“I know,” Mary said in the same small voice. “You’re always concerned about my safety.”
“I didn’t tell Marge this, but I’ll tell you. If all else fails, we’ll bring on the lawyers. If the board won’t give her a variance, Frederickson and Frederickson will take on her and her pigs as clients, and I guarantee the matter will be tied up in the courts right up until the day when both Charlotte and Precious have died of happy, comfortable old age. I just don’t want to pull that kind of stunt except as a last resort. Okay?”
Now Mary looked up at him, and Garth could see shadows moving in her eyes. “Garth, there’s more to it. This Peter Erckmann is an evil man.”
“Why? Because he doesn’t like Vietnamese potbellied pigs?”
“Because he exploits people’s fears, and he harms them. It’s not just Charlotte and Precious who need your help. He has to be stopped.”
“What’s he doing, and how do you happen to know so much about him?”
“Marge filled me in when she called. Erckmann’s a psychologist who now runs a practice consisting exclusively of group therapy sessions for people who think they’ve been abducted by aliens. He wrote a bestseller, which explains how he could afford to buy the Hurley mansion. He’s started up a group here in Cairn, and Burty Bennett’s his star abductee. Burty’s parents must be paying for it.”
Garth shrugged. “So Erckmann’s one more alien-abduction con man, but his victims know exactly what they’re paying for when they go to see him. I don’t blame Burty for wanting to believe he was abducted by aliens; he’d rather do that than face up to the fact that he fried his brains on angel dust when he was a teenager and has spent the rest of his life wandering around the streets of Cairn clawing at his skin to try to dig out the worms he feels crawling under there. A whole lot of people are very unhappy with their lives, Mary, and they want somebody besides themselves to blame for it. Alien kidnappers make dandy scapegoats. What Erckmann is doing isn’t illegal. I can do my best to protect Charlotte and Precious from him, but it’s impossible to protect people from themselves.”
Mary shook her head stubbornly. “A year and a half ago Bill Stiller lost his management job with IBM. He couldn’t find another job with a salary even close to what he’d been making, and he started going to hell with himself—having affairs, drinking heavily, putting on a lot of weight. He ended up in Erckmann’s therapy group.
Garth’s response was another shrug. “He sounds typical.”
“What about Bill and Pat’s daughter, Jenny? Would a seven-year-old fit the profile of a typical victim?”
Mary watched her husband’s face darken, and she knew she had finally captured his attention and interest.
“Explain,” Garth said softly.
“One day while Pat was working late, Bill took Jenny with him to one of his therapy sessions. Erckmann did a number on her, claimed that by talking to her he could tell that the whole family had been abducted and experimented on, and that Jenny and her mother were repressing the memories. Pat found out about it and went through the roof. She threw Bill out of the house and started writing letters to the editor and passing out fliers attacking Erckmann. But the damage to Jenny had already been done; she’s been having nightmares about being abducted by aliens.”
“And she’s likely to have them for the rest of her life,” Garth said in a voice just above a whisper. “The son of a bitch has implanted memories of events that never happened, and those phony memories could twist her life completely out of shape as she grows older. They could destroy her.”
“Jenny used to be in Marge’s day-care center, and Marge has been advising Pat. She’s even written a few letters herself, and she has the academic credentials to back up what she says about Erckmann harming a child. Marge thinks that’s the real reason Erckmann filed a complaint against the pigs—to punish her.”
Garth abruptly turned and walked away, and Mary felt a twinge of fear. Garth would not use violence on behalf of the pigs, but he certainly would to protect a child. That was why she had told him the story, but now she was suddenly having serious reservations about what she had done. She felt manipulative and slightly guilty. She knew that her husband could be unpredictable and extremely dangerous in certain situations, when something or someone he cared deeply about was in jeopardy, and when he was in that frame of mind he took no prisoners. This was precisely such a situation. She knew from Garth’s reaction that she had succeeded in arming him like a guided missile and pointing him at Peter Erckmann, but now she wondered what price might have to be paid. Her fear was not assuaged when she woke in the middle of the night to find Garth, in his robe, standing at the window and staring out at the moon-washed Hudson River. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” she said, rising and going to him, resting her head between his shoulder blades as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “I was very upset this morning. I love you so much. Sometimes I think of you and your brother as the righters of all wrongs, and I know you can’t be that. I shouldn’t have laid all that business about Jenny on you. You can’t undo what’s already been done.”
