wrong.”
“What people? Behind what?”
Looking at the four security-camera views on the quartered video
monitor, he said, “With any luck, they’re not even aware that I know
about them.”
“Who? People at Wyvern?”
He turned to me again. “They’re not just at Wyvern anymore.
Townspeople are in it now. I don’t know how many. Maybe a couple of
hundred, maybe five hundred, but probably not more than that, at least
not yet. No doubt it’s gradually spreading to others . . . and it’s
already beyond Moonlight Bay.”
Frustrated, I said, “Are You trying to be inscrutable?”
“As much as I can, yes.”
He got up, fetched the coffeepot, and without further comment freshened
our cups. Evidently he intended to make me wait for morsels of
information in much the way that poor Orson was being made to wait
patiently for his snack.
The dog licked the tabletop around the three biscuits, but his tongue
never touched the treats.
When Roosevelt returned to his chair, I said, “If You’re not involved
with these people, how do You know so much about them?”
“I don’t know all that much.”
“Apparently a lot more than I do.”
“I know only what the animals tell me.”
“What animals?”
“Well, not your dog, for sure.”
Orson looked up from the biscuits.
“He’s a regular sphinx,” Roosevelt said.
Although I hadn’t been aware of doing so, sometime soon after sunset, I
had evidently walked through a magic looking-glass.
Deciding to play by the lunatic rules of this new kingdom, I said, “So
.
. . aside from my phlegmatic dog, what do these animals tell You?”
“You shouldn’t know all of it. just enough so You realize it’s best
that You forget what You saw in the hospital garage and up at the
funeral home.” in my chair, as though pulled erect by my I sat up
straighter tightening scalp. “You are one of them.”
“No. Relax, son. You’re safe with me. How long have we been
friends?
More than two years now since You first came here with your dog. And I
think You know You can trust me.”
In fact, I was at least half convinced that I could still trust
Roosevelt Frost, even though I was no longer as sure of my character
judgment as I had once been.
“But if You don’t forget what You saw,” he continued, “if You try to
contact authorities outside town, You’ll endanger lives.”
As my chest tightened around my heart, I said, “You just told me I
could trust You, and now You’re threatening me.”
He looked wounded. “I’m your friend, son. I wouldn’t threaten on
You.
I’m only telling you..”
“Yeah. What the animals said.”
“It’s the people from Wyvern who want to keep a lid on this at any
cost, not me. Anyway, You aren’t personally in any danger even if You
try to go to outside authorities, at least not at first. They won’t
touch You.
Not You. You’re revered.”
This was one of the most baffling things that he had said yet, and I
blinked in confusion. “Revered?”
“Yes. They’re in awe of You.”
I realized that Orson was staring at me intently, temporarily having
forgotten the three promised biscuits.
Roosevelt’s statement was not merely baffling: It was downright
wacky.
“Why would anyone be in awe of me?” I demanded.
“Because of who You are.”
My mind looped and spun and tumbled like a capering seagull.
“Who am I?”
Roosevelt frowned and pulled thoughtfully at his face with one hand
before finally saying, “Damned if I know. I’m only repeating what I’ve
been told.”
“What the animals told you. The black Dr. Doolittle.
Some of Bobby’s scorn was creeping into me.
“The point is,” he said, “the Wyvern crowd won’t kill You unless You
give them no choice, unless it’s absolutely the only way to shut You
up.”
“When You talked to Sasha earlier tonight, You told her this was a
matter of life and death.”
Roosevelt nodded solemnly. “And it is. For her and others.
From what I hear, these bastards will try to control You by killing
people You love until You agree to cease and desist, until You forget