Sinner (33 page)

But on closer inspection she could see one small difference. A dozen cars lined Main Street, more cars than she thought should be there.

And now one of those cars was uploading information to the Sapphire News Network.

Darcy tapped the pilot on the shoulder. “How far?”

He fanned his fingers out: five minutes. Johnny had suggested a lunch at Smither's Barbeque, of all places. Billy refused, and they settled on the plateau above the canyons to the south, at noon. Johnny had the gall to offer to bring sandwiches.

Billy was still staring.His return to Paradise was beating him up more than he let on, she thought. She had expected to be the one slicked in cold sweat, but he seemed more deeply affected.

Darcy lowered her eyes to the red folder on her lap, flipped the file open, and stared at the first few lines from the Net report that Joseph Houde had filed from Paradise last night.

From the desert has come a voice crying in the wilderness, and his name is
John. Johnny Drake to be more precise. But ask his disciples and they will tell
you his mission is no less defined than the mission of John the Baptist, who
first introduced the Light from heaven to the world over two thousand years
ago. The multitudes listened to John, who told them that Jesus of Nazareth
was the Way to God. Then Herod took John's head.

Now the question begs us: Will the world listen to Johnny Drake? And
who will take
his
head?

It went on to characterize the town's stand as some kind of beach-head—yada, yada, yada.

How those sneaky reporter rats got around so quickly, she didn't know, but the story had spawned a flood of activity on the Net. It hadn't exactly become the media's focus, but it was enough to warrant a call from the attorney general first thing this morning seeking and receiving assurance that Darcy and Billy could handle Johnny.

Darcy was tempted to drop down there and tell this Joseph Houde exactly what he should do with his stories. And he would listen, wouldn't he?

Darcy put her hand on Billy's thigh. “You okay?”

He didn't answer, which was answer enough.

The helicopter gave the canyon ridges a wide berth, as Darcy had instructed, and homed in on the green plateaus to the south. Large groves of aspens interspersed with grassy fields covered the land. She picked out Johnny's helicopter sitting idly between two stands of trees that bordered one of the many small lakes on the high mesa. And not far from the helicopter, a white blotch.

A tent, she saw on closer inspection. Johnny had set up a tent. What did he think this was, a summit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?

With some reluctance, Billy had agreed last night to the strategy she'd suggested. They had to handle Johnny on his terms, not theirs. They'd both learned a thing or two about negotiation over the past two weeks, and this was a time for seduction, not blackmail.

The helicopter settled on the ground forty yards from the tent, which turned out to be a canopy. Billy slid out, walked around, and helped her to the ground.

She took his hand. “You sure you're okay?”

“I'm fine.” The chopper quickly wound down. “Perfectly fine.”

“Then let's go.”

Johnny had set up a table under the canopy, complete with a white table-cloth, a bowl of fruit, and a pitcher of water. Four chairs faced each other in pairs next to the table, and in one of these chairs sat a blonde woman.

So Johnny had brought his lover too. The woman could be anyone, for all Darcy knew, but she rather liked the idea that she had some competition. So to speak.

Johnny stood and waited for them at the edge of the canopy, dressed in what appeared to be the same black slacks and white shirt he'd worn on his visit to Washington. He wore his glasses, as did they all, even his lover or whoever she was.

Darcy dropped Billy's hand and walked up to him. “Hello, Johnny.”

“Darcy. Billy.”His hand was large and warm around her palm.“I'd like you to meet Kelly.”

Darcy walked over to the pretty woman, who stood. “And who might Kelly be?”

“I'm a friend,” she said. “Johnny and I go back a ways. It's good to finally meet you.”Kelly turned to Billy and took his hand with both of hers. “And you, Billy. I've heard so much about you.” She held his hand a bit too long, Darcy thought. “It really is such an honor to meet you, Billy.”

No, this couldn't be Johnny's lover. If Darcy didn't know better, she would think the woman was attempting to seduce Billy right here in front of them all. But then again, Darcy's wary nature had always turned spar-rows into hawks.

“And why exactly are you here?” Darcy asked.

“Because she's the only other person who knows everything,” Johnny said. “I thought you'd want to meet her.”

She thought about a clever retort, but then dismissed it. They were here to win Johnny, not threaten him.

“A drink?” Johnny asked, walking behind the table.“Fruit? The best apples in the world, they say.”

Darcy took an apple and turned it in her hand. “Well, it's nice that something good has come out of Paradise,” she said, eyeing him, then bit deeply. The apple's juice was surprisingly tasty. “Sweet.”

“As sweet as the first time?” he asked.

What was he saying? They'd eaten apples together before?

“I'm sorry, I've put most of my memories of our childhood in a room and sealed the door.” She smiled and took another bite. “Therapist's order, you know.”

“Sometimes remembering isn't such a bad thing.”

She glanced at Billy and saw that his jaw was fixed. Only then did the significance of the apples come to her. Billy had been the first to taste the proverbial forbidden fruit when he'd used the Books of History to write Marsuvees Black into flesh and blood. Johnny had brought the apples as some kind of cute object lesson, and the fact hadn't been lost on Billy who was now seething.

Darcy had to calm herself.

“So, what can I do for you?” Johnny asked.

“That's a low blow,” Billy said softly.

“No, it's simply the truth. We've turned Paradise into the valley of truth and light, or hadn't you heard?”

“And we'll bury this valley!” Billy yelled.

“The truth isn't easily buried,” Johnny said.

Billy's anger surprised even Darcy. This wasn't the right approach.

“Please, can we put the testosterone back in the bottle? Why don't we take a seat and discuss this reasonably.We're not children any longer.”

Kelly eased into a chair, but neither Johnny nor Billy moved.

“Okay, then we can stand,” Darcy said.

