Miracle Man (7 page)

"Hello?"

"Doc, it's me."
Wally's voice sounded excited on the other end of the line. Lahra looked across
at Marcus by the fireplace. His stance, the look on his face, everything about
him was asking her to be quick and return to him.

"Hi. What is it?"

"I've just spent the
last twenty minutes talking to Perkins. Well, talking isn't quite the word for
it. I haven't yelled at somebody like that since I can't remember when. I got
so hot under the collar I almost missed a reel change. Anyway, I found out a
little about the Miracle sellout, so I thought I'd call you straight away. Hope
I wasn't interrupting anything."

Lahra had twirled the phone
cord so tightly around one of her fingers that it began to hurt. She undid it,
watching Marcus sit in the big chair in front of the fire, finishing his wine.
"No, of course not. What did you find out?"

"Well, Perkins sold it
alright. Got a pretty good price, too, from what I understand. He said a young
fella from some city development firm approached him about a month back. Had
some big plans to knock the old place down and put up some brand new
entertainment complex or something. Anyway, I got the guy's name. Apparently he
owns a property up here somewhere, though I'm not sure where."

Lahra felt her heart press
up into her throat.

"Guy by the name of
Marcus Dean."

The amusement park lights
all went out at once. Lahra stared at the man on her couch smiling up at her,
and she had to consciously think to breathe properly.

"Lahra? You still
there?"

"Yes. Who did you say
it was?"

"Marcus Dean. Sounds
kinda sleazy. I don't like him already." Lahra could hear Wally speaking,
but there was no longer a need to listen. "He's supposed to be running the
whole show. They start demolition next week. And Perkins, the slime, couldn't
wipe the smile off his face. He can't wait to get out of here. Lahra, are you
okay?"

"Yes Wally, I'm
fine," she answered quietly. "All of this has just been so shocking,
that's all. I think I'm tired. Why don't I call you in the morning?"

"Okay. Are you sure
you're alright?"

No, she wanted to answer.
She was not in the slightest alright. Invisible fists were squeezing her
oesophagus, but she answered, "Yeah, I'm sure. I just need a good
sleep."

"Okay, sleep tight.
We'll work it all out in the morning. Bye."

"Goodnight,
Wally."

Lahra very slowly hung up.
Her eyes were fixed on Marcus, who sat staring into the fire. She wanted to
feel something—anything—but her body had gone numb. There was no anger. No
pain. No shame. She carried her empty form back into the living area, and
stopped over Marcus’s shoulder. There were no words in her head, but she heard
herself speak. At least she thought it was her. The voice that came out was
flat and cold.

"Why are you
here?"

Marcus turned to her,
smiling. "I don't like to question good things. It's bad luck."

"Why are you in
Riverbank?"

Marcus saw the change in
Lahra's demeanour. He sat more upright in the chair and his brow furrowed.
"Well, seeing as you're asking, I'm combining pleasure with business. I'm
working on a new development in town."

There was something deep
inside Lahra that wanted to get out. It was as if all of her emotion had been
sucked down into a funnel, and now it wanted release, all at once. "Does
it have anything to do with the Miracle Cinema?"

Marcus’s eyebrows converged
even more in a show of confusion. "How did you know about that? It's meant
to be confidential."

Lahra felt like she was
standing in the middle of an expressway, and her emotions were bearing down on
her at a million miles an hour. But she couldn't move. She couldn't get out of
the way.

"Who told you about the
cinema?" Marcus quizzed her, standing up. "Who was that on the
phone?"

And then it came. The full
force of her feelings erupted, sending shocks of sensation through her entire
body. Something pushed its way up from her stomach and out through her throat
and she screamed. "Get out of my house!"

"Lahra, what is
it?"

"Just get out of my
house! How dare you come here? How could you? How could you?" But even as
she was screaming at him, another voice inside was screaming the same thing at
her.
How could you? How could you?
She slapped Marcus on the chest and
pushed him towards the door. She didn't cry easily, but something inside wanted
to make it happen. "Get out, right now!"

