"Well, coming from you, I'll believe it's crazy, not so sure about the true part," Toni said from her seat on the sofa. She had been watching Gary with interest. Her detective instincts had honed in on his body language. She'd seen similar habits in many interrogations. First, the suspect would fidget, or in this case, pace, then they would begin to weigh their options. At that point, she had learned that patience had its rewards and she was usually able to elicit a confession from the suspect.
Of course, Gary was no suspect and this was not a case, but all the signs were there of a man about to confess.
Gary ignored her jibe and ran his hand through his hair, stopping to scratch the back of his head. "I'm serious, Toni." He came around the end of the sofa and sat on the chair. Leaning forward, he braced his elbows on his knees and rested his mouth against the thumbs of his clasped hands. It looked almost as if he were praying. His eyes met hers and he held her gaze for a long moment.
Toni felt the first prickling of apprehension. Whatever it was he had to say must be important to him. She couldn't remember ever seeing him look more serious. "What is it, Gary?"
"This, ah, this is gonna sound real crazy but you hafta believe me. I swear to God what I'm gonna say is true." He dropped his hands and wiped them along the tops of his thighs several times.
"Spit it out, Hobson." She didn't know why, but she felt afraid of what he was going to say. Maybe it was because he looked so nervous.
"Uh, yeah, okay." He scrubbed his hands down his face and sighed. "I get tomorrow's newspaper."
Whatever it was she was afraid he'd say, this certainly wasn't it. It didn't even make sense. Lots of people got tomorrow's paper. Heck, she usually picked up the Sunday edition of the Tribune on Saturday night. She liked to look at all the sales ads. Toni never could understand Gary's obsession with the Sun-Times. The Chicago Tribune was a much more substantial paper.
"So? I've been known to buy it the evening before too. What's the big deal?"
Gary shook his head. "No, I get the paper a whole day before everyone else, ya understand? I…I get it before a lot of the stuff in it has even happened."
Toni shook her head, totally confused. "No. I don't understand."
Gary hopped up from his seat and grabbed a newspaper from the top of the refrigerator. Flipping through the pages, he hurried back to show Toni the front page.
He set the paper on the coffee table and pointed out the date. "See? This is tomorrow's date. This is tomorrow's newspaper." He looked at her, his expression hopeful.
Toni leaned forward and saw that the date was indeed, tomorrow's date, but she still didn't understand the significance. It could be a mis-print. Or even a joke paper, though she didn't think that was the case. It looked too real and the articles she saw on the front page looked like real news stories.
Gary sank onto the chair and turned to a section several pages back. "See? This picture was taken when I got back from the hospital this afternoon."
Toni pulled back in surprise at a large picture of Gary came into view. The rips in his jacket and some bloodied flaps from his shirtsleeve were evident. She picked the paper up to read the accompanying headline and article.
"Fugitive turned hero. --Gary Hobson, the local bar owner who was a fugitive just a few days ago, before being cleared of murder charges, makes headlines once again, this time as a hero."
The article went on to describe the circumstances surrounding Hobson's heroics. Her brow furrowed as she read about how she had been spotted entering McGinty's with a folder in hand and an abrupt no comment. It also mentioned Toni's role in the Scanlon case.
"You can't expect me to believe that. Do you have some kind of connection at the Sun-Times? Someone who gives you sample copies or something?" Toni leafed through the paper, noting a couple of articles that described things that had supposedly happened in just the last few hours. She sat back, puzzled. The only one who even knew she was here was the animal control officer. Looking sharply, she said "How'd you get this, Hobson?"
Gary glanced up from the paper. "It comes every morning. With the cat."
Toni raised one eyebrow. "You have a papercat?"
Gary nodded. "Uh, huh."
"Who brings you some kind of magic newspaper every morning?"
"That pretty much… pretty much it, in a nutshell."
"Oh, come on! It just doesn't make sense. Things like that don't happen!"
"You're right. It doesn't make sense." Gary sat back with a sigh, his gaze still on the paper in Toni's hands. "Hell, I've been telling myself that for four years now." He raised his eyes to Toni. "But it is real and I have to deal with it every day."
"Deal with it? What do you mean?"
Gary waved his hand at the paper. "That thing. It's…it's not written in stone. You know how you read about the bad things that happen to people?" He looked at her earnestly. "It doesn't always have to happen. Not if I can change it."
Okay, now this was getting too weird. Toni stood up and, crossing her ams, took a few steps away from Gary. She had to think. This was all so…bizarre. If she had this right, Hobson got the Sun-Times, delivered by a cat, a day early. Then he changed things.
She couldn't be sure, but she thought she could detect the faint strains of the Twilight Zone music playing somewhere. Rubbing her temples, she decided it was only playing in her head. "So, let me get this straight. You go around like some kind of un-caped crusader, fixing as many bad things as you can?
Gary's mouth set in a firm line and he looked away.
She could see that he was pulling back, but what did he expect? If he had said something like he was a secret government agent, or that he was part of some kind of classified experiment, she would be less skeptical. Hell, he could have claimed he was really Marty McFly and he was back from the future and it would have been more believable.