“I don't mean to be antagonistic,” Johnny said. “But I've decided that I can't deny the truth we all know.”He crossed to his chair, sat, and folded one leg over the other. “Until I saw Darcy on the Net, I was alone with this . . . gift. Finding you was like finding a long-lost brother and sister.”

“And it was to us as well, Johnny,” Darcy said, setting her apple down and sitting opposite him.

“I couldn't put my finger on what bothered me then—Kelly tells me that my ability to help others see makes me blind in more ways than I realize. But when I learned that you've been behind—”

“It doesn't have to be this way,” Darcy interrupted. “You could join us. Imagine the good we three could do for this world. We'd be using our gifts to help millions!”

She looked back at Billy. “Come, Billy.”

“This isn't going to work,”Billy said, sitting.“Can't you see that, Darcy? He's here to reject any proposal before we even put it on the table.”

“You're reading minds through glasses now? There are only three people in the world who have the gifts we have; surely we can see our way past fighting each other with them!”

“But you're wrong, Darcy,” Johnny said. “We aren't the only three.”

“No? Some of the other children also—”

“Black,” Billy said. “You'll never let me live it down, will you?”

“It's not my intention to blame you for anything, Billy,” Johnny said. “Only to help you remember the consequences of following the other path.”

Darcy was having difficulty controlling her frustration.

“And just where has your path led you?” she asked as calmly as she could.

“To the same place yours has led you,” he said. “Back to Paradise.”

“But you see, that's where you're wrong! This is no paradise! The whole
idea
of a heaven was never based on reality, and it never will be.”

“Not in this life, no.”

She could feel the heat rise in her face. “If you think the message or manipulations of a man in a white collar can in any way lead to a paradise in this life or the next, then maybe your lover is right. Maybe you are as blind as a worm.”

Then she thought twice about her haste to show her frustration.

“Speaking loosely, that is. So that you understand how
I've
been able to cope since being set free from the monastery.”

“Your problem is that you've always blamed the monastery, Darcy. The monks weren't to blame. They gave you everything you needed and more. The
only
thing they forbade were the dungeons. They knew of the danger there. They tried to protect you from harm.”

“They could have sealed it!” she snapped.

“But you couldn't stay away, could you?
You
went down into the dungeons, opened the ancient books, and brought the evil upon yourself. The priests weren't the sinners,
you
were the sinners. The books gave us three these gifts to be sure it never happens again, and all you want to do is crucify monks.”

Billy stood, trembling. “Would you have done any different? Would you have stayed away?”

“I don't know.Maybe I'd have done the same as you. But I hope I would accept blame for what I'd done and learn from it.”

It was too much for Darcy. “How dare you?” she screamed.

Birds took flight from the nearby scrub oaks.

“How dare you turn the pain we've suffered because of those monks against us, as if it's all
our
fault, as if we
chose
to be experiments, as if they aren't culpable, as if the dungeons had no blame! No child deserves to be put through that.”

Johnny sat quietly for a moment.

“What have you come to say to me?” he finally said.

Billy was right, Darcy realized. Johnny had no intention of even considering any proposal from them. But they
had
to turn him away from his plan.

“We've come to say that what you're doing will end badly,” she said.

“Sit down, Billy.”

Instead he turned to his left and headed toward the trees.

Darcy let him go.

She turned back to Johnny. “You really don't see the damage you're doing here, do you?”

He just looked at her from behind those glasses. She wondered what would happen if they both removed their lenses and spoke frankly.

Kelly stood. “Excuse me.” So Johnny's trophy hadn't forgotten how to speak. She walked after Billy, but if she thought she could calm him down, she was even more foolish than Johnny.

“Maybe we could start over,” Johnny said. “I think we know where we stand, but maybe there's a way we can understand each other better. I doubt you came all this way just to threaten me.”

Now it was just the two of them.

Darcy took a deep breath. “No. No, that's not why we came. Tell me how we can work this out.”

“The light came into the world, but the world did not understand it. Perhaps I could help you understand.”

“You forget, I grew up having my head stuffed with all of that
understanding
.”

“Then maybe I can help you remember.”

“I've spent a lifetime trying to forget. Please, Johnny, you know as well as I do that this has nothing to do with understanding. I realize that you believe differently about the nature of things than I do. That doesn't give us the right to even attempt to change each other.Why can't we leave the world to believe what it wants to believe in peace without degradation or accusation? That's all this law does. It stops the finger-pointing. You have a problem with that?”

“Did you read my blog?”

“Half the world has probably read your blog by now.”

“Did it call the Muslims
fools
?”

“Yes! Not in so many words, but by publicly claiming that your way is the
only
way, you're calling their way wrong. And in matters of race and religion, calling someone wrong is as inflammatory as calling them
fools,
or even worse. Can you imagine me walking around spouting off that all blacks are immoral or unequal because they are black? We'd have riots again!”

“You're making one mistake in equating the two.”

Darcy held up a hand.“Stop. I know. Blacks aren't wrong because they're black any more than Hitler was wrong because he was white.Where you split hairs is that you believe that Muslims
are
wrong about some things, right? But that's
your
belief, Johnny! You have no right to force your morals down their throats.”

“When did speaking your beliefs become synonymous with forcing them upon others?”

“When they involve explosive issues, like deciding who's going to hell!”

“Perhaps you're still misunderstanding. I'm condemning no one. I'm only saying that I will follow Jesus.”

“But Jesus condemned all who refused to follow him!” Darcy cried. “His was a narrow, bigoted, exclusive faith that has no place in the world today.”

“I'll let his words stand on their own,” Johnny said.“He died for what he said two thousand years ago, and nothing in this world has changed since then.” He paused, then took a new approach. “Are you also deny-ing the supernatural?”