Arthur slammed the phone down in Justice’s ear and pushed back from his side of the glass. He stretched his arms up, his fists clenched again; his face scrunching.
For a few moments, it was like watching a mutation; the expressions that flit over the man’s features moving more quickly than Justice could discern as he sat there, observing.
A rather short, broad guard came over to speak with Arthur a few moments, and he saw him shake his head and reach for the phone again. “I don’ b’lieve nothin’ jus’ came out yo mouth, Man, but b’lieve what ya want to. Dat gal didn’ give a flyin’ leap ‘bout me, an’ had ya seen her in Ol’ Dabney’s-“
The guard cut him off, and Justice could tell that the tone wasn’t pleasant.
“Anyways, it wasn’t nothin’ to talk ‘bout, anyhows. Ya wanted ta tell me ya fo’give me an’ yada yada, so go ‘head. don’ b’lieve yas, but I be listnin. Who else I gots ta talk to now, but Morrissey ova dere,” he said, jerking his thumb back toward where the guard was standing, keeping an eye on them.
“Well, for what it’s worth, we forgive you; for what it’s worth, we realize now that you may have truly not understood the full implications of what you’d done at the time, even if your head knew it; we realize your heart didn’t. Still doesn’t, it sounds like. OR maybe it’s the other way around; your heart knows, but your head refuses to,” Justice said, speaking quietly.
The guard on his side of the glass came up to him and cautioned him about whispering. “Phones and glass may not be great,” he said, “but at least you get to talk, so talk; don’t whisper. Wasn’t meant for that purpose.”
Justice nodded and waited a moment for the man to head back toward the corner he’d been standing in.
“Anyway, Arthur,” he said, trying to remain calm. “Midge and I forgive you. Whether you want our forgiveness or not, whether you think you need it or not, we forgive you. It’s the right thing to do, and been a long while coming. It’s what Jesus would have wanted us to do a lot sooner, but we couldn’t face things. Not at the time. And not until we knew within ourselves that the forgiveness was real.”
“Man, whachu gotta bring Jesus up for? Why ever’body write me or see me wanna talk ‘bout Jesus? Jesus never did nothin’ to hep me out, an’ none good fo’ me, neither. I prayed a lot b’fore. A whole lot. And I still be here; I prayed He hep people see I done nothin’ wrong, an’ I be here. I be here, an’ I been treated bad when I don’ gotta be. I gotta put up with some dang’rus people in here, ya knows it? I gotta…”
Arthur stopped talking long enough to glance down the aisle on his side of the glass. Was he checking to see who had heard him, or was there something else happening?
“I just gotta say, don’ care ‘bout no fogiveness since I ain’t purposefully, ya know, done what I done. An’ I’s still convince Rosemary be alive. Mark used to b’lieve me, or ac like it, anyhow, but not no mo’, an’ somehow he gets some pat on da back fo’ turnin’ me ova when he coulda save somebody an’ didn’ an’ that be why dey…” he paused again.
“Well, Andrea an’ dat baby hers, why dey… but not Rosemary, no! She done got suck through some… dis gonna be crazy-soundin’,” he continued at a lower register as he leaned into the glass, looking Justice in the eye, “but she done got suck inta a glass; some ol’ – well ya saw it dintcha, at da…?”
Justice nodded, forcing his features to remain flat; calm.
Good thing he’d had a lot of training at that sort of thing; otherwise, he’d be in some serious trouble, and other people might be, too.”
“Always wonnered how Mark’s frien’ got Ken to sell dat thing to ‘im. Some guy, Edward somethin’. I mean, who’d wanna defective, weird ol’…? An’, can ya b’lieve som’bdy else done moved into-”
“Would you look at the time,” Justice interrupted, thankful that he was wearing a watch today.
