much nicer than I
imagined,
Steven thought.

He noticed a woman sitting behind
a beautifully carved desk. She was younger and had a name badge. Steven assumed
she was the receptionist. As he approached the desk, her desktop sign read
“Concierge.”

“Excuse me,” Steven said to her,
smiling. “We’re here to meet with one of the residents. Are you the person we
should talk to?”

“Yes, I can help you,” she said,
smiling back. “Who were you meeting?”

“Garth Wilmon,” Steven answered.

“That’s Mr. Wilmon over there,”
she nodded, referring to a man sitting in a winged back leather chair on the
other side of the room. “He’s expecting you.”

“Thank you,” Steven said, turning
to walk to towards the man in the chair.

As they approached, Garth Wilmon
stood. “You must be Steven,” he said.

“I am,” Steven said, “Steven Hall.
And this is Daniel…” Steven realized he’d never learned Daniel’s last name.

“Simmons,” Daniel offered,
sticking his hand out towards Garth, who held it and gave it a shake. “Daniel
Simmons.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Garth
said. “Would either of you like breakfast?”

Steven and Daniel turned to each
other. They had left the house so quickly they had only brought coffee.
Steven’s stomach was beginning to growl.

“Are you going to have breakfast?”
Steven asked Garth.

“Well,” Garth replied, “I am, and
I’ve made arrangements for it to be served to us over there.” He pointed to a
small alcove. An elderly couple passed behind Steven and Daniel on their way to
the dining room and Garth gave them a wave.

“Sure,” Steven said. “That would
be nice.”

This was not what I was
expecting from an assisted care facility,
Steven thought.

They all walked over to the
alcove. It was lined with bookcases and had a fireplace with a small fire
rolling inside. There was another leather chair and a small sofa. Garth took
the chair. On the small coffee table between them was a large art book from the
Carnegie museum in Pittsburgh. As soon as they sat, a waiter appeared and
poured coffee for each of them and took their breakfast order.

“They’ll make you pretty much
anything,” Garth said. “No menu. All the normal stuff.”

They each gave the waiter an order
and he departed. Although Steven could see people passing by on their way to
breakfast, the alcove was relatively private.

“Your message was intriguing and
not very informative,” Garth said.

“Sorry about that,” Steven said. “I
needed to get your attention, because I need your help.”

“And how can I help you?” Garth
asked, pouring cream into his coffee.

Months ago Steven might have
danced around the subject. Now he felt the direct approach was the best. “Over
the past few days,” Steven said, “I’ve been harassed by your father, Frank.”

“Stepfather,” Garth said, taking a
sip of coffee. “And that’s quite impossible, since he’s been dead for forty
years.”

“It’s not his physical self
threatening me,” said Steven. “It’s his soul.”

Garth sat his cup down and looked
at Steven defensively. “Is this a shakedown? Despite all this,” he said, waving
his hand, “I don’t have money. It’s all locked away in my children’s hands, so you’re
wasting your time.”

“No, nothing like that,” Steven
said. “I’m only after information. Your stepfather has threatened to kill me.
I’m trying to figure out why.”

“You’re speaking about him in the
present tense,” Garth said. “You realize you sound like a lunatic?”

“I’m betting you know I’m not,”
Steven said.

Garth eyed Steven again, giving
him the once over.

“Frank’s soul has been caged for
the past eighty years,” Daniel said. “Even though he passed away forty years
ago, his soul is still very much alive. The problem is the cage is now
deteriorating, and he’ll be on the loose within a few days. And he appears to
be pissed off.”

The color drained from Garth’s
face. He looked from left to right and back again, seeming to be searching for
a way out of something. “I didn’t think there was a time limit,” he muttered.

“What?” Steven asked. “Did you say
a time limit?”

Garth looked up. “Yes, I didn’t
think there was a time limit.”

“On Frank?” Steven asked.

“Yes, on Frank,” Garth said.

“So you know what I’m talking
about?” Steven said.

Garth sighed. “Yes,” he said. “I
think I do.”

The waiter appeared with their food.
Garth paused while the plates were passed around and more coffee was poured.
Once the waiter left, Garth took a bite of a bagel. He chewed it slowly and
deliberately, as though he was using the time to pull up memories of Frank.

“It’s a rather long story, Mr.
Hall,” Garth said.

“Please, call me Steven,” he
replied.

“All right, Steven then. It’s a
long story, and it happened a long time ago. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m rather
old now, and my memory isn’t what it used to be. But I’ll go back if you want
me to.”

“It’s more of a case of needing
you to,” Steven said. “I believe when the cage is gone, he will try to kill me.
He’s already tried and failed.”

“All right then,” Garth said. “I
believe you. My stepfather was an evil man. Let me tell you what happened back
in 1933.”