The Gates of Winter - Mark Anthony [122]
The old man pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “A friend of mine said you was here in the park, and that you'd give a dollar to anyone who knew someone who had vanished.”
“A dollar?” Jay snorted. “There's not a chance in hell, we'd give you a—”
Travis punched Jay in the shoulder and ignored his yowl of pain.
“That's right,” Travis said to the grizzled man. “Did you know Professor Sparkman?”
“No, but I do know Myra. Did you know her?”
Travis shook his head.
“Old gal, wore a pink coat, usually worked Sixteenth Street. Nice as anything, liked to sing hymns. She went missing a couple of nights ago. We were going to meet at the Steel Cathedral, to see if we could get us some charity. Only she didn't show up, and I haven't seen her since.” The old man's expression grew wistful.
Jay's eyes lit up, his outrage forgotten. “So how was it? The Steel Cathedral?”
The old man clapped his hands together and smiled. “It was like heaven on Earth. A warm bed, a hot meal. I was sorry Myra didn't see it. I'm going back there tonight.” His eyes narrowed. “So where's my dollar?”
“Is that all you know?” Travis said.
He nodded and held out his hand. Travis glanced at Jay, and the little man swore as he fished a dollar out of his pocket and slapped it on the old man's hand.
“That's coming out of your share, Mr. Wizard,” Jay said as they walked away.
Travis hardly heard him. Something the old man had said was important, but it was too cold to think.
“Two nights ago,” Marty said. “That was probably when the aliens came for Sparky.”
Travis halted. That was it. Myra had vanished the same night as Sparkman. If they found her, maybe they'd find Sparkman as well.
Jay glared at him. “What are you stopping for?”
Quickly, he related his thoughts to Jay and Marty. Myra and Sparkman had vanished the same night. Maybe they had been taken together. The old man had said Myra had been heading to the Steel Cathedral. Sparkman could have been going there, too. After all, it was one of the few places he could have gone for shelter.
“Maybe someone saw them on their way to the Steel Cathedral,” Travis finished.
Marty grinned. “Good thinking, Travis.”
“Fine,” Jay said, pulling his knit cap down over his ears. “I've been wanting to check out that place for ages, anyway, only Marty would never let me. So let's hoof it on down there and see if anyone knows anything about old Sparky. We'll probably find him lounging in a soft bed, eating hot food. And I plan on joining him.”
“What about his wheelchair?” Marty said. “Why was it still here in the park?”
“Hell, the folks at the Steel Cathedral probably gave him a silver-plated one. They're rich, aren't they? I guess if you're holy enough, all of them prayers for money must really work.”
Marty looked up at the sky. “Does that mean if you're poor, you've done something bad?”
Jay's expression softened a fraction. “You aren't capable of being bad, Marty. That's my job. Come on, let's go.”
Jay and Marty started walking, but Travis hesitated. The two turned and looked at him. Travis wasn't sure why, but for some reason he didn't want to go to the Steel Cathedral. He couldn't put the feeling into words. Maybe it was just that a place that grand didn't seem for the likes of him.
“You two go ahead and check it out,” Travis said. “I'm going to collect some cans so I can make up for the money we had to give that old guy. Okay?”
Marty gazed at him with his thoughtful brown eyes, but Jay shrugged.
“Suit yourself, Mr. Wizard. Come on, Marty. Let's go see if we can get us some good Christian charity.”
Travis agreed to meet them later in Confluence Park. He watched the two men walk away, trying to ignore the odd feeling of dread in his stomach. He pilfered a plastic bag from one of the park's trash receptacles and started collecting cans.
“And that was when I saw the light. It was, like, totally blinding, but it didn't hurt to look at it.”
Travis's can collecting had taken him to the south side of the park, to the edge of the outdoor amphitheater where plays and concerts were performed