“Don’t be sorry, Mary,” Garth said in an even tone, taking his wife’s hands in his and squeezing them. “I would have been angry with you if you hadn’t told me and I’d found out about it later. The problem isn’t one of putting Erckmann out of business, because there are dozens of people like him. A way has to be found to heal the girl.”
“It’s not helping anybody for you to be losing sleep over this, Garth.”
“I’m not losing sleep; I’m thinking. You and Lothar have the same manager. His house has been dark all week, so he must be out on tour. Why don’t you give your manager a, call in the morning and find out where he is? Lothar owes Frederickson and Frederickson a big favor; even if he didn’t, I think he’d want to help me out on this.”
Mary frowned, looked at the back of her husband’s head silhouetted in the moonlight. “I know where he is,” she said, thoroughly puzzled. “He’s in Atlantic City. He’s got a month-long gig at Trump Palace. I’m supposed to be watering his plants.”
Garth nodded. “I’ll give him a call in a few hours, find out when he has a day off.”
Mary shook her head. “How on earth is a master magician and illusionist going to help you in this situation?”
“I need an introduction to some aliens,” Garth replied, and two weeks later he reflected on the fact that the gunman, who had suddenly appeared at the entrance to the building where he lay in the darkness, was certainly no alien, at least not one from another planet, although he could very well be in the country illegally. On the other hand, he knew that if the man were ex-KGB or Stasi, or renegade CIA, he would have been killed with the first shot.
Garth loosened the tourniquet around his leg, but immediately tightened it again when he felt blood gush from the bullet wound; there was no sense in worrying about gangrene when there was a good chance he could bleed to death. The last time his past had caught up with him here had been when an old enemy who had been with the Stasi in East Germany had unexpectedly landed in Cairn, but that meeting had been accidental. Very few people who were not his friends knew that he lived in Cairn and was married to Mary Tree, and, their home number was unlisted. In Cairn, as in neighboring Nyack, local residents were fiercely protective of the host of celebrities in their midst. It was always possible that he had been tracked from the Frederickson and Frederickson offices in New York, but he did not think that was the case here. He was definitely dealing with an amateur, and even before the man, now half in shadow inside the building, took off his ski mask to reveal half a shaved skull painted with Mercurochrome Garth was beginning to strongly suspect that the source of this problem was much closer to home, possibly linked to the tall, stooped, and heavyset man with brooding, hawk-like features, musty smell, and big feet who’d held up Garth’s business card as he’d walked into Garth’s home office and announced, “I’ve been doing a little checking on you, Frederickson. You and your smart little brothe
r are pretty famous private detectives. You two have been involved with some pretty weird business.”
And was about to be again, Garth thought, and said, “It’s my smart little brother who’s the famous one. Most of the time I just hold his coat. And you’re involved in some pretty weird business yourself.”
The hawk-faced man narrowed his eyes, which were the color of shale. “In the note you sent with your card you said you had something important to show me, and that I should come here at this time if I wanted to see it. But this is really about those pigs, isn’t it? I was told you’re friends with the woman who owns them, and I was warned to watch out for you. Well, you’re wasting your time. I didn’t spend almost three quarters of a million dollars for a house so that I could have pigs living in the next block.”
“Why don’t you sit down, Mr. Erckmann?” Garth said, motioning to the chair set up in front of his desk. “I really do have something to show you, and as a reputed expert on alien abduction I think you’ll be very interested.”
