“I think you're disrespectful by keeping me here.” She stood. “Mr. Bell isn’t here. If he were, he wouldn’t so rudely keep me waiting.”
Tyler’s face turned white as Mr. Bel came into view from the angled opening of the stairway.
Mr. Bel’s face lit up radiantly, then said, “Guinevere, how wonderful it is to see you.” She froze near the front door. “How long has it been?”
“Not long enough.” She turned, glaring at him. “What is this nonsense about restoring the block?”
Bill laughed from behind the door to his room. Her glare moved to the sound, then returned to Mr. Bel. Jen heard the woman’s raised voice and stood at the apartment door. She and Tyler shared awe in the way this woman spoke to Mr. Bel.
“I assure you it isn’t nonsense.” He motioned to the chairs and sofa in the lobby. “Please sit. Let’s discuss what we’re doing.”
She grunted but returned to the chair. She saw Jen, and the snarl on her face intensified. Not wanting to be in the wake of this woman’s wrath, she closed the apartment door.
Tyler stood his ground near the window watching the two rivals? Which seemed right as they appeared to be preparing for battle. Mr. Bel remained as calm as ever, and his serene face didn’t crease. Mrs. Johnston seethed, wrinkles collapsing around her eyes and mouth, making her look as though she were melting.
“I don’t like it,” she snapped. “My building doesn’t need fixing up.”
He looked at her with a closed-mouthed smile, waiting to see whether she had anything else to add. This wasn’t the first time she had caused a commotion. In 1981 when the restaurant and store at the other end of the building had caught fire, she had been instrumental in not allowing it to be rebuilt then. As he recalled, she had the fire commissioner in her pocket and didn’t want any of it reopened because it was taking away from her business. Then she learned in a few short months, without Sam’s store there was no business for her.
“How will it look if your building isn’t restored?” he asked simply. “The buildings are all connected, and yours remains in disrepair.” He paused a moment, seeing her face relax, half expecting her to interject, but she didn’t. “To make things easier, I agree to buy the building from you at any price you name. I know the sentimentality it holds for you.”
Tyler thought he saw a smile began to form on her mouth, but in a blink it was gone. She tapped her finger on her knee, then tried to brush cat hair from the same spot.
“I don’t want your money. I don’t want to be in debt to in any way.”
“No debt to me, unless, you wanted to be.” He grinned.
“You’re a vile thing,” she snarled. “I want nothing from you.” Her face scrunched together again, but not in anger, in thought. “Take it! Just leave me alone.” Tyler’s mouth dropped open. “It’s what you’ve wanted all these years.” She dug in her pocket, retrieving a key ring. Her old fingers twisted three keys from the ring. “With him doing your bidding, I won’t be able to stop you. Just leave me the he…” She abruptly stopped what she was going to say, then without missing a beat, said, “Leave me alone.”
Dropping the keys on the floor, she jumped up and scurried to the door. Her hand gripped the bar, and she froze. She shook. Tyler wondered whether she was crying. He glanced at Mr. Bel who had bent to pick the keys from the floor.
“I’ll come by when it’s convenient for me to remove my belongings.” Her voice was as strong as it had been, no sign of tears. “Then we are through Belphegor.”
Tyler twitched, then floated downward, he saw Mr. Bel smile, staring at the keys in his hands. Tyler landed on the cold floor. When he sat up, he had no idea how long he’d been there. Mrs. Johnston and Mr. Bel weren’t attending to him. He rubbed the side of his head. A car slowing on the highway outside the window caught his attention. He whooped with excitement. Jen peeked out the door into the lobby, seeing him sprawled out on the tile. She rushed from the apartment to help him.
“What happened? Where is he and the old woman?”
“I’ll explain later,” he said, swaying on his feet. He shook his head, clearing the cobwebs, the continued. “Cody’s here.”
Jen had thought, no, fantasized about this moment from the minute Tyler had told her Cody was joining them. She had become infatuated with Tyler’s brother, though she’d never met him. Tyler had one picture of him, and it was from several years ago. She pictured him now as her knight-in-shining-armor come to rescue her. She imagined him pleasuring her, while she fingered herself in Dorothy’s bathtub. Today was the day of their meeting, and her fantasies were to be fulfilled.
Chapter Twenty
And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
Ecclesiastes 1:13, KJV
Cody was just as shocked as he had been when he looked at the pictures of Shoshoni online. He was surprised by the disrepair. The boarded-up windows on the majority of buildings were discomforting and daunting. What were they supposed to do with this mess? It was sad. His childhood memories didn’t overpower what he saw. At least the rain from the last few weeks had caused the weeds to grow.
