“I shall start immediately… That is, as soon as you leave.”
“I was on the point of leaving.”
“How nice of you to suggest meditating. When Randy gets home he’ll be terribly surprised to find he’s not the only one who can reach a different plane in another dimension. There I’ll be, waiting for him.”
“He’ll be surprised, all right.”
“What a joke on him. Ho ho ho.”
Santa Claus couldn’t have said it better.
Her mood had taken a sharp upswing and pulled her body along with it. She held herself erect and steady and the hand she offered him was firm, her smile gracious.
“I’ve enjoyed our little visit, Mr. Dunlop. Do come again.”
“I’ll try.” Ho ho ho.
Howard, who started his working hours at six in the morning when the New York Stock Exchange opened, left the office at two and was back at the guest cottage by two-thirty. He found Michael waiting for him.
“We can scratch Randy’s name off the list,” Michael said.
“Why?”
“He was questioned by the police several times under his real name, Maharandhi Rau. I’ve just finished going over the report. Here, read the conclusion of the last tape for yourself.”
“All right.”
DEPUTY DE SALLE:
So you were meditating, Mr. Rau, down in the citrus grove. For how long?
RAU:
Who knows? Time is meaningless. I am into forever.
DEPUTY DE SALLE:
I’m on an eight-hour shift myself so I got to watch the clock. How long, Mr. Rau?
RAU:
Until I heard voices penetrating my ears and felt my soul returning to this dimension.
DEPUTY DE SALLE:
So what happened in this dimension?
RAU:
I went back to the house and played gin rummy with the old lady. Allah frowns on such frivolity. When I pick up the cards he averts his face. Either my luck is astonishingly bad or else she reads my mind. I owe her nearly three and a half million dollars.
DEPUTY DE SALLE:
Don’t sweat it. You got a long time to pay if you’re into forever. Whose voices penetrated your ears?
RAU:
I was being summoned by my master.
DEPUTY DE SALLE:
Why?
RAU:
To play gin with his old lady. She was bugging him.
DEPUTY DE SALLE:
You didn’t see two little girls down by the creek?
RAU:
No girls, no boys, no humans at all. I was alone in the universe.
DEPUTY DE SALLE:
Thank you, Mr. Rau. I’ll see you at another time.
RAU:
Almost certainly. Everyone meets again. That is why we must
never do evil. Those to whom evil is done do evil in return
even if it takes several thousand years.
DEPUTY DE SALLE:
I’ll try to remember that.
RAU:
You will be wise to do so.
“All right,” Howard said, putting the typed page back on the table. “Scratch Randy. Who’s next?”
“Nobody. His was the last name on the list.”
“So where do we go from here? Dozens of questions remain unanswered For instance, why wasn’t she found sooner?”
“That question has been raised by a number of people, in newspaper editorials, letters to the editor, interviews with elected officials. A variety of reasons have been given, some conjectural, some scientific. First, there were too many volunteers in the field. Most of them genuinely wanted to help, some simply wanted to be heroes, a few had their eyes on the reward money. But they all had one thing in common: They were untrained, didn’t know what to look for or how to look for it. Their presence also disturbed the tracking dogs who were brought in, though there were also other factors involving the dogs. Many species of wildlife still roam the area, especially nocturnal ones who are attracted by the avocado and citrus groves — possums, raccoons, wood rats, skunks. One spray of a skunk can cover all other odors for some time.”
“I know.” Howard recalled the occasion when Newf decided to challenge a skunk. The battle was lost before it even began. A hurried call to a veterinarian revealed the fact that no progress had been made in dealing with the problem and the solution was the same as it was in Howard’s childhood. The dog had to be soaked in tomato juice and then shampooed. Newf’s hundred and seventy pounds were covered by thick hair from two to four inches long and the treatment was slow and difficult. But eventually, after the application of a dozen giant cans of tomato juice, all of Kay’s shampoo, Howard’s aftershave lotion, Chizzy’s perfume and two blow dryers, Newf was anxious to resume his role of family dog instead of skunk-fighter. The winner’s scent remained on Newf’s nose and forehead where he had refused to accept treatment, but Annamay didn’t mind. He spent the night in her bedroom.
Chizzy was rather bitter about the perfume. “My brother-in-law gave it to me for Christmas. White Shoulders. He probably paid a fortune for it. He’s an electrician.”
“I’ll buy you a quart of the stuff,” Howard said.
Only now did he realize that he’d forgotten to buy it. Tomorrow, he thought. Tomorrow as soon as the stores open.
“…Are you listening, Howard?”
“Certainly. Go on.”
“Another possible reason why the tracking dogs failed was suggested by a botanist. Anise, a perennial weed growing throughout the canyon, was in full bloom at the time. Its odor is short-range but powerful. So much for the dogs, who might simply have been inadequately trained, and back to the people who were not trained at all. Aside from the fact that there were too many amateurs in the field, the nature of another factor must be considered. Annamay was found under a large oak tree whose base was overgrown with poison oak. Now the police are reluctant to admit that their men might have taken pains to avoid or skim over such areas, but they obviously did. It’s understandable. Clean-up crews employed by the city and county demand extra pay and protective clothing when they have to work with poison oak. So the police have their answers, the tracking dogs have theirs, and we’re left with the questions. Sorry, Howard. It looks like a dead end.”
Howard pressed his hands against his temples, moving his head from side to side in agonized denial. “God. God almighty. There must be something we can do.”
“I’m afraid not. Sorry.”
“Sorry. Yes, everyone’s sorry… Leave me alone now, will you, Mike? I want to… have to… don’t know, scream, curse, roll on the floor, bang my head against the wall.”
“Go easy on yourself, Howard. We did the best we could.”
“Which was nothing, absolutely nothing. Now beat it. Please.”
Michael hesitated at the door. “God forbid I should interfere with some good old-fashioned head banging but I hate to leave you in a depressed mood. Kay’s home. She waved at the window when I drove past the house. Why don’t you go over and talk to her?”
“I have nothing to say and neither has she. Put it this way: A volcano erupted in our life and the crater it left is too wide to shout across. So don’t try playing marriage counselor or psychiatrist. Don’t even try playing minister.”
“If you’re telling me I’m no good at it, I agree.”
“I’m telling you, butt out.”
“I’m on my way,” Michael said. “And thanks.”
“For what?”
“The advice.”
“I didn’t give you any advice.”
“I think you did.” Don’t try playing minister. All right, I won’t. Now how do I break the news to Lorna? — “Hey Lorna, me and God have split.” No, make it serious… “After years of doubt I have decided to quit a profession the basic premise of which I can no longer accept.”