Paper Alley, page 21
“I know. Thanks. We’ll get through this. I have no idea how I managed to make it this far—no, I’m wrong. I made it by the grace of God and because of Julie’s prayers.”
Dan closed his eyes.
“It’s because you are one tough soldier,” Tim whispered from across the room.
Dan opened one eye and grinned, just for a moment. “Yeah, I keep forgetting.”
Julie came through the front door carrying several bags of groceries. “Tim, I saw your car parked out front. We missed you. Is everything all right?”
“Glad to be back here. I missed my family.”
Tim grabbed the bags from Julie’s hands, pecked her on the cheek. Julie gave Dan a quick glance, then followed Tim into the kitchen.
“He’s down in the dumps,” Julie whispered.
“Yes he is. I’ll be around as much as I can. He needs to get out.”
“I think not having a job is giving him too much time to think.”
“I’ve got the same problem. Maybe we can help each other. Maybe we’ll create jobs for ourselves.”
“That would be great. You both need to start praying.”
“I’m gonna get out of here and let you get ready for your meeting. Love you. Tell Klaare I said hello, and I’ll call her as soon as I feel I can do justice by her.”
“What’s up, Tim?”
“Let’s just say, it doesn’t have anything to do with the present. I just need to come to terms with my past. Klaare doesn’t deserve to be burdened with my baggage. I need to shed as much of it as I can first, although some of it will never be left behind.”
Tim walked toward the front door and paused near Dan. “Take care, both of you. Call me if you need anything.”
Julie busied herself preparing finger foods for the evening’s gathering. She expected a large turnout and wanted everyone to feel welcome.
Dan went to the bedroom to take a nap, in the hopes he would feel better by the evening. He also wanted to be out of the way while Julie cleaned.
Julie struggled with her guilt of putting them in this situation. She also felt frustration with Dan for not attending church with her. The person Dan was becoming scared her. Even though she knew it wasn’t deliberate on his part, she wanted him to fight harder. She could feel a tension growing between them.
Julie had been right. The house filled with all the original members and an equal number of new faces. The big surprise was Harry McDonath. Harry brought ten members of the church with him. We should have rented a hall, Julie thought.
It was an electrified meeting with angry citizens disappointed in the town council. They wanted the old guard out. Several people voiced their intentions to run for office. Dan never made an appearance. Julie had checked on him an hour before the meeting. He said he would be down, but he had spoken without opening his eyes. Even with the noise of the meeting, he continued to sleep. Julie fought to keep her thoughts on the meeting, her mind distracted by Dan’s condition.
Harry and the ten members of the church congregation were the last to leave. They wanted to let Julie know they had a prayer chain in motion for both Dan and the situation with the house. He updated Julie on the progress of the corruption investigation. His source had confided in him that they were moving in, the evidence was mounting. It would only be a matter of time before arrests were made and people lost their jobs. Harry’s words lifted a lot of the weight off Julie’s shoulders. Her emotional state wasn’t up to running the community action group on her own.
“We have waited a long time for this. Tell Dan we’re sorry he wasn’t well enough to take part in this evening’s gathering. We give you and him credit for the changes taking place.”
He began to shrug into his coat. “Good night, Julie. I’ll see you in church.”
“Harry, we haven’t done much.”
“I’m an old man. I still have my wits, though. I’ve paid attention to a lot of trends. Do you know anything about economic bubbles?”
“I’ve heard some things on the news about housing bubbles and such.”
“Right—housing, oil, tech stocks . . . but you know it also applies to people. Denial on what constitutes fair value is the root cause of a bubble. Val is in such a denial. He has an
overinflated sense of his power and influence. He’s a big fish in a small pond.”
“I don’t get it, Harry.”
“Well, this little pond is becoming connected to the ocean. Val isn’t the big fish anymore. His ego is nothing more than a bubble.”
“How do we fit in?”
“Don’t kid yourself. A point of a pin will pop a bubble. Stony Grove has reached its time. You know, evil is a destructive force. It does not build or create. It can manipulate the forces of love to accomplish some of these things, but by its very nature it always destroys. It reached such a point, and your presence in Stony Grove has tipped the scales. There are things in motion being played out. It is out of our hands. They say God moves in mysterious ways, and one of those ways is to let things play out. He watches.”
“I hadn’t thought about it from that perspective. Thanks, Harry. Thanks for coming this evening.”
Harry took Julie’s hand and held it. “We don’t know. We have to have faith. All we can do is choose our sides. It’s better to let the enemy destroy himself with his own greed, selfishness, and hatred. Evil always loses. It’s just a shame so many good people suffer before it does.”
TWENTY-SIX
The next morning Dan woke early. He found the kitchen stacked with dirty dishes and the trash overflowing. Apparently, Julie had gone to bed as soon as everyone had departed. Dan smiled. All indications were of a good turnout.
He started a pot of coffee, then cleaned up. He went about it in stealth mode, trying to avoid waking Julie. He took a handful of supplements and drank half a bottle of blueberry juice, then sat in the dining room to drink his coffee. He couldn’t believe how well he felt. With each sip of coffee, he held the cup close to his nose to savor the aroma. He thought about what Tim had said—You’re a tough soldier—and smiled. Physically, he still felt weak. His strength didn’t come from muscle.
