Free Fire - C. J. Box [112]
Joe could have kissed Simon when he came to the table and interrupted the conversation with the Hansons. Instead, he followed him from the dining room to the lobby near the bar.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, sir,” Simon said. “But one of those men is back to see you.”
“Believe me,” Joe said, “I don’t mind.”
As they walked out of the building toward the hotel, Simon asked about the new cabin.
“It’s great,” Joe said. “Thank you for doing that.”
Doomsayer sat on a bench outside the Mammoth Hotel. A wide white bandage covered most of his head and glowed white in the moonlight, and his left arm was in a sling. Joe sat down next to him.
“How’s my dad?”
Doomsayer shook his head sadly. “I talked to the doctors in Billings. He may not make it, Joe. And if he does, well, he may not have use of his brain. He’s a goner, Joe.”
Joe looked away.
“It’s not so bad,” Doomsayer said. “The last thing he did was have a hell of a good toot and reconnect with his son. It could be worse.”
“How could it be worse?”
Doomsayer smiled. “He could be like me. Sore as hell and knowing the end could come at any time.”
“Tell me what happened.”
He shrugged. “There’s not that much to tell. The lights were out, and I think we were both sleeping. Passed out, actually. I know I was, anyway. I never heard anyone come in, which leads me to believe they had a key. But to be honest, someone could have knocked and George could have answered the door thinkingit was you. I don’t know. All I can remember is hearing some heavy blows in the dark, and your dad sort of grunting as they hit. I sat up and asked him what was going on when I got hit in the head. That’s all I know.”
Joe said, “So you never turned the light on? You never saw who did it?”
“No.”
Joe shook his head. In his mind, he pictured Layborn swinginghis club at a form on the bed, connecting with bone and flesh, spattering the white walls with blood. “He assumed it was me,” Joe said. “But he didn’t know it wasn’t until he realized there were two people in the room.”
“I guess.”
“Is that what you told the rangers?” Joe asked.
Doomsayer nodded.
“Who interviewed you?”
The old professor withdrew a business card from his pocket and handed it to Joe. Layborn. No surprise there.
“Can you feel it?” Doomsayer asked softly.
Joe looked over, saw the man looking at his feet. “What?”
“Tremors. They’re very soft, but if you make yourself still and concentrate on the ground, you can feel them.”
Joe felt nothing.
“It takes practice, and patience. But I can feel them. They’ve been getting stronger over the past hour. We’ve got some definiteseismic action brewing. If you don’t believe me, you should call the federal seismology centers. They’ll confirm that we’ve got a little dirt dance going on right now.”
Whether it was real or because of Doomsayer’s suggestion, Joe thought he felt a slight vibration through his boots.
“George is lucky,” Doomsayer said. “He’ll not even know what hit him when the caldera blows.”
“Stop it,” Joe said, pointing toward the Mammoth restaurant. “My family is in there eating.”
“I’d advise you to get them home,” Doomsayer said, making his eyes wide, “as long as home is the South Pole. That’s probablythe only place they’ll be safe.”
Joe snorted and stood up. He couldn’t take any more of the old man.
“Thanks for the update on my dad,” he said. “I’ll try to get up to see him soon.”
“That’s nice,” Doomsayer said with a hint of sarcasm. “Betterhurry.”
Joe strode away upset. Why had he let Keaton get to him this way? Maybe because, he admitted, there was something to it. He stopped on the sidewalk in the dark, thought he felt a slight tremble, as if the ground shuddered. He thought how in the entireday of sightseeing with his family, they’d never left the insideof the Yellowstone caldera—that’s how big it was.
He turned. “Professor, have you eaten dinner tonight?”
“I’m really not hungry, but that’s a very nice offer. I could use a little drink, though.”
“Follow