He slowed, coming closer to the Shanley Hotel. It stood like a redbrick monolith. The hotel’s appearance wasn’t as bleak as he had expected; the window frames on the second floor had been painted, the awning over the front door replaced, giving it the look he had remembered growing up. He turned onto Main Street and parked in the first spot on the corner facing what had been the Geyser Drug (world famous for its malts and shakes). When he was a child it had been a greenish tint, and now it was a horrible mauve. The beautiful oval window was boarded up. The front window and door were covered with old newspapers.
A small dog yipped at him, then disappeared under a car in front of the bar down the street. He felt little relief seeing the old rail-tie façade was unchanged. The name had changed from what was once the Buckboard Saloon.
He stared up at the front of the Shanley. On the crest at its top the white stone letters had been cleaned and reattached with the year separated by the name; 19 SHANLEY 08.
“You’re here,” Tyler yelled, running toward him.
Before he answered, his brother’s arms squeezed him tightly around the chest. Cody didn’t remember ever receiving a hug from him. He returned the embrace, trying to outdo the vise grip of his brother. Tyler began laughing, then released him.
“What do you think?” Tyler continued, turning Cody to face the buildings.
Cody wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say, so he looked along the street to the end of the block where the last three buildings had blue tarps draped over the tops. “Oh, it looks like you’ve started already. I didn’t expect—”
“Ah, man, I started as soon as…” He paused, then started again in a different direction. “Come on. I’ll show what we’ve done so far besides cleaning up the face of the hotel.”
Tyler walked across the street, leaving Cody next to his car. Obvious it was expected he follow, Cody glanced both ways, then crossed the street.
Once he was walking beside Tyler, he said, “I know who’s behind this.”
Tyler stopped, turning and tilting his head back to look eye to eye with Cody. The peeling face of Chief Cameahwait watched without saying a word on the wall behind them. A smile broke Tyler’s face, and he started laughing.
“Isn’t it crazy? I didn’t know he still lived here. I thought he left ages ago.”
“You know who…what he is, don’t you, Tyler? A Fallen Angel. A Demon.”
Tyler laughed harder. What Cody had said made no sense; those things weren’t real. His face flushed. Cody stared at him with concern. How was it possible he had no idea about Belphegor? And here he was laughing when he should be crying.
“What are you talking about?” Tyler asked through laughter. “Whoever told you those stories needs their head examined. And you, too, for belie
ving it.”
“Tyler, it’s the truth.” He raised his voice. “We need to get the fuck out of here before you make any more deals with him.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m restoring the block, just as I said on the phone, for Mr. Bel.”
“You call him Mr. Bel? This is worse than Hector said. He’s got you already.”
“Nobody’s got me. I can do whatever I want. Whoever this Hector is, you need to stop listening to him.” He rubbed his head looking down the street. “At least come look at what I’ve done already. Then you can meet Mr. Bel later at dinner.” He started away from Cody, and said, “You might want to reign in the cuss words. He doesn’t like it.”
Reluctantly, Cody followed him. Tyler stood in front of the last building, waiting for him, looking up at the tarp slinking over the side. When he was steps away, Tyler opened the door and went inside. The lone railcar caught Cody’s attention.
The rusty exterior wasn’t covered by graffiti, while in the city a multitude of spray-painted tags and grotesquely drawn images were sure to find their place on its walls. He was amazed he was entertaining Tyler by going inside, but he did and was amazed.
The walls and ceiling were painted dark gray with white and red stripes darting around the circumference of the room. Diamond shaped mirrors were inlaid in the walls. He remembered seeing the inside of the restaurant once; he was maybe fifteen, and it had been several years after the fire. Someone had left the door open, and one day after school he’d taken the opportunity to check out The Top Hat. Back then, it had a musty smell and weeds had taken up house in the corners. Now all that was missing were the patrons.
The mirrored ball twisted on the ceiling near the back wall above a black-and-white tiled dance floor. Three, sparkling, red benches lined the wall on the left. On the right, the bar reached from the front to a pair of white, swinging doors with a diamond shaped window; each led to the kitchen, one for access behind the bar, the other to the restaurant. In the center, four tables with chairs matching the coverings of the booths. The space wasn’t large, but it was elegant in its retro style.
“Great, huh?”
“I can’t believe it. You did this in a week?”
“It wasn’t bad in here, mostly cleanup and getting new appliances, we installed this morning,” he said, leaning against the oak bar. “We resurfaced the roof in a few days. The guys removed everything, painted the walls, and polished the floor.
The benches needed cleaning pretty good and a few repairs but nothing major. Once the roof is cured, the tarp will come off, and I’ll have the exterior repainted.”
The circles of light coming from the disco ball floated around the room.
“Did you know,” Tyler continued as Cody beheld the revival his brother had pulled off, “this used to be one of the gambling dens back in the day?”
“What? When we were kids?”
“No, way before.” His face burst with satisfaction seeing his brother’s reaction to the place. “Oh, and did you know this block burned before, too.”
Cody shook his head, still amazed at the restoration.