“Yeah, I recall something about a glass, but can’t say I understand anything about what you’re implying. Anyway, again, I appreciate you seeing me; hearing me out, even if you don’t agree. It’s been on my heart; on my wife’s heart. So, thank you, Mr. Reynolds,” he said, standing part of the way, stuck in an awkward position due to the short cord on the speaking apparatus. “Thank you.”
He hung the phone up before Arthur could protest or reply, and picked his jacket up from the back of the chair, where he’d deposited it when he’d arrived. The guard was just signaling some of the others that it was time to leave as Justice made his way to stand near the door and wait to be escorted back through the maze of doors to the outside world.
Once all were lined up, they followed the officer and made it to the second door when an alarm sounded, and suddenly, the door in front of them snapped shut, the officer on the other side of it.
A deep, male disembodied voice told them there was a lockdown situation and that they needed to remain calm.
“You will be evacuated, along with any outside staff, as soon as we are able to determine a course of best action,” the voice said again.
One of the women in his group – looking about six or seven months pregnant, with rainbow-dyed hair and three piercings in her nose – began to cry. Another, older woman – probably close to eighty, with a short, tightly permed head of slightly purple-hued hair, an orange tracksuit and scuffed gold sneakers – patted the younger woman on the arm while three men in business suits of varying shades rolled their eyes.
“Lawyers,” Justice asked them, noting that two held briefcases. They nodded discordantly.
A Vietnamese couple, who he surmised might be newlyweds, were huddling together, speaking in low tones. He could hear part of what they said, but understand none of it.
He could also see people on the other side of the door they’d come through already; others stuck in this holding pattern of wait and see.
What could have happened to cause a lockdown, though? Justice figured they didn’t happen too often; at least, he didn’t hear about many. It would be just perfect, he thought, if I’m late meeting with Jason, Edward, and Masao because of this.
Not that his meeting was too close to now, but it was 10:15 when their time had been up talking to their inmates of choice, and Justice had three stops to make on the way. Edward would meet the rest of them by phone, as he was out of town, and it was just as well; Justice wasn’t sure he wanted to see the look on the man’s face when he gave him the news of what he’d learned today.
That Mark had disclosed to Arthur Reynolds that Edward now owned the mirror and that one or more people have passed through it didn’t bode well for the mood of their conversation.
The men sounded very excited to disclose their new findings to him; apparently they’d been sitting on it for a few days, acclimating to it before talking with him, and that was alright. He’d been in California trying to clear things up with the Fergusons, anyway; trying to help them come up with a new plan of action to the crisis that had come up for them.
“Alright, we’re going to open one gate at a time, as before. The officer at gate two will escort both of the groups who are in the exit process now out, and then go back for the remaining three groups,” the disembodied voice said again twenty minutes later.
And so, the journey to the outside began again, and, upon reaching his car, Justice quickly checked his messages, returned a few phone calls, and headed to his first destination: the State Law Library not too far away, on State Street.
Ten
Portland, Oregon
Snow was just beginning to fall as Justice pulled into the parking lot of the Denny’s he was meeting Masao and Jason at, noting that both of the men’s vehicles had arrived.
It had been a good idea to eat something before beginning the tough and potentially exciting conversation they had planned in another hour or so.
After their orders were in – a Country-Fried Steak dinner, a Tilapia Ranchero, a Cali Jack Turkey Burger, two Mango Smoothies and a Strawberry Milkshake – they settled into their conversation slo
wly, with small talk.
“Been a while,” Jason told him with a smile. “Good to see you, and can’t wait to share the big news, but I think that’s for Masao to share, and for Edward to tell, too, since there have been a lot of developments in the years since we’ve actually sat face to face like this.”
Yes.
Face to face.
Which is exactly what his boss, Brice, had ordered as the basic rule to keep them all safe.
Face to face.
The only thing for this situation, as much as possible, Edward had said. Though he wouldn’t be there for this initial conversation in person, he wanted to get the ball rolling on what he, Jason, and Masao had found. And he’d wanted to get an update on what Justice might know, to boot.
Face to face.
Something he both loved and dreaded because of the nature of his job.
