A Small Gray Dot

I went back down and to the kitchen, where the doctor was pulling out food from his refrigerator. The doctor saw the shoulder holster when I removed my jacket earlier so he wasn’t surprised to see it now. Terrance’s eyes got big but he didn’t say anything. I had already stuck the smaller gun into its spring mechanism, and attached it to my arm under my sleeve and was putting one of the knives into the holder on my other arm as I entered.

I hoped I wouldn’t have to use them but I wouldn’t hesitate if it became necessary. The other knives were in various pockets and I had the 9mm I confiscated from Abe Harlow years earlier, in its holder in one of my boots. Simon once said to me, “One can never have too much backup, son”. I’d taken his words to heart.

“I’m making a sandwich for Terrance,” said the doctor. “Do you want one? When was the last time you ate?” He pulled out bread from what I took to be a pantry and laid it on the counter beside the cold-cuts, cheese, and orange juice he’d taken from the fridge.

“Yesterday evening before I came to Blue Heaven, but I don’t have time to eat.”

He threw a stern look my way. “Well, you’ve been busy since then. You need to eat.”

He wasn’t going to be satisfied until I agreed. I capitulated. I’d eat fast.

He quickly began slathering mayonnaise on the bread as he said, “How are you going to go about retrieving Morgan?”

“I’m going down to Bedlow’s house, first. With a little luck, that’s where she’ll be. I wish I had a couple of guys with me but I’ll make do.”

He handed me the sandwich and began making another. He was fast.

“Well, wait a minute. I might be able to get you at least one man.” He handed Terrance the sandwich and poured juice into a glass for him. “He may want pay, though.”

I bit into the sandwich wondering from where he would get someone this time of night, but the doctor was proving to be resourceful and I wasn’t going to worry about it. Madison had given me quite a lot for expenses but in this case, even if she hadn’t I’d still pay the guy because this had become personal.

“That’s fine, Doctor. If you can get him, I’ll pay. Tell him to bring a weapon.”

He nodded and left the kitchen.

The boy tore into his sandwich as if he hadn’t eaten in a while. That didn’t mean he hadn’t.

“Terrance, how old are you?” I asked.

He swallowed and took a sip of juice. “Thirteen, sir, but I’ll be fourteen next month. He grinned and added, “You can call me Terry, sir. The doc says he likes th’ name “Terrence” so that’s what he calls me. Everybody else calls me Terry.”

I chuckled. “Okay, Terry it is.” I’d noticed the doctor, who’d said he liked my name, seemed to prefer to call me Tennessee so I knew what the boy meant. His age could explain the voracious appetite. Kids that age ate a lot. Of course, it could also mean that whoever he lived with wasn’t feeding him well because he was pretty thin. Unfortunately, that happened a lot these days. After all, they had left his on his own for several days. I finished eating, gulped down some orange juice, and wiped my mouth.

The boy couldn’t have been any older than six on the day of the Event. “Have you ever been to school?”

He nodded and stopped eating as he explained. “I went to kindergarten an’ first grade, sir. But that’s it. Mrs. Harris – I live with her an’ Mr. Harris, and their two little girls – sometimes she ‘low’s me to sit in on their school lessons but most of th’ times I have to go to work.”

“Work?”

“Yes, sir.”

I didn’t want to keep him from eating so I quit asking questions, but as soon as I got the chance, I was going to ask him a few more. Such as why the people with whom he was living didn’t take him with them when they went out of town, or at least not lock him out of the house while they were gone. And why did he have to work.

The doctor came back. “All right. I called my neighbor across the street and she’s sending her son over. Two friends are spending the weekend with them and they’re coming with him. Now, I don’t know the friends but Duncan is a reasonable fellow. He won’t charge you a lot for his help and he knows his way around the neighborhood.”

That was good. Three guys were even better than one.

Five minutes later, the doorbell rang. The doctor went to get the door while I got my jacket and pulled it on. I’d forgotten about the gun I’d taken from the guard. I’d put it in one of my inside jacket pockets and it was still there. The .25 I’d taken from Talbert was in a pocket too. I already had the 9mm and didn’t need another small gun so I started to leave it on the closet shelf. I changed my mind because one never knows what might come in handy and it wasn’t in the way. Then I went to the foyer.