Running with the Demon - Terry Brooks [93]
“Oh, for God’s sake, Evelyn.”
“Don’t invoke God for my sake, Robert!” Gran shot back. “Use the brain he gave you instead! Suppose, for a minute, John Ross is not who he claims. Suppose he’s someone else altogether.”
“Someone else? Who?”
“Him, that’s who.”
There was the sound of ice cubes tinkling in an empty glass and of a fresh cigarette being lit, then silence. Nest watched her grandfather place his coffee cup on the counter, saw his leonine head lower, heard him sigh.
“He’s gone, Evelyn. He’s not coming back. Ever.”
Her grandmother pushed back her chair and rose. Nest could hear her move to the counter and pour herself a drink. “Oh, he’s coming, all right, Robert. He’s coming. I’ve known it from the first, from the moment Caitlin died and he disappeared. I’ve always known it.”
“Why would he do that?” Old Bob’s voice sounded uneasy. “Evelyn, you can’t be serious.”
Nest stood transfixed in the heat and the dark, unable to turn away. They were talking about her father.
“He wants Nest,” Gran said quietly. She drew on the cigarette and took a long swallow of the drink. Nest heard each sound clearly in the pause between her grandmother’s words. “He’s always wanted her.”
“Nest? Why would he want Nest? Especially after all this time?”
“Because she’s his, Robert. Because she belongs to him, and he doesn’t give anything up this side of the grave. Don’t you know that by now? After Caitlin, don’t you know that?”
There was another pause; and then some sounds that Nest could not identify, muttered words perhaps, grumbling. Her grandfather straightened at the window.
“It’s been fifteen years, but I remember him well enough.” Old Bob spoke softly, but distinctly. “John Ross doesn’t look anything like him, Evelyn. They’re not the same man.”
Gran gave a quick, harsh laugh. “Really, Robert. Sometimes you appall me. Doesn’t look like him? You think for a minute that man couldn’t change his looks if there was reason enough to do so? You think he couldn’t look like anyone he wanted to? Don’t you realize what he is?”
“Evelyn, don’t start.”
“Sometimes you’re a fool, Robert,” Gran declared sharply. “If you want to go on pretending that I’m a crazy old woman who imagines things that aren’t there, that’s fine. If you want to pretend there’s no feeders in the park, that’s fine, too. But there’s some things you can’t wish away, and he’s one of them. You saw what he was. You saw what he did to Caitlin. I wouldn’t put anything past him. He’s coming here, coming for Nest, and when he does he won’t be stupid enough to look the same as he did when he left. You do what you want, Robert, but I plan to be ready for him.”
The kitchen was silent again. Nest waited, straining to hear.
“I notice you didn’t worry about letting him take her into the park,” Old Bob said finally.
Gran didn’t say anything. Nest could hear the sound of her glass being raised and lowered.
“So maybe there’s not as much to be afraid of as you’d like me to believe. Maybe you’re not sure who John Ross is either.”
“Maybe,” Gran said softly.
“I invited him to come to church tomorrow morning,” Old Bob went on deliberately. “I asked him to sit with us. Will you be coming?”
There was a pause. “I don’t expect so,” Gran replied.
Nest took a long, slow breath. Her grandfather moved away from the window. “I invited him to picnic with us in the park afterward, too. So we could talk some more.” Her grandfather cleared his throat. “I like him, Evelyn. I think Nest likes him. I don’t think there’s any reason to be scared of him.”
“You will pardon me if I reserve my opinion on that?” Gran replied after a moment. “That way, we won’t all be caught by surprise.” She laughed softly. “Spare me that look. And don’t ask me if I plan to have another drink either, because I do. You go on to bed, Robert. I’ll be just fine by myself. Have been for a long time. Go on.”
Nest heard her grandfather move away wordlessly. She stayed where she was for a moment longer, staring up at the empty, lighted