Evelyn felt herself getting red.
“I see you know about it,” he said dryly.
“Yes. The boy I was with told me.”
“That was ungentlemanly of him. Well, I’ve been doing it so long I’ve used up all my blushes.”
She grinned and liked him despite everything. “Go on.”
“Well, if things get out of hand, if the crowd gets out of control and wants to burn him at the stake, he has a solution for that too. When Angel is floating across the audience, there will be the sound of a wire breaking and Angel will hang there by one arm. It sorta ruins the show, but it convinces them everything is a fake and not the work of the Devil. It’s only happened once. We were in this little town in, I think, North Carolina, the same time as an evangelist. That preacher didn’t believe it was real either, but he had to make out like he did ’cause we were pulling too much money away from his collection plate.”
“Why did you stay, if Haverstock is like you say?”
He settled the orange wig more firmly on his head. “What else could I do? I’ve been with him nearly twenty-five years. I don’t know anything else. Besides, he probably wouldn’t let me leave. I know too much.”
He stood up and adjusted his dress. “I’ve got to get back. It should be nearly time for my entrance. Haverstock is doing the show. Louis is off somewhere; probably looking for Angel. I still don’t know what to do. I have to talk to Tim. Maybe Tim will know what to do.” He looked at Evelyn and frowned. “There’s no reason for you get mixed up in this, no point in putting yourself in danger. Why don’t you just go on home and forget about us? Tim and I will think of something.”
“Will you be leaving in the morning?”
“Only if Haverstock finds Angel tonight. He won’t leave without Angel.”
“Why is Angel so important to him?”
He raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t know before, but it’s obvious now. Angel has the gift too. He can’t leave him running around loose. He would never feel safe again. Good night, Miss Bradley. Please go home and stay out of this.”
He turned and hurried away into the darkness.
Evelyn sat there for a moment, then hurried back to Dr. Latham’s. She looked in on Angel, but he was asleep, still in the same position as when she’d left. She watched him for a moment, then went upstairs to bed.
24.
The show went badly. The tent was hardly half full and some of those left when the thunder became sufficiently loud. Haverstock paced it rapidly, getting it over with. Everyone was nervous and unsettled. Tim fell while he danced and earned a murderous glare. The Minotaur was insolent and seemed to do his best to embarrass the women in the audience. The snake woman wouldn’t cooperate, wouldn’t take her customary trip down the aisle. Even the roustabouts were jittery, standing around whispering among themselves.
Haverstock watched them and hated them all.
But it was over quickly. The last few left when Henry was introduced. They had heard about Henry-etta and didn’t consider him worth being caught in the storm. Henry looked at the empty tent for a moment, absurd in the soiled green gown, then went back to his wagon to talk with Tim.
The lights across the line of wagons were turned off and a roustabout extinguished the torches. The Wonder Show was silent and still, lying like a painted corpse beneath the black sky, silhouetted by the sheet lightning in the south.
Finney and Jack watched from across the street, crouching behind a bush, feeling their hearts pounding in their chests. They strained their eyes in the darkness, trying to spy a movement among the decorated wagons, but there was nothing.
They crept across the road, hunkered down like stealthy Indians converging on a settler’s cabin. Then they sucked in their breaths and ran, scooting under the nearest wagon, when headlights bounced over the railroad tracks. They huddled together, peering through the spokes of the wagon wheel as the black Model-T Ford clattered to a stop. Louis got out and went to Haverstock’s wagon.
Finney and Jack backed away cautiously on their hands and knees, ready to freeze if Louis should look in their direction. Jack suddenly twitched and stopped, bumping against Finney.
“Sumbitch!” he muttered.
“What’s the matter?” Finney whispered.
“I got my knee on a cuckleburr,” Jack hissed through his clenched teeth.
The door of Haverstock’s wagon opened, spilling light across the ground. Finney and Jack stared with wide eyes and open mouths at the apparition standing in the doorway, a black-robed figure with light flowing around him like fairy mist. Then they released their held-in breaths and looked at each other, grinning sheepishly. It was only Haverstock, still in his costume from the show.
“He wasn’t there,” they heard Louis say. “From what I could hear through the window, the girl is in town at an overnight party. I searched the barn but didn’t find anything. If he’s there, he’s well hidden, and the girl apparently doesn’t know anything about it.”
Haverstock nodded. “We’ll have a talk with her in the morning when she returns, just to be sure.”
He closed the door and Louis went to the Minotaur’s wagon. Henry and Tim stopped whispering and turned startled eyes on the door when Louis walked in without knocking. Louis looked at them speculatively, a smile fluttering around his lips. He went to the Minotaur’s cot and watched the sleeping naked figure for a moment. Then he turned and left without a word.
Jack and Finney scooted back under the wagon when Louis came out. He paused on the steps and the smile settled on his lips. He went to his own wagon, where the woman was supposed to be waiting. The boys watched him until he was out of sight.
“Which one do you suppose Angel is in?” Jack whispered.
“I don’t know,” Finney answered, “but I would guess he’s in the one with his picture on it.”
Jack nodded in agreement. They scurried on their hands and knees under the wagons. They stopped and Finney stuck his head out, looking up at the side of the wagon. He strained his neck out and looked at the other wagons.
“It’s the next one,” he said as he ducked back under. They crawled on and poked their heads out, looking around carefully. They saw no movements and crept from beneath the caravan, brushing their bare feet down with great care. Finney put his hand on the door handle, his muscles tightening involuntarily. He looked back at Jack, then cautiously pulled the door open.
They peered in, Jack straining to see over Finney’s shoulder. The inside of the wagon was pitch black. Jack clutched Finney’s arm tightly, but Finney didn’t feel it. They both jumped when it thundered suddenly and lightning flashed.
The lightning illuminated the interior of the wagon for an instant and they saw a figure lying on a cot.
The boys tiptoed to the cot, barely breathing. A noise reached their ears, a rustling of bedclothes, and a darker darkness rose from the cot. Jack made a little squeaking noise deep in his throat and they backed away until they bumped against the wall.
“Angel?” Finney said in an almost inaudible whisper.
There was another movement from the cot. A match struck, momentarily blinding them. They squinted and pressed against the wall. The match moved to a candle. The lighted candle was lifted and the light fell on a mass of snakes writhing over a pair of glittering eyes.
Finney and Jack shrieked and grabbed each other. They hid their eyes, turned their backs and hunkered against the wall, feeling their flesh already turning to stone. Medusa sat on the cot, watching them curiously.
Finney slowly raised his arm and peeked out with one eye. Jack’s arm was only an inch away. It looked normal, not a bit like stone. Then Jack’s arm lowered slightly, uncovering his round eye. They stared at each other in amazement. They turned hesitantly, ready to flee if necessary, and saw the Medusa sitting motionless on her cot watching them.