“Lucas, the damage is done. It doesn’t matter if you escaped for two hours, two days, two years. You have escaped, so just chill and let things settle down.”
Lucas placed his head in his hands and rubbed his face. He’s right. The damage is done.
Starkey stood up and let the dogs out. “It’s not going to matter when I send you back, if that’s what you want. Please, just wait until you meet Isabella and then we can discuss things. And I do apologise. I really should have got you out of that prison gear and into some warmer clothing. Come inside.”
Lucas stood up and followed Starkey back inside. The fireplace was crackling. Burning coals had fallen from a log and lay there, glowing. The fireplace communicated a message to Lucas. This was definitely better than where he’d come from but the coals communicated another message.
Think, Lucas. Yes, the fire is nice. Think. Remember those eyes staring back at you like live coals.
<°)))><
Lucas located the source of the chimes. A clock sat on the mantelpiece. It was one of those that chimed and the big hand was moving towards a chime. It chimed eleven times. Lucas decided that clock would eventually drive him crazy.
“I can turn it down if it bothers you,” Starkey said.
Lucas must have given the clock too much attention. He turned to Starkey “It’s okay for now. Hopefully I won’t be here long enough to pick it up and throw it out the window.”
“But you’re not an angry man anymore?”
“Okay, Starkey. No need to belittle me.” Lucas frowned.
“It sounds like you also picked up some intelligence in prison.”
“You’re still belittling me.”
“I’m sorry, Lucas. You know my personal skills always needed refining.” Starkey went over to tend the fire. After moving the protective screen, he took the poker out of the stand next to the fireplace and started making some adjustments to the fire, moving the logs and stirring up the coals. A cloud of smoke rushed up the chimney. Starkey moved the screen back into place.
“What time is your granddaughter coming?”
“I would expect the bus to arrive just after five. I’m thinking we can get some lunch before that. You’re not known around here. Not yet, anyway. There’ll be no wanted posters out. My gut feeling is that they’re going to try and keep your vanishing quiet.” Starkey stared at him and his eyes lit up as if remembering something. “There’s a change of clothes in the room over there.”
Lucas wiggled his toes. “Starkey, won’t they track you down through your granddaughter?” Yep, his toes were cold. “Aren’t you concerned that they’ll have her under surveillance?” There was a loud pop and crackle and a tiny hot ember flew across the screen and landed on Lucas’s foot. Dangerous, but then he looked at the burn marks on the wooden floor surrounding the fireplace and realised it was a common occurrence.
“I’ve stayed away from her for years. No direct contact. The accident brought me out of hiding, although not completely. I didn’t go to the funeral—my daughter would’ve understood that.”
“Don’t you think they know that . . . that your daughter’s death will draw you out? You could even say they caused the accident to bring you out.”
“They wouldn’t do something like that.”
Lucas sensed some doubt in Starkey.
“They wouldn’t do something like that,” he repeated.
“You’d hope not.”
11 – The reason he was here
KILL SOMEBODY TO DRAW SOMEBODY OUT? Lucas didn’t believe the authorities would resort to such measures, even with national security at stake. Or would they?
He looked at Starkey. “Still, don’t you think their deaths may have at least put your daughter back under surveillance?”
“Maybe you’re right, Lucas. Maybe I’ve been a bit lackadaisical about this whole thing. Besides, her mother did give me a warning. She sent me something a few days before the accident. That’s the real reason you’re here, Lucas. Now go get changed. You’re making me feel cold.”
Lucas stood up.
The professor pointed. “Down there, first on left.”
<°)))><
Lucas came back into the living room. The jeans were too long so he sat down near the fire and rolled them up to form cuffs. The fire was generating plenty of heat so he removed the bulky brown jumper to reveal a blue and white lumberjack-styled shirt. He looked up at Starkey, who was staring into the fire. There was a build up of water on the corner of Starkey’s eyes.
“Starkey. You okay?”
The professor wiped the side of his eyes then turned to face Lucas.
“Her name was Lee-Ann Rose and I loved her very much, but I do feel guilty because I was never there and I can’t undo that. So I want to do everything I can to protect her daughter. I’m sorry I’m getting you involved, Lucas. I’m getting muddled in my thinking these days, so maybe I’ve done the wrong thing.”
The professor pulled a note from his shirt pocket. “This may not make much sense to you, Lucas. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me and in some ways I’m still struggling with it. Let me read it to you.”
He was looking for his glasses. Lucas pointed to the coffee table. Starkey grabbed them and rested them mid way down his nose and then started reading:
"You know, Pops, it’s easy for people to only appear in your life once. As you may never see them again, it’s possible that they were messengers from God. Some call them angels and they often take human form. A story in the Bible tells of three strangers who visited Abraham and Sarah, and told Abraham that they were travelling on to Sodom and would possibly have to destroy the city for its wickedness. They were angels in human form. The reason I tell you this is because I believe a messenger appeared to me."
The Professor paused, his eyes still watery
“Angels exist, Starkey. It’s true, and you know I’ve seen them. In human form? Well, why not?”
“Let me continue.”