"Lahra, what are you
doing? What is it?" But the scared look on Marcus’s face knew that there
was no reason to be had in Lahra's outburst. She pushed him forcibly, and he
retreated. She was far too small in stature and he was far too big for her to
actually move him. But the force in her voice was power enough.

"Leave me alone!"
Lahra yelled as she pushed him through the open door. "I can't bear to
look at you! Get out!" And with that, she slammed the door hard in his
face.

She crumpled against the
door, sinking to her knees. Her face contorted as if the tears inside her that
refused to come were acid. "How could you do this?" she muttered
through her laboured breath, clutching her head in her hands.

In the space of two minutes
her reality had been severely tested and had failed. But she wasn't going to
cry. Her insides churned and her head felt like it might crack apart, but there
would be no tears.

She stayed hunched on the
floor like that for a long time. And the same phrase played through her mind
over and over and over again: Damn you, Marcus Dean. Damn you!

Everything seemed so dark
and cold, Lahra couldn't quite figure out where she was or what was happening.
She felt weightless, and as she looked down she could see no ground beneath her
feet. Only the same strange murkiness that seemed to surround her. She became
aware of some sort of light from above, and she turned her head slowly upwards
to look. It was a shimmering, rippling light, slowly expanding above her. And
in the middle of the light was a figure. A man, looking down at her. She
reached up to him but he just stood there. The image became sharper, and she
suddenly realised that she was under water. Panic gripped her, and she
desperately tried to reach the shimmering surface, but no matter how hard she
kicked or flailed her arms she grew no closer to it. If only the man would
reach down into the water and pull her out. Surely he could see her struggling.
Her wide eyes searched for his, but the water seemed too thick, too dark to
penetrate. But then she saw them. Green-gold lights that pierced through the
water and stared directly into hers. The eyes of Marcus Dean. She tried to call
to him, but when she opened her mouth the murk invaded her. It filled her
mouth, her throat, her lungs. And all he did was stand there, watching. The
cold was now inside her, weighing her down, and she could feel herself
receding. The surface seemed to shrink before her, the light in his eyes was
fading rapidly, and the darkness all around her squeezed as if it had a life of
its own.

Lahra's eyes burst open, and
she was greeted by the bedroom bathed in early morning light. She was aware of
her heart beating fast in her chest, and she lay there waiting for it to
subside. When at last it did, she became aware of the pounding in her head.
Judging by its intensity, she would have to wait considerably longer for it to
go away. It seemed she was to carry a physical reminder of her foolishness the
night before through most of the morning.

She turned her head and
looked at the photograph of her parents beside the bed. It was hard for Lahra
not to think if she would ever find a happiness like they had shared. Would
there ever be a moment in her life like the one in this photograph? Would she
ever feel the breathlessness of a kiss dedicated to a lifetime together?

No answers came. There was
only the dull thud of too much wine.

She sat up slowly, wincing
at the day, and ran her fingers through her hair. The bright sky beyond her
window beckoned. She slipped her glasses on and went to the window, and the
clear, bright morning washed over her. It took a second or two for her eyes to
adjust fully to the light, and when they did the river was the first thing that
drew her attention. Or not so much the river, but the man swimming in it.

Instinctively, she stepped
to the side in case he happened to look up and see her there. She slowly peered
around the edge of the large window and trained her eyes on him. It was the
same as yesterday. The long, slow stroke against the current in water too cold
for Lahra to imagine. Just seeing him there made her shiver, and she pulled
away, clutching herself. A hot bath to start the day was what she needed.
Aspirin, too.

Fifteen minutes later,
submerged in a sea of steaming water, Lahra finally began to feel a little more
together. Last night had ended as a complete fiasco, and she didn't know where
to start when dishing out the anger she felt at herself. How stupid of her to
begin acting like a flirtatious schoolgirl. She must have had 'eager to please'
written all over her. And as for the wine, the most she ever usually drank was
two, maybe three small glasses. Try as she might, she simply couldn't fathom
her ridiculous behaviour. But the thing that hurt most, that had her wishing
desperately that she could go back in time and do the whole night again
completely differently, was that she had opened up to him as she had to no man
before. And look where it had got her.

