LLOYD, PAUL R. (14 page)

“Said I was taking it easy on you
today.” Peevy poured a cup of dark, rich coffee. Micah handed over cash out of
his wallet. He followed Barbara to her table.

Barbara placed a hand on top of
Micah’s. “Rough night?” She gazed into his eyes.

Micah eyeballed her back. “I woke
up to a room filled with smoke. The bedroom door would not open. The window
slid up easily. While climbing out, I remembered my wallet, cell and keys. Ran
back for them. The ghost flailed about screaming because she was on fire. When
I returned to the window, it slammed shut and wouldn’t open. I threw a box
which bounced off. While searching for something heavier to throw, the window
flew open by itself. I climbed out and jumped. Hurt my ankle.”

 “You see a doctor?”

“Nah, it’s a minor thing. It’ll be
okay. What about your fire?”

“I was dreaming about a forest. Then
the forest burst into flames.”

Bob Wolonsky stopped pushing his
broom. “You dreamed about a forest fire last night?”

Barbara turned in Bob’s direction.
“Yeah, why?”

“So did I,” Micah said.

Bob grabbed a newspaper off the
counter and folded it back. He pointed a finger at an article. “Says here five
communities responded to a fire in the forest preserve in Warrenville. Thirty
acres of trees, brush and hiking trails were turned into charcoal and dirt.
Also says that in the center of the blackened area, police noticed a raised
area of dirt that one of the officers described as looking like a grave. Says
the police dug it up and found the body of a young girl. Article goes on to say
locals noticed a big hole where her heart should have been.”

Micah took a deep breath. “Appears
to me the two serial killers have joined forces.”

Bob pointed back to the article,
making a smacking noise with the paper. “Police official said it looks like a
third killer to them, a copycat.”

“Busy night for the arsonists.”
Micah turned to Barbara. “So you dreamed about a forest fire?”

“Yes.”

Micah nodded. “I dreamed about a
meadow surrounded by a forest when I moved to Naperville. After I found the
first body in the dumpster by my place, a teenage girl showed up in my dreams.
First one and then after the second murder, another girl.”

“Weird.”

Bob leaned in close to Micah and
Barbara. “You guys know this was no accident. Somebody’s out to get you.”

Micah leaned back and stared at
Bob. “You mean we have an angel who watches out for us?”

“I mean that angel wants to burn
both of you. This would be a good day to get out of Dodge.”

Barbara said, “You mean
Naperville?”

“Yeah, whatever.” Bob opened the
newspaper and turned to a new page. “Says here you two guys filed a complaint
against our local high school principal. He’s supposed to be your pal, you
know?”

“That made the paper already?”
Barbara asked.

“Says the Forest Preserve Police
downloaded a photo of Dr. Lionel Langdon from the Ulysses S. Grant High School
website. They showed it to the officer who got hit on the head and buried in the
earlier attack. They quote the officer as saying sure enough ol’ Lionel wasn’t
his pal when he smacked him on the back of the head.”

“We saw the shovel.”

“I think he wanted to bury us.”
Micah placed an arm around Barbara.

Bob put the newspaper back on the
counter and grabbed his broom. “Tell you what. You guys go home and clean up,
buy some new clothes. I’ll meet you later at my house.”

Barbara’s eyes twinkled. “We’re
homeless, Bob.”

“We could meet at my place in Oak
Brook,” Micah said.

Bob stopped and turned around.
“I’ll be there in time for dinner. And it’s out of Naperville. I think our
angel’s power diminishes away from Naperville.”

“He had power in Warrenville last
night,” Barbara said.

“Warrenville is the tiny town north
of Naperville. Oak Brook is a twenty minute drive east on the interstate.” Bob returned
to his sweeping.

“Bob has the right idea, Micah,”
Barbara said.

“Yeah. Let’s relax for a while and
then shop when the stores open.”

“I have a problem.” Barbara sipped
her coffee.

“What’s that?” Micah placed a hand
on Barbara’s arm.

“Everything burned up last night.
My purse, keys, cell phone, credit cards, cash, debit card.”

“Don’t worry about it. They can be
replaced.” Micah leaned in close to Barbara.

“Yeah, before I can go shopping.”

“I’ll take care of your shopping.”
Micah kissed Barbara on the lips.

“I can’t have you buy me stuff.”

