Chapter 9
Are you going to tell me what happened to you? Doctor Howard had just asked me. She was continuing to expertly stitch up the knife wound on my back, while I was doing my best to concentrate on something other than the sting of the cold needle.
"I'd rather not tell you anything that might put you in danger," I told Ms. Howard, trying to keep my voice steady.
She paused only briefly in her task. "Did it ever occur to you, Mr. Hill, that the more I know, the safer I will be?"
"Yeah, but—"I broke off and took a sharp breath in when she tugged a stitch tightly. "Goddamn," I whispered quickly.
"Mr. Hill, who exactly do you think you're protecting with your stubborn silence?" she snapped, not missing a beat. "Didn't I already tell you about my work—that this whole damn town seems to be disappearing before our eyes, Mr. Hill, and that given a chance I believe I may be able to stop it?"
"She's right, you know, Dix," Billy Reisner chimed in. "While you were napping, your neighbors were disappearing."
"I wasn't napping, ya bum, I was out cold!" I protested.
"Sit still," Dr. Howard ordered me, grabbing my shoulder.
"Dixon, just tell us what happened," said Gloria, peering out into the street from my window. "Jeez, the fuzz could be here any minute now…."
I sighed. My brain still felt like scrambled eggs and I was in no mood to talk.
"You said you used to be a policeman," Ms. Howard mentioned from behind me, pulling some kind of bandage from her black bag.
"Yep," I admitted, and jumped a little when her hair brushed my shoulder. I inhaled as casually as possible; she smelled like rose petals.
"And yet your friends here talk as though they're criminals-as though we-they have something to hide," she observed, glancing over at Gloria who was again staring out the window anxiously.
I glanced over at Billy who was still spending quality time with his two girlfriends across the room. "I thought you and Nimble Fingers here were friends," I said loudly to get his attention. Billy looked up and grinned over at me.
"Well, that might have been an exaggeration," Ms. Howard replied. "But I do love jazz and I have been to a few clubs to see Billy play."
"And I invited her out for a drink," Billy added sweetly.
I laughed loudly. "Are you kidding me?" Ms. Howard had fallen silent behind me. I glanced over my shoulder at her. "Please tell me you turned this schlub down..."
More silence. I glared over at Billy again and he wiggled his eyebrows up and down at me. I could feel my temperature rising. She refused to call me anything but Mr. Hill, and she'd called him by his first name!
My mind sprang back to when she'd turned me down offering to buy her a coffee. And we were already in a coffee shop. How hard would it have been to accept a cup of coffee from me?
"Not that it's any of your business, Mr. Hill, but yes, I did go out with Billy. Now...has your curiosity been satisfied?" She asked coolly.
I felt I couldn't speak from anger and embarrassment, and I imagined my eyes were shooting white-hot fire at Billy's smug grinning face. Maybe it was best that I couldn't speak properly, as the only response that came to mind would've gotten me slapped, so I stayed silent. Eventually, Billy's 1000 watt smile faltered under my stare, and he turned his attention back to his two dames.
If Ms. Howard had noticed the interaction between me and Billy she didn't let on. "If the police are coming, maybe that's a good thing." She said as though trying to change the subject back.
I finally blurted out, "Are you almost finished?" My words sounded rougher than I had meant them to. My back was on fire, and apparently so was my jealous nature.
"I'm going as quickly as I can, you know. Under the circumstances, Mr. Hill, I would think you would be more grateful for my assistance." She only sounded a little bit hurt.
"Ow! I mean, yeah...yes, I'm grateful. Thanks for all of your help, Miss—I mean, Doctor." I winced at my own stupidity and clumsy words.
"Hmm," she replied sounding unconvinced. "Well, that will have to do for now, since you seem to be in such a hurry," she said, snapping her bag shut.
I shrugged my shirt back on stiffly. I wanted to show her I could do it myself. I could feel her watching me, but I couldn't meet her eyes. Probably just examining her handiwork to make sure she hadn't missed a stitch. Cool as a cucumber; purely professional.
But then something warm in her voice for the first time compelled me to turn to make eye contact with her. "Well I should be going then..." she said trailing off. "As long as you're feeling better..." I had to stamp down my shock because she actually looked concerned.
I forced a smile. "Sure I am. Thanks again." That moment of recognition we'd shared just a few days ago, returned full force; and then passed, just like that. I cleared my throat noisily and she continued to look at me curiously before standing up.