Julie walked into the spotless kitchen and poured a cup of coffee before she noticed Dan at the dining room table. She set her coffee down and without a word embraced him. She massaged his back and shoulders.
“I’m sorry I missed the meeting. It looks like you had a good turnout.”
“It was wonderful. You were missed. Several people asked about you. Harry McDonath credits you with stimulating the entire town to flow with the changes on the horizon against the old regime. He said to thank you. There are a lot of people praying for you.”
“I see . . . well, I don’t plan to let them down. I needed the sleep, I’m feeling a little better. Maybe yesterday was the bottom. How about if we take a ride today?”
“Where to?”
“Let’s go visit your mother. We could take her out for dinner.”
“Are you serious? She would love it.”
“Yeah, no special holiday, just an appreciation day.”
“Dan, you’re the best. I’ll call her. When do you want to leave?”
“We can go whenever you want. Let’s get ready now. We’ll stop at some places along the way. Wake the boys, they’re going too. They need to learn their grandma needs attention as much as they do.”
“Why don’t you wake them while I fix breakfast?”
“No way, we’re eating every meal out today.”
And this is the way the day started for the Winslow family.
###
Val Wentreck arrived at Mayor Whipple’s office at noon. The mayor was out to lunch. Val sat in the overstuffed leather chair smoking a cigar. He rifled through the mayor’s drawers, not searching for any particular thing. It was more for his amusement in violating someone. He found a half bottle of scotch in the lower left-hand drawer along with a water glass. He filled it half full. How about that? A free lunch, he thought. He finished the scotch and returned the bottle and glass to the drawer.
The door opened and Joe strode through, then stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Val occupying his office and his chair. “Val . . . good to see you.”
“You’re a lousy liar, Joe. Your face tells it all.”
“To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”
“Don’t play politician with me, Joe. There was a meeting at the Winslow house last night. The reports are, they had a big turnout. These new people moving in are going to vote my boys out.”
“You don’t know for sure.”
“Shut up, Joe. When you talk, you sound stupid. There’s something in the works. Somebody is pushing buttons in Louisville. Big money is investing in student housing that looks like resorts, in college towns. This big money is putting pressure on our friends. Winslow is a pain, but this other stuff is serious. My big out is getting the alley opened up so I can dump my chunk of land to a developer.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to tell me what you know about the Louisville push. I also want to know why you haven’t been keeping up to date on it.”
“Val, I don’t know anything. Honest, it’s as big a shock to me as it is to you.”
“I heard the university president turned in his resignation this morning. Did you know about it?”
“Dr. Aldrich?”
“Yeah, Ben retired.”
“Did he tell you?”
“No, his secretary called. Ben didn’t have the guts. He’s running scared.”
“I thought you two were tight.”
“We did business, nothing more. Years and years of business. Retiring won’t protect him. I want to know a time frame for all this. You get on the phone and call in some favors. I don’t care if you need to drive out to the capitol—I want answers. Find out who we own and start pulling some strings.”
“Sure, Val, I know some people to start with. I’ll get right on it.”
“This isn’t going to be good for any of us, but remember—I never lose. I’m going away for a while. When I get back, I want answers.”
“Where you heading, Val?”
Val stared at Joe Whipple. Joe Whipple cleared his throat as Val stood up. With great effort Val moved from behind the desk. He leaned on his cane as he approached the mayor.
“I’ll destroy this town if I have to. Got it? I’m not pulling any punches. Just for the sport of it, even if it gains me nothing. The Winslow family is going to pay.”
“Val, they don’t have anything to do with this investigation.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m just in a foul mood, and I want to hurt someone.”
Val blew cigar smoke in Joe Whipple’s face. “I’ll be out of town. Make sure everyone knows I’m out of town. I’ll be with people who can vouch for me.”
“Val, don’t do anything crazy.”
Val’s face turned red, a vein protruding on his forehead.
“Crazy? What I do, I do. Nothing I do is crazy.”
Val’s look put the fear of Satan himself into Joe Whipple. He had never received a look like that from any man he had ever known. Val almost knocked Joe off his feet as he barged for the door. Joe Whipple feared for his political job and his marriage, and now his life. Val was a man who had never had to deal with external pressure. He had always been the one to create pressure on others. He feared Val would crack under the pressure and ruin everybody’s life. Joe had been guilty of some indiscretions, but he thought of himself as a good man. After all, he went to church every Sunday.
Val made his way to his Escalade. It already held his suitcase. He drove to Fred’s house, on the way to Hank’s. Fred threw his overnight bag into the back of the Escalade and plopped himself in the front passenger seat. “What a day. I hear the Winslow meeting had a big turnout. This guy is causing a lot of trouble, Val.”
“It’s going to be his trouble, not mine. How much money did you bring?”
“Two grand.”
“Two grand? What are you going to do after the first day? That’s chump change.”
