Book of Days_ A Novel - James L. Rubart [38]
Cameron eased through the crowd till he stood ten or eleven feet from Taylor. He caught Taylor's eye just as Jason stepped to the microphone. Taylor winked at him.
"Friends and neighbors, seekers of the truth, and those who are merely curious. Welcome! Thank you for coming." Jason paused and looked over the throng, those with folded arms mixed in with those with adoration on their faces. "We have a packed house tonight. I think even my worst enemies must be here!"
The crowd chuckled politely as Jason's eyes swept the room. When his gaze reached the far right side of the room, he stopped and raised his eyebrows.
"Well, this is interesting. It seems we have a distinguished individual here this evening from Portland—Ms. Ann Banister."
Cameron closed his eyes and let his head flop to the side. Great. She wasn't supposed to arrive till tomorrow. Gear up. It would be fine. She might have grown a new personality since last time he saw her.
The crowd followed Jason's gesture toward Ann.
She waved and offered a half smile.
"Welcome!" Jason boomed as he led the crowd in light applause.
"Now, Ms. Banister, I don't mean to put you on the spot, but would you like to come up onstage and say a few words?"
What was Jason doing? Why would he want Ann up onstage? Did he expect her to uncover the location of the book on the spot? Sure, she used to do investigative reporting, but she wasn't Scully from the X-Files or Olivia from Fringe.
The guy was rocking on a chair with no legs.
Ann waved Jason off. "That's okay, thanks."
"Come now, I think you have some fans here who would love to hear from you."
The crowd laughed and broke out into a louder round of applause.
"See?"
As Ann made her way to the stage, Jason gave an impromptu introduction. "If you don't know already, Ann hosts a very popular cable program that I believe is seen weekly across the country. Please welcome to our town, Ms. Ann Banister."
Ann sprang up the stairs in jeans and a maroon polo shirt with an Adventure Northwest logo. She walked over to Jason, shook his hand, and turned to wave at the crowd.
"Hello, Three Peaks!" A big smile creased her pretty face. "I didn't dress tonight with the idea of being onstage. I hope this works for you." She smiled again as the crowd applauded and nodded their approval.
A sudden movement to his left made Cameron pivot.
Taylor Stone stumbled forward and hunched over, as if he was choking on one of the mini crab cakes Jason had provided for the event. His wife steadied Taylor, and after a few seconds he stood erect again, apparently recovered. But his face wasn't red as it should be from choking; it was stark-white. His eyes narrowed and his lips parted, the look on his face was one of shock.
No question as to the source of his surprise. Stone stared directly at Ann Banister.
Taylor finally turned to his wife, who glanced rapidly back and forth between Ann and him. After sharing ten or fifteen seconds of intense whispers, Taylor and his wife eased out the back door.
The Taylor Stone saga had just added a fascinating new chapter.
Taylor Stone, you and I are going to get to know each other much, much better.
Cameron looked back at the stage and listened to Jason banter with Ann about life as a television-show host and his favorite episodes of Adventure Northwest.
"Now friends, I want to bring up a subject dear to my heart and many of yours. Ann, I'd love to have you stay onstage and answer a few questions if you don't mind." Jason turned, opened his palms, and tilted his head.
Ann gave a quick nod.
"Great." Jason turned back to the crowd. "I know some of you think Future Current is a joke and that the Book of Days is a figment of my overactive imagination. But I recently met a man whose father saw the book in physical form. And touched it. He carried this secret till just before he passed on."
Wonderful. Of course Jason couldn't keep his mouth shut about what Cameron had revealed. He glanced at the back door. If Jason threw out an invitation for Cameron to come up onstage, he didn't want to be in a position to accept.