Let the Devil Sleep

Chapter 47

Kyle came over and sat at the table with Gurney. “Do you think she’s all right?”

“Sure. I mean… obviously she’s… I’m sure she’s okay. Being outside always seems to help her. Walking does something for her. Something good.”

Kyle nodded. “What should I do?”

It sounded like the biggest possible question a young man could ask his father. Thinking of it that way made Gurney smile. “Keep an eye on things.” He paused. “How’s your work going? And your school stuff?”

“E-mail is magic.”

“Good. I feel bad about this. I’ve dragged you into something… created a problem in your life where there shouldn’t have been any… created a danger. That’s not something… a parent…” His voice trailed off. He looked out through the glass doors, looked to see if the crows were still perched on the hemlocks.

“You didn’t create the danger, Dad. You’re the one who’s taking care of it.”

“Right. Well… I’d better get ready. I don’t want to find myself hung up with this arson nonsense when I need to be somewhere else.”

“You want me to do anything?”

“Like I said, just keep an eye on things. And you… you know where the…” Gurney gestured toward the bedroom.

“Where the shotgun is. Yep. No problem.”

“By tomorrow morning, with a little luck, everything should be okay.” On that note, which had an emptier ring than he would have liked, Gurney left the room.

There really wasn’t much for him to do before setting out. He checked to make sure his phone was adequately charged. He checked the action of his Beretta and the security of his ankle holster. He went to his desk and got out the folder of information Kim had given him during their first meeting, and he added to it the printouts of the reports Hardwick had e-mailed him. He had quite a few hours left before any kind of confrontation would occur, and he planned to review once again all the facts in his possession.

When he came back out to the kitchen, Kyle was standing by the table, plainly too anxious to sit.

“Okay, son, I’d better be going.”

“Right, then. See you later.” Kyle raised his hand in a determinedly casual gesture-something between a wave and a salute.

“Right. See you later.”

Gurney went out quickly to his car, grabbing his jacket from the mudroom on his way. He was hardly aware of driving down the pasture lane, until he reached the place by the pond where the grassy surface merged into the gravel of the town road. At that moment he caught sight of Madeleine.

She was standing by a tall birch on the uphill verge of the pond, her eyes closed, her face raised to the sun. He stopped the car, got out, and walked toward her. He wanted to say good-bye, say that he’d be home before morning.

She opened her eyes slowly and smiled at him. “Isn’t it amazing?”

“What?”

“The air.”

“Oh. Yes, very nice. I was just on my way, and I thought-”

Her smile caught him off balance. It was so… so intensely full of… what? Not sadness, exactly. Something else.

Whatever it was, it was in her voice as well. “Just stop for a bit,” she said, “and feel the air on your face.”

For a moment-a few seconds, a minute perhaps, he wasn’t sure-he was transfixed.

“Isn’t it amazing?” she said again, so softly that the words seemed to be a part of the air she was describing.

“I have to go,” he said. “I have to go before-”

She stopped him. “I know. I know you do. Be careful.” She put her hand on his cheek. “I love you.”

“Oh, God.” He stared at her. “I’m afraid, Maddie. I’ve always been able to figure things out. I hope to God I know what I’m doing. It’s all I can do.”

She placed her fingers gently on his lips. “You’ll be brilliant.”

He didn’t remember walking to his car, or getting into it.

What he remembered was looking back, seeing her standing on the high ground above the birch, radiant in the sunlight in her profusion of colors, waving to him, smiling with a poignancy beyond his understanding.