My eyes followed her as she stood up and I couldn't help but look at her legs, which I'm telling the truth, gave my heart more cause to beat. I guess I had lingered too long, because, by the time my eyes reached her face, she didn't look too pleased.
I pushed myself to my feet and tried to button my shirt back up. "Look, I'm being very rude," I said.
"Is that what you'd call it, Mr. Hill?" she asked tightly.
"Can I offer you a drink?"
She glared back at me and then looked down at her medical bag. "Well, I haven't even had breakfast—"
"It's almost lunchtime. We could have lunch here," I said quickly. "Let me check the icebox."
"You're out of eggs," Billy called out to me. "And tomatoes…and beer," he added as I limped by him. I shot him a look, but before I could yell at him, one of his girls, Cheryl had left his side and was now hanging on my arm as I tried to open the fridge door with the other. The fridge was practically bare, just as Reisner had promised. As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, Cheryl was all over me.
"I'd like a drink, Dix," Cheryl squeaked. "Make me one?" she suggested, scratching the back of my neck with her fingernail. She leaned her full weight on my shoulder and it was all I could do not to shout out in pain.
"Um," I said, glancing back to see Ms. Howard. Her face had flushed and she was looking away from me uncomfortably. I managed to slip out of Cheryl's grasp and was about to offer the Doctor a Coca Cola when Gloria suddenly shushed us from her window post.
"Shh! Get down," she said in a harsh whisper, shrinking herself down beside the window frame. We all did as she said, and I scrambled as quickly as I could on all fours to my cousin's side. All around us we began to hear and feel a gradual rumble. It was coming up through the floor. I looked around me and watched as a lamp vibrated its way to the edge of my dining table and shattered to the floor.
I waved at Ms. Howard to get under the table. "Quick, Beverly! It's an earthquake," I shouted over the clamor. She ducked down underneath the table, but as I crawled past her I could now tell I had been wrong. A cold shiver passed through me as I remembered my time on the Western front in France. Tanks, and judging by the racket there were quite a few-but what were they doing in San Francisco?
I pulled myself up so that I could see over the windowsill. What I saw out in the street below sent another chill through me, and I didn't care that my mouth was hanging open. They were tanks alright, but not like any I'd seen during the war. "Must be some new prototype," I murmured to myself as the tanks rumbled past. The strangest thing about the tanks by far was that they lacked any noticeable cannon or weapons of any kind, and the front end of the tanks seemed to wave back and forth like the feelers of a giant insect. That was the thought that stopped me cold because the tanks seemed like they were alive. The closer I looked, the more it seemed like the tanks had more moving parts than they should have. They were grey, blending in somewhat with the concrete, and I had to blink when the last one had passed, to be sure they were gone.
"What are they, Dixon?" Gloria asked.
I shook my head. "Damned if I know," I mumbled and then rose to my feet, leaning against the wall for support. Stooping over again, I reached down to help Doctor Howard out from under the table.
"It's alright, Mr. Hill. I'm, fine, and you're still injured," she said waving off my assistance as she stood up. She crept over to the window cautiously to join Billy and his girlfriends who were staring wordlessly out into the desolate streets.
"We gotta get out of this city," Billy said suddenly, lighting a cigarette. His hands were shaking as he brought it to his lips.
"No," said Gloria firmly. "We need to find out what's happening, and then we need to stop it."
I rubbed the back of my head. I couldn't get the image of those bizarre looking tanks out of my head.
"You know who might be able to make sense of all this?" Billy took a long nervous drag from his cigarette.
"Who?" we all demanded at once.
"Lady D," he said, exhaling. "She knows everything…well, she knows a lot," he clarified.
"Oh come on," I said. "We're in the middle of a goddamn crisis here, and you want to go and see your girlfriend?"
"She's not my girlfriend," he said. He looked up at the ceiling. "And she's just sort of just, up there beyond reach…."
"He's in lo-ove," Cheryl said in a sing-song voice.
"He's always in love," Gloria reminded us. "But I hardly see how going to see this woman-"
"Lady D," Reisner corrected her. "And she can tell the future...wait and see," he assured them.
Was he drunk? I stared into his bloodshot eyes and sniffed the air dramatically. "You're higher than a kite, Bill."
Billy grinned. "Of course, I am."
"How is going to see Lady D going to tell us anything—" Gloria continued but broke off at a loud banging on the door. We all froze, and then snatching the pack of cigarettes out of Billy's hand, which I now realized were mine, I sauntered over to the door.
I stood there waiting for the next knock, which I knew would come. This time it was much louder. "Open up, police! We know you're in there Hill. Open up!"