And something he tried to keep Midge out of as much as possible, in order to protect her, much as he hated keeping secrets. He’d told her he had a meeting; he didn’t say it was with people they already knew. She’d want to come along, but then he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on what was necessary. He’d be concentrating on her, as well. And when things were dangerous, that made things even more so.
“Good to see you both, as well,” he finally replied, pulling some napkins out of their dispenser in preparation for his meal. “What’s it been, anyway, Masao… close to six years since I ran into you and Anouk Chanel? I know it’s been less for seeing Jason, and we’ve spoken some on the phone.”
He smiled at his friends as the waitress – a young bottle-blonde who couldn’t be more than 5’1” and ninety pounds, distributed their drinks. Her silvery-braced smile glittered in the light as she informed them their meal would be a few minutes more.
“Yes, it has been a long time,” Masao replied after she’d gone. “A long time, indeed, but understandable, considering all that is happening in each of our lives.”
“And I’ve got news for all of you, as well, but I’ll wait until all the excitement from you three telling me your news to share,” Justice informed them, dreading the moment he had to bring up the Arthur situation.
“Good news, I hope,” Jason said, reaching for his mango drink and taking a sip.
“Well…”
“No. Seriously?”
“Hate to be the bearer of…”
“Maybe another time, then, considering what we have to say?”
“I think it’ll depend on how that goes. I don’t want to, but it might be time-sensitive and I just…” Justice reached for his milkshake and drank deeply. The scent of strawberries overwhelmed him momentarily, and he relished the moment before continuing.
“I had a visit with someone today I hadn’t seen in a very long time. But enough of this for now. It will wait until we have our chat with Edward. I’m afraid I’ve said too much for now, as it is,” he told them as the waitress seated an elderly couple – he would guess they were about eighty five, and each used a folding walker – at the booth across from them.
The woman, whose once-black hair was more grey than black and whose hips were nearly twice as wide as her shoulders, made eye contact with Justice through her thick, not quite clear glasses for a moment and gave him a nearly toothless smile.
He smiled back at her and gave a little wave; Jason and Masao turned, too, to wave, and the woman giggled like a schoolgirl. Her husband, an extremely thin man in a yarmulke, patted her hand and chuckled before waving, very slowly, back at the trio.
Justice could see the veins in his gnarled and weathered hand from where he sat.
“Hello,” the man told them, his voice as shaky as his limbs. “Looks like snow, finally.”
“That, it does, Sir,” Jason said. “Hope you folks don’t have too far to go in this weather.”
“Oh, we take the handicapped bus. We’re alright, I think. Thank you for your thoughtful concern,” the woman told them, her voice a little more sure; a little less shaky than her husband’s.
Masao, on the outside of the booth, turned more fully toward them and introduced the three of them to the pair, whose names turned out to be Maude and Geoffrey.
“Would you care to join us for dinner another time,” Masao offered. “Well, Jason and I, anyway. My treat? You must have an amazing life story to tell.”
“Like you wouldn’t believe, youngster,” Geoffrey said. “That would be nice. Maybe if you would leave a number for me to reach you at before you go?”
The waitress interrupted long enough to deliver their food, and then take Geoffrey and Maude’s order.
Justice, Jason and Masao said a quick prayer over their meal, and then Masao pulled his wallet out, even before beginning to eat. He searched it a few moments before producing a card and, getting up, set it on the elderly couple’s table with a smile.
“Here’s my number. I’m looking forward to it,” he finally replied before returning to his seat.
The elderly couple smiled at him again, nodded toward Jason and Justice, and allowed them to continue with their meal. Justice wondered what their lives had been like, as well. It was a healthy departure from the topic at hand.
Maybe Masao would fill him in after they met again.
As they ate their dinner in near-silence, the time for their phone call drawing near, Justice pondered his day, and the news that he brought to the meeting.
It had been a long, crazy morning and an even longer afternoon, but in the end, he believed it would be worth the effort.