“Why can’t I buy a friend a few
presents in her time of need?” He kissed Barbara a second time, and she
returned the kiss.

“Are we friends?”

“I think so. Aren’t we?” Micah
kissed Barbara again.

“‛Friends’ sounds so
impersonal, don’t you think?” Barbara pulled Micah’s head down for another
kiss.

“One more reason to make it
personal.”

“Get a room.” Peavy bounced an
empty coffee cup off the table where Micah and Barbara sat.

Micah tapped Barbara on the knee.
“Don’t look back. Our friend Lionel Langdon and his guardian angel are right
behind us.”

After leaving the coffee shop,
Micah and Barbara stopped at the Super Target in Warrenville for personal
items, clothes and shoes. From there, they entered the East-West Tollway,
headed towards Chicago. Their speed had been hampered by the morning traffic,
but by maneuvering to the far left lane, they were making forward progress.

Barbara patted Micah’s hand. “I’m
amazed how much less of an angel Ahlman Brown becomes the farther we get from
Naperville.”

“I’ve noticed the same thing. In
fact, Bob commented on that.”

“It’s like Naperville is his center
of power.”

“Right, like that makes a
difference. We’re less afraid of him the farther we get from him. And the
farther away we get from Naperville, the better we are able to see him for the
creep he is. There’s no magic to Ahlman Brown.” Micah glanced over at Barbara
as she fussed with her red hair.

“You may need magic to get away
from him now,” she said.

“I can’t speed any faster in this
traffic, but I can outmaneuver him with my Jag.” Micah swerved into the center
of the three east-bound lanes, cutting off a Malibu that honked a low opinion
of the move. Micah smiled as the pickup failed to follow the maneuver. Micah
repeated the move, cutting off a Saturn to make his way into the right lane.
The Saturn slowed down to allow room. To thank the driver, Micah waved his hand
in front of the rearview mirror.

“That’s a Chicago thing, Micah.”

“What is?”

“Slowing down politely to let you
switch lanes. The first driver was from out of town.”

Micah took a quick peek over his
shoulder. The pickup followed in the far left lane. Without slowing down, Micah
took the southbound exit for the North-South Tollway. He pulled off the
interstate at the first exit and headed east on Ogden Avenue, a busy four lane street
of retail establishments and start-and-stop traffic.

“Uhmm, this is the slow way to Oak
Brook, Micah.”

“We’re not in a hurry. They don’t
know where we’re going so we should be safe for now.”

Fifteen minutes later, Micah pulled
the Jag into the garage at the Oak Brook mini-mansion. He pointed Barbara to
one of the guest rooms and headed for the master bedroom.

After showering and dressing, Micah
rested on the couch in the living room while waiting for Barbara.

At first everything was black when
Micah closed his eyes. Then a fire appeared and he smelled burning wood. The flames
faded away. He stood in the meadow where he had met the teenage girls. The
meadow and forest were burned into a charcoal wasteland. An expanding sense of
sadness overwhelmed him. He hoped the girls were safe.

“We are.”

Micah turned around and spotted Ginny
and Glory behind him. With them were three more girls.

Ginny said, “We’ve banded together
to help you, Micah.”

“Glory and Ginny I know. But who
are you three?”

Glory indicated the three new
comers in turn. “This is Megan, Lilly and Missy. They’re the victims of Lionel
Langdon.”

“Nice to meet you, ladies.”

“We’re glad to meet you, too, Micah,”
Megan said.

How do you know my name?”

“You are our knight in shining
armor,” said Glory. “It’s not Afro-centric, but, hey, neither are you. I’m not
big on Euro-centric as you might be able to tell.”

A heavy weight pressed down on
Micah’s body. He found he was wearing medieval armor. It was silver-plated with
gold trim.

“I’m sorry your land burned,” Micah
said.

Ginny smiled before she spoke. “We wanted
to show you what Ahlman Brown does to his enemies. But he can’t harm us any
longer. We are forever safe from him.”

To Micah’s amazement, the land turned
back into a green meadow and the burned tree stumps returned to a forest in the
distance. Birds sang. A doe with two fawns ambled out of the forest to feed in
the meadow. Instead of burned wood, he smelled flowers.

“This place would look better with
elephants and a couple of giraffes and a few zebras,” Glory said.