Erckmann hesitated, then pulled back the chair and sat on its edge, leaning forward as if ready to bolt at any moment. “What is it?”
“First, let’s get things straight between us. You’re a fraud. You take disturbed people looking to shift the blame for their problems, you hypnotize them to elicit these so-called repressed memories, and then you helpfully add on a few details so that it sounds like everyone is telling the same story.”
“I didn’t come here to be insulted, Frederickson!” Erckmann snapped, jumping to his feet.
“Sit down, Erckmann,” Garth said easily. “If you walk out of here before you finish hearing what I have to say, there’s a very good chance you’ll disappear—permanently—from the face of the earth before dinnertime.”
Erckmann scowled. “Are you threatening me?”
“You have nothing to fear from me, Mr. Erckmann. It’s my clients you have to worry about.”
Erckmann slowly eased his large frame back down onto the chair. “Your clients?”
“The reason I know you’re a fraud is because I’m in touch with the only aliens within thirteen light-years of earth, and they’ve never abducted anyone, much less harmed them.”
Erckmann threw back his head and laughed—a harsh, guttural sound. “You must take me for a complete idiot.”
“You think I’d make a statement like that if I couldn’t prove it?”
The other man stopped laughing, looked warily at Garth. “How can you prove it?”
“With a simple demonstration, which we’ll get to momentarily. But first let me give you some background so you’ll understand just what’s involved and why I asked you to come here. A year and a half ago my brother and I were contacted by these aliens.”
“Ridiculous! How did they contact you?”
“E-mail, at our New York office. They understand, read, and write English very well, but they can’t speak it. They must have bladders for vocal cords, because when they speak it sounds like they’re passing wind. They hired us to do a job for them.”
Erckmann laughed again, but this time the sound seemed forced, and he looked uncertain. “Why should they hire you?”
Garth shrugged. “As you pointed out, my brother and I have been involved in some pretty strange cases, so I guess they didn’t think we’d be fazed by having as clients a couple of barrel-sized things with fur and tentacles.”
Erckmann licked his lips nervously, then swung sideways in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, looking at Garth out of the corner of his eyes. “I want you to know I don’t believe a word of this, but I’ll humor you by listening to the rest of your story.”
“Possibly the wisest decision you’ve made in your life.”
“How do they pay you?”
“Gold, of course. They mint some very interesting coins.”
“What did they hire you to do?”
“Find them suitable hosts, and then keep an eye on them, act as bodyguards, to make sure they weren’t disturbed while they were carrying out their observations. You see, once they enter a host body, they can’t leave it or communicate with us for a period of twenty-seven of our months. They can communicate telepathically with each other, but not with humans—it seems we’re too limited intellectually. That means my brother and I have to use our best collective judgment to decide what may be a threat to them, and what’s in their best interests. They understand what I’m doing now, and I’m sure they concur with my decision—we’ll both find out shortly. They were particularly interested in studying human development in very young children. Now, this is where you come in, Erckmann. The problem with the pigs you want to evict and separate is that they’re not just pigs. They’re host bodies for our alien clients.”
Erckmann snorted loudly and crossed his arms even tighter across his chest. “This is absolutely absurd, Frederickson. I knew this meeting was about those pigs. If you think I’m going to withdraw my complaint because of this wild cock-and-bull story, then you’re a very stupid man.”
“Actually, this is a pig tale, Erckmann, and I’m not surprised at your reaction. I’d feel the same way. That’s why I’ve suggested to the ambassadors that they arrange for you a modest demonstration. Considering what’s at stake, I assume they’ve taken my advice. We’ll see.”
Erckmann smiled and shook his head, but his smile quickly vanished as Garth rose, walked across the room, opened the door to the office, and ushered in Charlotte and Precious. Precious, always the more curious and friendlier of the two, immediately padded over to Erckmann and began sniffing his shoes. The color drained from Erckmann’s face, and he hastily drew up his legs.
