Read Online The Hellfire Club by Peter Straub - Free Book Online Page B

Davey’s voice sounded as if it came from the bottom of a well.
    “No harm in trying.” Fenn stepped out of the doorway.
    Davey shot Nora another anguished glance and moved toward the door. Nora followed, and LeDonne came along behind. The four of them moved in single file toward the living room, where Slim and Slam faced forward, automatically shedding any signs of individuality. Davey said, “Excuse me, I have to go back.”
    Fenn flattened his bulk against the wall to let Davey get by. Nora and the two policemen watched him go down the corridor and swerve into the bedroom. LeDonne quizzed Fenn with a look, and Fenn shook his head. After a couple of seconds, Davey emerged, more distressed than ever.
    “Forget something?” Fenn asked.
    “I thought I saw something—couldn’t even tell you what it was. But—” He spread his hands, shaking his head.
    “That happens,” Fenn said. “If it comes back to you, don’t be shy about giving me a call.”
    When they turned to go down the stairs, the two FBI men split apart and looked away.

16
    “WHAT DID YOU think you saw?”
    “Nothing.”
    “You went back in the bedroom. You had something on your mind. What was it?”
    “Nothing.” He looked sideways at her, so shaken he was white. “It was a dumb idea. I should have just gone home.”
    “Why didn’t you?”
    “I wanted to see that house.” He paused. “And I wanted you to see it.”
    “Why?”
    He waited a second before answering. “I thought if you looked at it, you might stop having nightmares.”
    “Pretty strange idea,” Nora said.
    “Okay, it was a rotten idea.” His voice grew louder. “It was the worst idea in the history of the world. In fact, every single idea I’ve ever had in my life was really terrible. Are we in agreement now? Good. Then we can forget about it.”
    “Davey.”
    “What?”
    “Do you remember when I asked if you were upset?”
    “No.” He hesitated, then sighed again, and his glance suggested the arrival of a confession. “Why would I be upset?”
    Nora gathered herself. “You must have been surprised by what your father said about Hugo Driver.”
    He looked at her as if trying to recall Alden’s words. “He said he was a great writer.”
    “You said he was a great writer.” After a second of silence she said, “What I mean is his attitude.”
    “Yeah,” Davey said. “You’re right. That was a surprise. He sort of jolted me, I guess.”
    For Nora the next few seconds filled with a hopeful tension.
    “I’ve got something on my mind, I guess I was worked up. . . . I don’t want to fight, Nora.”
    “So you’re not mad at me anymore.”
    “I wasn’t mad at you. I just feel confused.”
    Two hours with his parents had turned him back into Pippin Little. If he needed a Green Knight, she volunteered on the spot. She had asked for a job, and here one was sitting next to her. She could help Davey become his successful adult self. She would help him get the position he deserved at Chancel House. Her other plans, befriending Daisy and moving to New York, were merely elements of this larger, truer occupation.
Start,
she commanded herself.
Now.
    “Davey,” she said, “what would you like to be doing at Chancel House?”
    Again, he seemed to force himself to think. “Editorial work.”
    “Then that’s what you should be doing.”
    “Well, yeah, but you know, Dad . . .” He gave her a resigned look.
    “You’re not like that disgusting guy who takes old ladies to lunch, you’re not Dick Dart. What job do you want most?”
    He bit the lining of his cheek before deciding to declare what she already suspected. “I’d like to edit Blackbird Books. I think I could build Blackbird into something good, but Dad is canceling the line.”
    “Not if you make him keep it.”
    “How do I do that?”
    “I don’t know, exactly. But for sure you have to come at him with a plan.” She thought for a moment. “Get all the figures on the Blackbird Books. Give him