“Right. Afro-centric. This Euro-centric
armor is a bit heavy. What am I supposed to do with it?” Micah asked.

“You will know when the time comes,”
said Ginny. The other girls giggled.

“Will the armor still be on me when
I wake up?”

“Of course. It’s God’s armor.
Spiritual armor for the battle.” Ginny patted Micah on the arm.

“God’s armor?”

“Yes, silly. It’s the only kind a
true knight needs,” said Glory.

“I don’t believe in God.” Micah
rubbed a hand across the silver and gold chest piece.

“Are you sure?” Ginny asked.

“Pretty sure.” Micah said.

“You will believe before this is
over,” said Ginny.

“Think so?” Micah asked.

“You’re wearing God’s armor. You’re
bound to notice it sooner or later. When do, you’ll believe.” Ginny smiled.

“If I don’t?”

“Don’t worry about it, Micah.
Nothing can separate you from God now. He has chosen you to be his knight,”
said Ginny.

“I’m not sure I’ll make a good
knight.”

“Goodnight, Micah,” said Glory.

“Goodnight, ladies.”

“It’s still morning.” Barbara’s
voice had a lilt to it almost like laughter. Micah opened his eyes and realized
he was still on the chair in his Oak Brook living room. He patted his chest for
the armor, but it had vanished.

Barbara asked, “You okay?”

“Weird dream.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“It was about somebody giving me
the armor of God. Silly, really. I’m starved. How about brunch?”

“Okay. Where to, the kitchen?”
Barabara headed toward the food.

“Oak Brook Shopping Center. We’ll
do brunch then hit Neiman Marcus for more clothes.”

“But you have to tell me about this
armor of God. I didn’t know you believed.”

“I don’t.”

“Ahlman Brown has the entire city
of Naperville under his spell.” Micah bit into a slice of pizza. He sat with
Barbara and Bob at his Oak Brook kitchen table.

“Hey! Get your own piece.” Barbara
pulled the remainder of her pizza slice away from Micah’s mouth.

“Play nice, children,” Bob used his
teeth to tear a chunk of pizza off the slice he held with both hands. Mushroom
bits splattered down the front of his plaid flannel shirt.

“We’re not under his spell,”
Barbara said.

Micah nodded. “That’s because you
guys prayed your way out of it.”

“And you were never under his
spell,” Bob said.

“So how come you kept out of his
spell?” Barbara pointed at Micah with her pizza.

Micah shrugged. “Who knows?
Somebody has to be immune. No disease kills everybody. I’m sure I’m not the
only one in Naperville who did not succumb to the spell.”

“Point taken,” Bob said. “How come
God chose you?”

“He didn’t choose me,” Micah popped
the tab on a can of beer.

“He didn’t?” Barbara asked.

Micah turned to Barbara. “You know
I don’t believe in God.”

“You sure?” Barbara asked. “You
just said we prayed our way out of Ahlman’s spell.”

“That doesn’t mean I believe in
God.”

“Then what does it mean?” Bob
asked.

Micah grabbed a piece of pizza. “It
means it was mind over matter.”

“What matter? It was a spell.” Bob
spit bits of pizza as he spoke.

Micah wiped his shirt with a
napkin. “A mind game. You believed it was a spell so to you it was real. It
didn’t affect me because I didn’t know about it, and I don’t believe in that
stuff.”

Bob took another bite of pizza. “We
didn’t know about it either until you pointed it out.”

“You’re right.” Micah placed a hand
on Barbara’s lap.

“And you just said Ahlman has the
whole town under a spell,” said Bob. “You weren’t affected because you are
under God’s protection.”

Barbara took a swig of soda. “At
least we know Ahlman Brown is no angel.”

“And we’re dealing with a witch,”
Micah said.

“A hag. All we need now are a lion
and a wardrobe.” Bob said.

“A what?” Micah asked.

“It’s a joke, a play on a book
title,
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
by some English guy.” Bob
grabbed a slice of pizza.

“Barbara and I have a new wardrobe.”
Micah held up one of his new shirts.

“So then who is the lion?” asked
Barbara.

“Meowr.”

“Whoa, where’d the cat come from?”
Bob asked.

Barbara picked up the cat. “He looks
familiar.”

The cat bit Barbara on the hand and
ran under the table. “He doesn’t like me.” Barbara stuck her hand under the
table.