After being released from the lockdown, he spent a couple of hours in the law library before heading to run an errand for Midge in Woodburn, then traveling back to Portland to stop at Powell’s to see if his books had come in yet, and finally, to dinner with Masao and Jason. He hadn’t stopped for a sitting lunch, opting for a quick drive through meal from Arby’s, instead.
He glanced at the clock as he moved to wipe his mouth one final time; Jason and Masao, both faster eaters, had already finished, but for a little smoothie left in Masao’s cup. Four more minutes until their call was set to begin.
Jason’s eyes followed his, then got up to go pay the tab while Justice and Masao contributed something for a tip. And just before he reached the door to walk outside, Justice’s phone rang: Midge. He answered it as he waved goodbye to Geoffrey and Maude, then pushed his way through the doors toward the outside.
As Jason and Masao followed, Masao’s phone rang, and this time, it was Edward.
Finally, their talk could begin.
Eleven
Jason’s phone rang as he made his way through the doors at Denny’s, heading for his parked vehicle.
“Hello,” he answered. “Great timing. We just finished eating. Give us a few seconds; we’re heading to my car.”
As he approached his new-to-him green Lexus, he pulled his keys out, unlocking it so he, Masao, and Justice could have some privacy as their conversation with Edward ensued.
“Alright, go ahead,” he told his brother in law. “I’m putting it on speakerphone now,” he continued as he pressed the button. It made an activation noise as Edward acknowledged the comment with a mild grunt.
“So, we’re all here, Edward, and Justice is not only ready to listen, but has some news of his own to share later on; depending on how this goes, he’ll tell us either at the end of these revelations, or maybe tomorrow after he’s had time to process it.”
“Fair enough,” he heard Edward say. There was water in the background, and he wondered if the man was washing his hands.
Without much further ado, Edward read the letter Mary had written him that they’d found in the mirror as Jason watched Justice’s face. Masao’s eyes, once again, were closed as he listened. Justice sat in the passenger seat, massaging first one hand, and then the other as Edward’s words flowed into the air.
When Edward was finished, Justice’s hands stilled, Masao opened his eyes, and Jason locked eyes with each of them a moment before anyone spoke.
“
Wow,” Justice said, letting out a low whistle as he resituated himself in the seat.
“Just… wow. Who would have thought? You may have known, or at least met, some of your family and not even known it, Edward. To think that all these people… all these people you were related to; people whose lives were meant to be part of your own, and no way to know that they were,” he said again.
“Exactly my thoughts. I think… part of me is sure, I met two of my uncles without knowing it at the time. I just wish Father had been less selfish; more open. I wish he had told me, at least that I had family alive and in the area, even if he didn’t disclose who they were,” Jason heard Edward murmur on the other end of the phone.
“So you got all this new information, and what,” Justice asked, a hand moving to press fingers to the corner of his eyes a moment.
Did he have a headache, or had it reminded him of something else?
“That’s nothing. Wait until Masao shares. His news trumps this, even for me,” Edward continued. Jason nodded in agreement, and Justice sat up straighter as Masao took his notebook out of his shirt pocket.
As he read out the details about Timothy, Jason watched Justice’s face shift from interest, to wonder, to amazement, his eyes flashing so fast it was hard to detect when one thought process led to another. Even in the semi-darkness of the car lighting and snow-glow, the man’s brown eyes lit up, his jaw dropping just a little.
As Masao closed his notebook once more, Jason watched Justice work his jaw.
Was the man speechless?
He’d certainly never known him to be, even with all the mirror-traveling oddities and the trial of Arthur Reynolds. But this; thinking about how someone written about in the Bible they read every day was quite possibly – most probably – the person that created the very same mirror that they were investigating; the mirror sitting in Edward and Paloma’s attic? That was a different story altogether.
It was a story, and a thought, of epic proportions; nearly beyond belief.
The Angels' Mirror Pack 2: Books Four through Seven Page 39