I am willing you this house and the land, but it’s not a gift. It’s a burden. Every year it’s worth more and every year the taxes go up. Worse than the taxman, far worse, I live in fear of… of that legal horror known as eminent domain, and I… you… we—
He was panting for breath now, and swallowing again and again, big hard glugs that registered clearly on the tape. I could feel my fingernails cutting into my palms. When he spoke again it was with terrible effort.
Listen, Charlie! Can you imagine what would happen if people found out there is another world within reach? One that can be accessed simply by descending a hundred and eighty-five stone steps and walking a corridor not much more than a mile in length? If the government realized that they had found a new world to exploit now that the resources on this one are nearly exhausted? Would they fear the Flight Killer, or waking the terrible god of that place from its long doze? Could they understand the terrible consequences of… but you… if you had the means… you—
There were rattles and clunks. Gasps for breath. When he spoke again, his voice was still audible but much fainter. He had put down the tape recorder with its little built-in mike.
I’m having a heart attack, Charlie… you know… I called you… there’s a lawyer. Leon Braddock, in Elgin. There’s a wallet. Under the bed. Everything else you need is also under the b—
There was a final clunk, followed by silence. He’d either turned it off on purpose or struck the little STOP button with a flailing hand. I was glad. I didn’t need to listen to him suffer his final agonies.
I closed my eyes and sat there for… I don’t know how long. Maybe a minute, maybe three. I remember reaching down once in my darkness, thinking I’d touch Radar and find some of the comfort stroking her always brought me. But Radar wasn’t here. Radar was down the hill in a sane house where there was a sane backyard with no hole in it, no crazy well of the worlds.
What was I going to do? What in the name of God?
To start with, I took the cassette tape out of the machine and put it in my pocket. It was dangerous, maybe the most dangerous thing on earth… but only if people believed it was something other than the ravings of an old man having a heart attack. They wouldn’t believe, of course. Unless they…
I got up on legs that felt undependable and went to the back door. I looked out at the shed Mr. Bowditch—a much younger Mr. Bowditch—had built over the well of the worlds. I looked at it for a long time. If someone went in there…
Dear God.
I went home.
CHAPTER ELEVEN That Night. School Daze. Dad Leaves. The Well of the Worlds. The Other. The Old Woman. A Nasty Surprise.
1
“Are you all right, Charlie?”
I looked up from my book. I’d been deep into it. I would have said nothing could take my mind off the tape I’d listened to in Mr. Bowditch’s kitchen, the one that was now hidden on the top shelf of my closet under a stack of old tee-shirts, but this one had. This one, which I’d taken from Mr. Bowditch’s bedroom, had conjured its own world. Radar was sleeping beside me, occasionally giving out with little snores.
“Huh?”
“I asked if you’re all right. You hardly touched your dinner, and you’ve seemed off all evening. Thinking about Mr. Bowditch?”
“Well, yeah.” It was the truth, although not exactly the way Dad thought.
“You miss him.”
“I do. A lot.” I reached down and stroked Radar’s neck. My dog now. My dog, my responsibility.
“That’s okay. The way it should be. Are you going to be okay next week?”
“Sure, why?”
He gave the sort of patient sigh which I think maybe only dads can give. “The retreat. I told you about it. You had your mind on other things, I guess. I leave Tuesday morning for four wonderful days in the north woods. It’s an Overland gig, but Lindy wangled me an invitation to come along. Plenty of seminars on liability, which will be merely okay, and some on vetting fraudulent claims, which is a big deal, especially for a firm just getting on its feet.”
“Like yours.”
“Like mine. Also, bonding exercises.” He rolled his eyes.
“Will there be drinking?”
“There will, a lot, but not by me. Are you going to be okay on your own?”
“Sure.” Assuming I didn’t get lost in what Mr. Bowditch claimed was a very dangerous city ruled over by a sleeping god.
Assuming I went at all.
“I’ll be fine. If anything comes up, I’ll call you.”