“Mr. Erckmann,” Garth continued, “I’d like you to meet the ambassadors. I wish I could tell you their names, but, for the reason I explained, that’s quite impossible. Don’t worry about that one: She’s always anxious to meet new humans, and she’s probably taking field notes. But I wouldn’t touch her. The other one is quite protective, and she’s liable to take a nip out of you.
“I don’t want to touch her!” Erckmann said in a strangled voice, gazing down in horror as Precious, still sniffing away, proceeded to circle his chair. “I just want to get out of here!”
“Just another couple of minutes, Erckmann. We’re almost finished.” Garth went back to his desk, opened a drawer, and took two ears of barbecued corn out of a plastic bag inside. He threw one to Charlotte, who immediately began to gobble it down. Precious abandoned her investigation of Erckmann and scampered over to Garth for her com, which he gave her. Then Garth glanced back at Erckmann, continued, “After all, the ambassadors are housed in pig bodies, so they have pig appetites. They do love their corn, and the cob.”
“I’m leaving!” Erckmann yelped, leaping to his feet. He rushed to the door, opened it, and then took a step backward when he found Jenny Stiller standing in the doorway.
“Mr. Erckmann!” the seven-year-old with the brown hair, blue eyes, and freckles said. “What are you doing here?”
“Uh, hello, Jenny,” Erckmann mumbled as, obviously disturbed, he glanced quickly at Garth.
“You might want to stay just a little bit longer, Mr. Erckmann,” Garth said in the same mild tone he had been using all along. “It’s time for the demonstration. Come on in, Jenny.”
The child skipped around Erckmann and across the room to Charlotte and Precious, put her arms around them. “Hi, Garth! You said I could come over and play with the pigs!”
Garth nodded. “Precious, yes. Charlotte’s been a bit cranky, so I think she should stay here. You can take Precious outside. I’ve put Loner’s muzzle on, so he’s ready to receive company. Take Precious into his pen, and she and Loner can push the soccer ball around.”
“Oh yes!” the girl cried, and giggled with delight as Garth snapped a leash onto the collar around Precious’ neck and handed it to her. With Precious scampering along beside her, Jenny Stiller went out the side door to the path leading down to the beach behind Garth’s home.
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br /> “Come on over here and see what happens, Erckmann,” Garth said, rising and going to the window. “The view may give you a new perspective on things.”
For a moment Garth feared that Erckmann would simply keep walking out of the office. Erckmann hesitated, and then tentatively stepped over to the window. Garth waited until the girl and pig came into view and were about to enter the enclosure where Garth’s hybrid wolf was kept, then turned to Charlotte. “All right, Ambassador. If you agree with my recommendation for a demonstration, you can signal your ship now.”
To Garth’s considerable surprise and delight, Charlotte, as if on cue, grunted loudly. A moment later there was a wave of shimmering light outside the window, and Jenny, Precious, and the hybrid wolf winked out of sight.
Erckmann jumped back from the window, caroming off Garth, who had been standing right behind him. “It’s a trick!” he shouted in a hoarse voice, putting a trembling hand to his mouth.
“I’ll say,” Garth replied dryly. “I wish I knew how they did it. Jenny and the animals have been transported to the aliens’ ship. Jenny’s been there before, and she loves it. I think they’ve got some kind of huge playground up there; I don’t know for sure, because I’ve never been invited aboard. You’re more likely to see what the interior of the ship looks like than I am. I’m just a hired hand, but you’re a threat to the ambassadors’ mission.
“Only fools and nut cases believe in aliens!” Erckmann shouted, his eyes wide. Tiny droplets of sweat had appeared high on his forehead.
“That’s an interesting comment coming from someone who makes a living treating people you’ve convinced have been abducted by aliens, and it’s a real hoot that you’ve bought a home and set up shop in the one place on earth where they actually do exist. Ironic, don’t you think? If I were you, I’d start thinking about what accommodation I was going to make to them.”
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