Backtracker (109 page)

By the gray, diffuse light of the television, Dave again read the note.

"
This is my gift to you,
"
it said.
"
I hope it will make up for some of what I put you through.

"
Play the following numbers in the state lottery on May 5. The Lucky Seven drawing will have the biggest jackpot in state history.

"
These are the winning numbers,
"
the note read, and then there was a list of seven numbers in large, bold print.

The note was signed
"
Love, L.S.
"

"
Love, L.S.
"

When
he'd
first read it, Dave had wanted to rip the note to pieces.

He'd
wanted to tear the note to shreds, then burn the shreds, then flush the ashes down the toilet.

He'd
almost done it, had almost destroyed the note dozens of times. Twice,
he'd
actually thrown it in the garbage; the second time,
he'd
waited until the night before trash collection day to retrieve it from the can at the curb.

He'd
almost destroyed it.
He'd
wanted to destroy it.
He'd
wanted no further contact with Larry Smith
'
s evil, whatever form it took...even if it might reveal the truth to him at last, even if he desperately needed to know that truth.

He'd
wanted to destroy it.

In the end,
he'd
been unable to destroy it.

He'd
preserved the note, telling himself that he would only hold onto it in order to find out if Larry had lied.
He'd
resolved that he
wouldn
'
t
obey the note
'
s instructions; he would watch the lottery drawing, but he
wouldn
'
t
participate. He would compare the numbers on the note to those on the television screen; whether the numbers matched or differed, he would know the truth about Larry, and that would be the end of it.

That would be the end of it. He would accept no gift from Larry...if, indeed, the note
'
s forecast was accurate and there would be a gift to receive. He wanted nothing from that monster but the truth.

He'd
resolved that he
wouldn
'
t
follow Larry
'
s instructions.
He'd
made a solemn vow.

He'd
almost lived up to that vow. He
hadn
'
t
bought the lottery ticket until today, the day of the drawing.

He'd
bought it.

He'd
followed Larry
'
s instructions, selected Larry
'
s numbers. Once more,
he'd
allowed Larry to manipulate him.

Even after death, Larry was still manipulating him.

Dave looked at the clock. It was time; the glowing red digits read 7:00.

Soon, he would know.

As the lottery theme song piped from the TV, Dave refolded Larry
'
s note. Slipping the bit of paper back into his shirt
-
pocket, he raised the small card before him, held the fateful ticket close to his face.

He had
to grip the ticket with both hands to keep it from shaking.

On the TV screen, the state lottery logo slid away to reveal a brightly colored set, the site of the drawing. The set was dominated by a large apparatus, a barrel of clear glass or plastic; a series of tubes ran along the top of the contraption, and the barrel was filled with numbered white balls the size of ping
-
pong balls.

An attractive young woman with short blonde hair stood to one side of the barrel; she would operate the device, draw the numbers from it. An elderly woman waited beside her, stooped and silver
-
haired; according to the announcer, this was the
"
senior citizen witness.
"
There was always a
"
senior citizen witness
"
; as the announcer said, the lottery was
"
for the benefit of older Pennsylvanians
"
...and Dave had always supposed that the
"
witness
"
served no purpose but to call attention to that fact.

The announcer explained that the first drawing would be for the Daily Win game. This
wasn
'
t
the big one; Lucky Seven, the game with the huge jackpot, would come later. Dave knew the format well, had watched the drawings hundreds of times before...though never with such acute interest as tonight.

The young woman pressed a button on the side of the apparatus. The numbered balls began to leap within the barrel, dancing crazily on currents of air.

Dave felt as if his stomach was loaded with those same spastic balls.

Soon, he would know.

He was simultaneously eager and terrified at the prospect. He wanted to know; he
didn
'
t
want to know.

He looked forward to finding out that Larry
'
s last claims had been lies, groundless fabrications that had no bearing on reality.

He was afraid of finding out that Larry had told the truth.

He was terrified that Larry might have told the truth.

On TV, the young woman slid a cover from a slot in the first tube. Immediately, one of the balls was sucked up from the barrel, straight up the tube.

The ball jittered against the cap atop the tube, and the woman reached for it. She stilled the ball
'
s hectic motion with well
-
manicured fingers, rolled the nervous spherelet around so that its number was visible to the camera.

The announcer said that the first number of the Daily Win game was a three. The young blonde moved to the second tube to repeat the procedure; watching attentively, the
"
senior citizen witness
"
followed.

Dave continued to grip his ticket with both hands. Soon, he would know.