She couldn't clearly
remember the tirade that had led to her pushing Marcus out the door, nor the
ensuing pain that had transcended the emotional into the physical. But it
wasn't these things that disturbed her. Out there in the freezing cold river
was a man whom she had let see inside her, who had had a glimpse of her usually
well guarded inner sanctum. The same man who intended to destroy the thing that
meant most to her in Riverbank. How could she have been so cavalier, so
careless? All she wanted to do was sink her head beneath the steamy surface of
her bath and not come up.

And what on earth was she
going to say to Wally? She was supposed to meet with him this morning to
discuss the impending Miracle Cinema demolition. She couldn't possibly mention
what had happened between her and the man who was the lynchpin in the Miracle's
predicament. Obviously she'd have some serious editing to do when she related
her acquaintance with Marcus Dean. If only it were possible to edit one's life
as easily.

"What's wrong with
you?" she thought aloud. Here she was sitting in a bath wishing she could
just hide from the world. Even now Marcus was making her act like a teenager.
It was about time she took control. Things weren't going to solve themselves,
on a personal level or any level. She would have to shake off the
brain-scattering after-effects of last night and set her mind on the situation
at hand. She had to get to the bottom of Marcus’s intentions, and to do so
meant only one thing.

In a decisive leap, Lahra
was out of the bath and drying herself. She said goodbye to the schoolgirl once
and for all. It was time to pay Marcus Dean a visit.

*

Now that she was much
closer, she could see that the old Taylor house had changed considerably. The
overall effect was the same, but the details, glossy and precise like they
never had been, told a different story. As she drove up the long driveway
towards the house it became increasingly apparent that the days of the old
house were well and truly over.

She parked and jumped out,
glancing back over the river at her house. So close, yet she'd had to drive
fifteen minutes to get here, via Valley and Mountain Bridges. Seeing the house
there reminded her of what Marcus had said about waving to each other of a
morning. A shiver ran up her spine like the scuttling of baby spiders.

At the front door she went
to reach for the knocker, but saw that it had been replaced by what looked like
some sort of intercom system. She pressed the button and hoped that something
had happened inside, because she didn't hear anything outside.

There was no answer, and
Lahra thought that she should perhaps just get back into the Jeep and drive
away. But she pressed the button again and waited. A few seconds later,
Marcus’s voice came over the in-built speaker. "Hello?"

"Lahra Brook," she
said plainly.

There was silence on the
other end, as if his mind had been surprised into action. Then finally,
"Just a moment."

Lahra crossed her arms,
decided that was too defensive, then put her hands behind her back, but decided
that was too open. The door opened suddenly, and her hands found their way into
her jacket pockets just as Marcus appeared in the door. "Well, good
morning," he said.

He was dressed in suit pants
and white shirt. His hands were busy knotting his tie beneath the crisp collar.
Lahra tried not to notice any of this. In fact, well aware of the effect that
his eyes and smile were capable of, she was desperately trying to look at him
without actually seeing him.

"I thought I'd better
come over and straighten a few things out about last night," Lahra said
stiffly.

Marcus regarded her as he
straightened his perfect knot. "Sure. Come in."

"No, that's alright. I
won't be that long. Firstly, apologies for my behaviour at the end there. I
went off the handle a bit."

"More than a bit, I'd
say!"

"Well, anyway,"
Lahra continued, wishing he would just let her talk so that this didn't have to
be any more awkward than it already was, "I have reasons for my outburst,
and I need to talk to you about them."

"To me?"

"Yes. I found out about
the Miracle Cinema from a friend of mine who works there, Walter Dymple. Or
should I say, used to work there. That was him on the phone last night. He
found out that it was you who had bought the cinema."