“We should have State approval to reopen in a month or so after the inspections are done.” He nodded to the door near the stage. “You want to see the kitchen? Cody shook his head. “The fire of our time hit the next two buildings the worst. Good thing it’s a brick building, and no basement. Ready to see the theater? It’s gonna take a while because the fire was the worst in there.”
“Theater? I don’t remember a theater here.”
“Come on, you know.” He led Cody back outside. “When we were kids, and Mom took us to the store. It was the women’s department. We’d hide behind the racks, and Mom got frantic looking for us. Then we’d race down the ramp to the stage.”
“Oh, shit, yeah, I remember.” Tyler glared at him. “Sorry. I can’t believe you quit cussing. You used to be every other word.”
They passed the building closest to the theater. The faded smell of charred wood flowed through the open door leading to the stairs going up. Tattered carpet covered them. Cody reached up on his toes to peer through the broken window running between the doors. Pale light filtered in from the back. The interior was charred from floor to ceiling. Mounds of objects melted together were scattered on the floor and along the walls.
“This section took much of heat,” Tyler said, unlocking the door in the next building.
Finished with his meager inspection, Cody joined his brother. The windows on either side of the door were boarded up, but how Cody had always known them. When Sam had added the space, he closed off the ticket windows and the entrance as he’d done with the other buildings he had accumulated on the block for his enormous store.
“They won’t start the electrical work until the burned wood is taken out.” Tyler handed him a yellow hardhat and flashlight as they entered. They walked a few feet in when he stopped; Cody stopped next to him. “The worst part is the southeast corner.” He pointed with his flashlight. The darkness swallowed the beam never allowing it to reach the corner he referred.
“There’s a basement under this part?” Cody stared into the black abyss. The lights of the torches didn’t reach the bottom or the back of the theater. “I don’t remember one there. Just below the main store.”
“It runs from the hotel to the next building. But no connection between from what I can tell.” Tyler’s smile gleamed in the meager light from the torches. As though in slow motion, he moved his beam from side to side, then up to the ceiling. “There’s not much to see yet. But wait until it’s done.”
“Why does he want it restored?” Cody asked, scanning the darkness.
Tyler shrugged—still the lack of answers—then started back to the front door, leaving Cody at the edge of the pit.
Cody’s skin began to prickle. Moving the beam from side-to-side, he was sure he had seen something escaping the light. But how? The floor was gone. It wasn’t possible anything was there. Coolness danced around him, making him shiver.
“What?” he asked, turning to the right expecting to find Tyler standing next to him again, but he only saw more darkness. Icy fingers tapped at the bare skin of his arms, neck, and face. He tried, unsuccessfully, to step back.
Something held him to the spot. He tried to call Tyler. His throat refused to shape any sound. The cold hands gripped him around the arms and legs, pulling him toward the darkness. Struggling was of no use, any movement he commanded of his body was ignored.
The unseen hands pulled him closer and closer to the edge of the chasm without a way to save himself from falling. His body strained as he fought the power of void as it pulled at him with icy fingers. He panted, receiving shallow amounts of air in his deflated lungs. Warmth at his back gave him hope of not ending up a broken mass of flesh and bone on the floor far below. An arm like a hook wrapped around his waist and pulled him away from the edge.
“Steady there, buddy.” Tyler’s voice said through the grit of the darkness. “Don’t need you hurting yourself your first day back.”
Cody rapidly blinked as Tyler dragged him through the doors. The hardhat slipped from his head, and he dropped the flashlight. All he wanted now was to suck in the clean Wyoming air, sit on the cold, firm sidewalk, and never return inside the theater again.
“It happened to me the first time I went in there.” Tyler grinned down at him. “Sorry, I should’ve warned you.” Cody’s face still pale, glared up at him. “Something about the darkness makes the mind want to see where it ends.”
Cody knew the cause was more than Tyler’s simple explanation. After his experiences over the last three months, he knew something more substantial was playing in there, and it had nothing to do with his mind wanting to explore.
Soul storage came to mind and was more than likely placed there by Hector. The term was basic for what he had felt. It was as though a thousand souls hungered for a taste of him; all wanting to devour him, be in him, to take control of him.
They wanted to feel again what it was like to be alive. Deep sorrow also had present; sadness ached through his every fiber from each touch of the unseen hands. The place was horrid, and he wished the theater was beyond repair, so demolishment was the only thing in its future, forcing the dark spirits lurking in its bowels to leave.
Tyler extended his hand to Cody, helping him to his feet. Cody watched him close the door on the gloom, wishing it was never opened again. What need did Shoshoni have with a theater anyway? Sam had converted it to the women’s clothing department for a reason.
Cody followed a pace behind his brother down the sidewalk. The closer they came to the corner, dread filled him. He wished he’d not come home, but it was too late now, he was here. And based on what he’d seen with his brother, it looked like a daunting task trying to convince him to leave.
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