Toni glanced down at the picture and then at Gary's arm. "So why didn't you change that?"
"But I did change it," Gary said, looking down at the article. "Listen, the little boy, he…he was going to be mauled. When I read the story this morning, it listed the boy in critical condition. He…he'd had chunks of flesh torn from his body." Gary shuddered. "I couldn't let that happen."
"So you let yourself be bitten instead?"
"I didn't let myself be bitten. I was hoping we would all get out of it okay. But, sometimes…" Gary's voice trailed off. When he looked up at Toni, she had to stifle a gasp at the raw pain in his eyes. "Sometimes things don't always work out."
She had a feeling he wasn't talking about the bite he had received. Maybe it was the look in on his face, or maybe it was the fact that, for the very first time since she had met him, she didn't see something evasive in his eyes. All she could see was truth and pain, and a faint flicker of hope that she would believe him.
She sat down in the chair opposite Gary but then he stood and crossed to the windows. He rested one hip on the ledge and stared down at the streets below.
If she thought about it, it made sense, in an odd sort of way. It would certainly explain a lot, that's for sure, Toni thought wryly. So, assuming it's all true, why would he do it?
Toni studied Gary. He didn't appear any different than any other man; two arms, two legs, eyes, a mouth and nose. They were arranged in a pleasing way, to be sure, but there was nothing extraordinary about him that would signal that he was special.
"How come you get the paper?"
Gary half turned to look at Toni. Shaking his head, he shrugged. "I…I don't know." He turned back to the window. "Before me, it went to man named Lucius Snow. He was a typesetter for the Chicago Sun-Times and lived in the Blackstone Hotel. After Marcia and I separated, I moved there. Snow died just a few days before that. I got his old room." He stood and walked slowly towards the kitchen.
Toni followed a few steps behind. "So, you think it has something to do with that old hotel?"
Gary shrugged. "Maybe." He opened the fridge. "You want something to drink? I have juice, pop, and…" he dipped his head to get a better look, "a couple of beers."
Toni thought for second. "Just some juice." This evening's revelations probably called for a beer, but she wanted to keep her wits about her.
He grabbed the bottle of orange juice and a Coke for himself. He poured her a glass, then popped the top on his can, and took a long drink.
Taking the juice from Gary, Toni wandered to the kitchen table and sat down. "So, you do good things with this paper, Hobson?"
Gary was silent for a moment, looking beyond Toni, then shifted his gaze to her. "I try."
Toni cocked her head. "You know, you could probably make a fortune with it."
A small smile played around Gary's lips. "Sure, I could." He chuckled at some private thought. "But that wouldn't be right." He took another long swallow, then crumpled his can and tossed it into the trash. "Whoever is in charge of sending this paper didn't send it to me so I could become rich off it."
"No, I suppose not." Toni wondered at the feeling of…of what? Relief? She didn't think that was it, though she was certainly relieved that Gary's secret wasn't something horrible. In fact, it was incredible although she was still trying to understand it.
The feeling was more though. When she looked at Gary, it was like she saw him in a new light. The suspicions and uncertainties were gone. She felt almost giddy.
Toni took a sip of the juice and watched Gary as he crossed to the sofa. He looked totally wiped. She heard a small groan when he settled into his seat and rested his head against the back of the sofa, a throw pillow was held loosely in his lap. She was about to suggest that they continue this discussion tomorrow when Gary began speaking. His voice was quiet and she had to move closer to hear him.
"Snow, he…he died a lonely old man." He lifted his head and toyed with the edge of the pillow. "I don't wanna end up like that, ya know?" He didn't meet her gaze, just continued picking at couple of threads.
"Why would you end up like that?" Toni made a sweeping gesture. "You seem to have a ton of friends, the bar and your family."
Gary shook his head. "I realized during the last few days, that I only have a couple of real friends. Marissa and Chuck. And…and you."
"Me?" Toni was stunned that he considered her in his close circle of friends.
Gary's gaze flicked to her. He shifted on the sofa. "You helped me when nobody else would."
"What about Miguel Diaz? He helped you too."
"That's true, but his motive was mainly getting the exclusive story. Though I know I owe him still, that's for sure. Toni, it's more than just how you helped me. I, ah, I guess I have feelings for you."
Toni felt her pulse quicken. She knew she had feelings for him too, but she was still worried. "What about my problem?"
Gary looked at her, his eyes wide. "I thought…I thought once you knew why I had to lie so much…you'd…you would undertand."
"Well, of course I understand about all that…now. But, I meant, aren't you worried that I could end up just like my dad?"
"How's that?" Gary looked at her in confusion.
Toni thought it was obvious. It was to her. "The other night, when you showed up in my kitchen, I should have turned you in. But, I didn't." She stood and turned her back to him, crossing her arms. After a long pause, she turned back, arms still crossed. "Don't you get it, Hobson? I not only let you go, I never even told anyone you were there. What kind of cop does that make me?"