"Wait a minute,"
Marcus interrupted, holding up a hand. "If this is about him getting
the... being retrenched, then you can be assured that when the new venue opens
he and anyone else who loses work because of the changeover will be at the top
of the list when we begin hiring. There'll be plenty of new jobs to choose
from. Cash clerks, bar attendants, cooks, maintenance, security,
administration. Riverbank is about to get one of the best new entertainment
complexes in the state, so he needn't fear that there'll be any shortage of
work. I'll personally guarantee it."

"Did you say
entertainment complex? Like a pinball parlour?"

"Listen, Lahra, this is
all very confidential. When I first presented the proposal to the partners at
Stone Rowbottom to buy the old cinema and replace it with a state of the art
facility, they impressed upon me the importance of keeping a low profile. The
quieter we get in and do our business, the more successful it will be. We can't
afford any rival developers to catch wind of what we're up to and start slicing
into the marketplace. This is my baby, and it's a step up on the partnership
ladder when we pull it off. So what I'm saying to you is between you and
me." He hesitated. "I do like you, Lahra. I trust you.

"In answer to your
question, no not like a pinball parlour. It's much, much more. We're going to
build an ultra-modern entertainment complex, with everything from digital
arcade games to full virtual reality experiences. The advances being made in
interactive entertainment is really amazing! There'll also be two restaurants
and a bar. And, you’ll be pleased to know, not one but three cinemas, with
stadium seating. Riverbank is a young town, Lahra. It's a university town.
Fifty percent of residents are under thirty. The market is ripe for something
like this. And by building it on the site of the old cinema, we can revitalise
that whole end of Main Street—create a whole new focus."

Lahra watched Marcus growing
more excited as he spoke. His eyes glinted with a vision that she in no way
shared. Hearing it coming from his lips, the same lips that had pressed against
hers just last night, was almost surreal.

"You don't understand,
Marcus," Lahra explained, as if to a child. "Wally being sacked is
just the beginning. He's been a part of the Miracle Cinema for longer than
you've been on this planet. It's his life. And it's a life that he's shared
with me since I was a child." She could feel her temperature rising as her
voice became more urgent. "The Miracle Cinema isn't just some old movie
house. It's a part of the heritage of this town. It's a part of Wally, and it's
a part of me. You can't just come along and decide to pull it down for some hi-tech
pinball parlour. You can't seriously tell me that you impressing your bosses is
more important than the decades of enjoyment the Miracle has given Riverbank.
And you sure as hell can't expect to try any of it without a whole lot of
resistance from the people who care about the history of this town."

"Oh? So where are these
people each night that the Miracle Cinema opens its doors? Lahra, the Miracle
has been losing money for years now. It's not good business. The new cinema
complex at Riverside Plaza is where it's all happening, and ours will be a step
up from that. I appreciate your concern for the past, but that's just what it
is. The past. Things change. Life goes on."

Lahra's fists were clenched
in her pockets. She kept them pushed deep inside for fear of what they might
try to do were they let out. "Marcus, I have to ask you to reconsider your
position on this."

"Reconsider my..."
And then Marcus laughed. A laugh like the blaring of a hundred BMW horns.
"Lahra, the Miracle Cinema is not negotiable. The contracts were finalised
yesterday. Mr Perkins made it all official. Stone Rowbottom & Partners now
owns the Miracle. And we have major plans costing us quite a lot of money to
implement. Believe me, if you think that any of us are going to suddenly
reconsider our position because of some misplaced sentimentality, you really
are in need of a miracle."

The same smug grin from the
bridge yesterday morning was back on his face. The trembling inside her mounted,
yet all she could think about as she looked at him there in the doorway was the
way he had looked at her in front of the fire the night before. It was like a
different man. The pressure inside her was almost too much to bear, and she
knew that if she didn't leave soon there could be a repeat performance of last
night's embarrassing action.

"There's no way I'm
going to sit back and watch you demolish that cinema," she said through
her teeth. "I don't care what it takes. I'm going to stop you."

She didn't give Marcus the
chance to respond. She turned and got into the Jeep, spinning gravel into the
air as she slammed down the accelerator. She reached for the mobile phone and
dialled.