“What did you bring, Val?”
“Guys like me don’t bring money. I have an account. They know me, everybody in the joint knows Val Wentreck.”
Fred sighed. Val’s attitude never changed. He was always the big man. Fred planned to disappear as soon as they hit the casino. He would go his own way. He would have dinner or drinks with Val, but he couldn’t keep up with Val’s high-roller style. Val loved to rub it in. Hank would just spend the trip drinking. The three of them weren’t friends. They were just loners doing the same sad things alongside each other. They had no delusions about it either.
The three men checked in at the hotel to the dismay of the clerk, who couldn’t hide her disgust at Val and his crude humor. They hit a few slots on their way to dinner. In the restaurant Val ordered a steak dinner with all the fixings while delivering patronizing remarks to the waitress. Fred and Hank settled for fish sandwiches. They watched as Val wiped grease from his chin, then stretched back, rubbing his stomach.
“Why don’t you two go do your thing. I’ll be at the high-stakes tables.”
“Sure, Val, we’ll be in the lounge.”
Hank trailed Fred into the lounge. Val lumbered toward the craps table, talking to the pit bosses manning their stations along the way. At the craps table he took up the space of three. People gathered to watch him play.
###
Klaare showered in the bathroom at the far end of the basement. The exhaust fan made a loud whirling sound, the spray of the shower even louder. With the Winslows still on the road and Klaare’s apartment dark except for the bathroom, the house on Elm Street looked deserted.
The screen door on Klaare’s apartment squeaked open. It rested against a shoulder coated in black cloth. A pair of gloved hands fumbled with a lock jimmy without success. Soon the hand punched into the glass in Klaare’s door.
The sound penetrated Klaare’s bathroom, for an instant. She thought she heard something, yet it had been so brief and undefined she shrugged it off. The Winslows must be home. She continued her shower, rinsing the shampoo from her hair.
A gloved hand reached through the broken glass to unlatch the dead bolt. The door to Klaare’s apartment swung open. The man in black stepped in, listening for the sound of an alarm or occupant. Silence. He smiled; this would be a piece of cake. His assigned task was to violate, leave a mark of intrusion, and strike fear. He crept into Klaare’s sitting room. From there he could see light around the closed bathroom door. Klaare had turned off the shower, patted dry with a towel and slipped on her robe. The man in black watched the light beneath the door shift. Movement . . . someone is in there. He moved close to the door. Klaare turned on her blow dryer, running a large brush through her hair.
He flung open the bathroom door to a scream.
###
Val’s luck didn’t work on the craps table. He walked away after losing ten grand. He sat down for a round of poker. He could expound about the nights he pocketed two to three hundred thousand dollars. He never mentioned the nights he lost five hundred thousand. Tonight he stacked four hundred thousand in chips in front of him and looked around the table.
Hank and Fred slouched at the bar.
“How does he do it?”
“Who, Val?”
“Yeah. I know he collects a lot of rent, but he is out of control.”
“He runs Access Cards for druggies.”
“What?”
“He scans Access Cards. Say you have three hundred on your welfare card. He’s got scanners. He scans in the three hundred and gives you a hundred and fifty. You can now take cash and buy your drugs. The taxpayer sends Val three hundred, he doubles his money. He’s got places all over the hood.”
“Wow, sweet.”
###
Dan parked in front of the house, the new normal since the paper alley has been in dispute. He stopped to gaze up at a billion stars, while Julie and the boys headed for the front door. A distant scream broke the silence of the night. The house was dark, save for a patch of light from the basement bathroom. They stopped to listen for another scream or noise to determine where it came from. The second scream sent Dan into a run for Klaare’s side-door entrance.
Klaare took her hot curling iron and jammed it into tender flesh of the intruder’s neck. His hand grabbed her hand, seemingly ignoring the pain. Klaare’s left hand reached for her can of wasp spray; Julie had told her to always have a can with her. “Better than mace, it shoots twenty feet,” Julie had said. Klaare sprayed it into the assailant’s face, burning his eyes. He let her go and stumbled backward. He heard the entry door bang the wall as Dan burst into the apartment. No time to linger, the intruder rushed toward the noise and crashed into Dan. The impact knocked Dan off balance long enough for the assailant to breach the door and run into the woods toward the Gorge. Dan gave chase but could not continue in his weakened state.
Julie told the boys to wait on the porch as she entered the apartment. She found Klaare slumped against the bathroom wall sobbing. Julie comforted her until Dan reentered the apartment.
“Did he hurt you?” Dan sounded winded.
“No, I burned his neck with my curling iron. All he did was grab my hand. Then I shot wasp spray in his face.”
Julie smiled. Glad you listened to my advice.
“We better report this.”
“No, Dan, don’t bother. It will be a waste of time. If she’s not hurt, we should just let it go.”
“Yes, let’s not report this to the authorities,” Klaare said.
Dan pondered the event and what the women were saying.
“Well, I’m calling Tim. Have you talked to him since he’s come back?”
“No.”
“I think it’s time. What do you think?”
“I would like to see him . . . if he wants to see me.”