Soon, he would know if Larry had lied.

The blonde drew a second ball from the barrel, then moved to the third tube. She drew another ball, completing the three
-
digit Daily Win number.

The announcer said that it was now time for the Hot Four drawing.

After the Hot Four, the Lucky Seven would be selected. Dave knew the sequence; they always saved the big game for last.

Soon, he would know.

Soon, he would know if Larry had come from the future, if his knowledge of future events like this lottery drawing was accurate enough to support his claims.

Soon, Dave would know just how likely it was that Larry had been a time
-
traveler, had really come back to change the course of his own life.

Dave would know how likely it was that he and Larry were the same person.

On TV, the blonde and the senior citizen walked onto a different set, one with an apparatus identical to but larger than the first. The balls were already careening within the larger barrel as the blonde stepped up to open the first tube.

The first number of the Hot Four was an eight.

The second number was a five.

Soon, he would know.

He would know if the story had been true, if someone like him could ever change so completely as to become someone like Larry. He would know if it was possible, though every fiber of him cried out that it
wasn
'
t
.

The third number of the Hot Four was selected.

The fourth number was picked, then the alternate.

The blonde and the senior citizen moved to yet another set, one with a ball
-
filled barrel even
larger than the last. There were eight tubes atop this barrel; the Lucky Seven numbers would appear in those tubes.

Seven numbers and an alternate would shoot into those tubes, and Dave would know. He would compare the numbers on his ticket to the numbers that sprang from the barrel, and he would know.

He would know if his life was destined to follow a tragic course. He would know if his fate was cursed...or would have been cursed if not for Larry
'
s intervention.

He would know if
he'd
made the right decision in saving the child. He would know if Larry had lied, and the child
wasn
'
t
likely to become a threat...or if it was possible that Michael Moses could someday fulfill Larry
'
s prediction and slay Dave
'
s parents.

He would know...

He would know if his soul was in jeopardy. He would know if Larry had told the truth about coming from the future; if Larry
hadn
'
t
lied about that, then perhaps he
hadn
'
t
lied about selling his soul...and if Larry and Dave were the same person, perhaps they shared the same soul...and even if Dave never ended up doing what Larry had done, perhaps his soul would be forfeit, anyway.

He would know.

With much excitement in his basso voice, the announcer introduced the Lucky Seven drawing. Dramatically, he declared that the grand prize would be fifty
-
three million dollars; whoever held a ticket with seven of the eight numbers that were picked would win fifty
-
three million dollars.

This jackpot, the announcer proclaimed, was the largest in Pennsylvania State Lottery history.

Larry had been right;
he'd
accurately foretold that much, at least. In his note, which had been written over a month before the drawing,
he'd
foretold the dimensions of the jackpot.

Dave
'
s hands shook as the blonde stepped up to the great drum.

In a moment, he would know.

He would know if
he'd
killed himself when
he'd
killed Larry Smith.

The blonde reached for the first tube, smoothly slid the cover from the slot. Instantly, a ball burst into the tube.

Deftly, she turned the ball so that its number was visible.

Dave held his breath.

Fourteen.

The first number was fourteen.

Heart pounding, eyes wide, Dave scanned his ticket.

There was no fourteen on the ticket.

Dave
'
s eyes snapped back to the screen. He still had a chance to match the winning combination; counting the alternate, there were seven numbers yet to be drawn.

With the senior citizen at her side, the blonde moved to the second tube. She opened the slot and a ball launched from the drum.

Thirty
-
eight.

The second number was thirty
-
eight.

A chill raced up Dave
'
s spine.

Thirty
-
eight was the first number in the sequence printed on the ticket; it had been the first number on the list in Larry
'
s note.

The blonde opened the third tube. A ball appeared and she turned it for the camera.

Seventeen.

Dave shook more fiercely than ever. His stomach wrenched painfully.

Seventeen was the second number on the ticket. It had been the second number on Larry
'
s list.

Gracefully, the blonde glided to the fourth tube, drew aside the cover.

Forty
-
nine.

The fourth number drawn was forty
-
nine.

The third number on the ticket was forty
-
nine.

Stunned and amazed, Dave slowly shook his head. Not only had Larry chosen three of the Lucky Seven numbers so far, but
he'd
chosen them in the exact order in which they were drawn.

There was little doubt in Dave
'
s mind anymore, little doubt that Larry had told the truth. He must have come from the future, accessed the lottery results in the future, brought them back from the future.