Baddalach had upset the natural order of the universe. Jack Baddalach knew not what disaster he had wrought upon mankind. Jack Baddalach now walked the road of death, and that road was paved with misery and pain and suffering eternal.
Another call followed quickly on the heels of Katt’s poetic diatribe. This one was from a man Jack thought of as the greatest leech of all time, boxing promoter Caligula Tate. Let’s let bygones be bygones, Jack-o. There’s money to be made. Millions. Plenty for everyone. Come one, come all. Bathe in the spotlight of riches and glory.
You want riches, Jack-o? Just do what you did this afternoon. Today you did it for free. Do it again for a pay- per-view audience and the world will be your oyster. Do it again and dollars beyond counting will be yours.
Do it again and you’ll be heavyweight champion of the world.
You’ll have the belt, Jack. Your name in the record books right along those of Dempsey, Marciano, Ali. .
Jack thought about it. He really did. He didn’t hear the next three or four messages. That’s how hard he was thinking.
But he heard the last one.
Angel Gemignani said, “I heard about what happened today with you and Tony Katt.”
Jack sensed desperation and confusion in Angel’s voice. He listened intently as she continued. “Anyway. . if you think Tony is involved in Spike’s disappearance, then there’s something I need to tell you. . and it’s something that I can’t tell you over the phone.”
A pause, fearful and wary.
“Call me, Jack. Please.”
THREE
They called it the wolf’s hour, that time of night when fear held Dominion over the wicked and the pure.
Eden stared through the open pillbox window. Dead blue moonlight bathed the desert. Daddy’s chapel stood in a grove of twisted yucca trees. From inside, the harsh glare of kerosene lanterns slashed cracks in the walls and streamed across the desert, as if the night had been gutted and was bleeding afternoon.
The stock of Harold’s.357 Magnum was slick with Eden’s sweat. She held tight to the pistol and watched the chapel door. Mama and Daddy were still inside. They had to be. Eden had watched the chapel for hours, and she’d seen nothing. The only sign of movement was an occasional flicker as someone-Eden imagined it was Mama-passed in front of a kerosene lantern.
Anguish whipped Eden as she remembered bursting through the chapel door. The whole thing happened so fast. Of course she didn’t want Daddy to get hurt. She only wanted to protect the Chihuahua.
Daddy was surprised. His concentration was broken when he needed it most. His link with Satan vanished in the wink of an eye and the big albino rattler sprang, biting Daddy’s face, pumping its venom into his blood.
Mama tore the viper loose. In the time it took her to do that, Eden’s entire world changed.
Because Eden no longer had a family. Mama disowned her, speaking those horrible words that gouged and hacked like the blade of an ax. If Daddy lived, he would do the same. Eden couldn’t blame them. Everything Mama said about her was right. She
And there was nothing she could do about it. She had tried so hard-beseeching Satan night after night, asking him for power. She had taken the fork in the road that lead to wickedness, taken it willingly. Her body was a temple to sin.
But through it all Eden’s heart remained pure, and that was her great downfall. Guilt was the horse she rode, and she lashed it with a quirt called conscience.
In the end she always surrendered to her weaknesses. In the end she always surrendered to her tears.
Eden’s head dipped. Where was Harold? He should have returned long ago. She couldn’t stay awake much longer. Her eyelids were so heavy. And so was the gun. Her wrist was killing her. It felt like someone had jammed hot coals between the bones in her forearm.
Maybe she could set down the Magnum for a minute. Just a minute. Give her wrist a rest. Maybe she could take a little break, remove her braces, run some cool water over her aching wrist-
Or maybe she could lean against the wall and close her eyes. Just for a minute. The cement was so cool against her sweaty skin, and she needed to rest her eyes really badly.
After all, the window was open. If Mama or Daddy left the chapel, she’d hear the creaking door. She could rest her eyes for a minute. She could trust her ears. .
The sound brought Eden sharply awake.
Someone breathing heavily, behind her.
Eden whirled, snatching up the pistol.
The Chihuahua lay on the bed, muzzle open as it drew rasping, tortured breaths. It was so sick. It couldn’t sleep at all, not with that horrible cough. Eden tried to look at the dog and see only money. If she could only trust in Satan, truly trust in Him with all her heart, then she could see the dog clearly.
Spike whimpered. Guilt slashed Eden’s heart. She reached out, pain jolting her forearm as she bent her wrist. Lightly, with feather touches, she stroked Spike’s fur.
Tears welled in her eyes. It wasn’t fair. Spike was just a stupid dog. An animal not even worthy of sacrifice in Daddy’s chapel. If only she could see the Chihuahua through Mama’s eyes. Then she wouldn’t care one little bit about the dog.
Eden curled up on the bed, pulling the Chihuahua to her belly. Spike’s breathing slowed a bit as he snuggled against her. “It’s going to be okay,” Eden said. “It’s going to be okay.”
She would only close her eyes for a minute.
She wouldn’t fall asleep.
Harold was counting on her. She had to stay awake.
She would only close her eyes for a minute. .
Drifting. . drifting. . sleep. .
Someone was shaking her.
“Wake up, sweetie.”
By the time Eden clawed her way up from the pit of sleep, the intruder had already handcuffed one of her wrists to the bedpost.
A moment later the other wrist was handcuffed, and none too gently. The pain was supersonic, as if someone had squirted lighter fluid on those burning coals between the bones in her forearm. Still, Eden struggled against the pain. She kicked with all her might as hands closed over legs, but the intruders-for there were two of them-overpowered her, cuffing her ankles as well.
Spike jumped off the bed and crawled to the far corner of the room. Eden twisted and turned, but there was no escaping her bonds.
Tura and Lorelei stared down at her. With all that had happened, Eden had nearly forgotten about her sisters. They’d spent the day setting up the drop site out in the desert. They probably had no idea what had happened with Mama and Daddy-
Eden had to tell them. There wasn’t time for sick practical jokes. “You can’t do this,” she said. “Not how. Mama’s gone crazy. And Daddy is-”
Tura slapped Eden’s cheek. “Save it.”
Lorelei stuffed a pair of panties into Eden’s mouth. “We’re gonna teach you a lesson, Eden.”
“Yeah.” Tura plastered a square of duct tape over Eden’s mouth. “You crossed the line this time, princess.”
Eden stared up at them, unable to speak. They knew. They had to know. They must have talked to Mama while Eden slept. And Daddy. . why, the way they were acting. . Daddy was probably
