'Keep him on hold!' I shouted back over my shoulder as I kept my eyes on my twin's face. I didn't like what I saw there; the gleaming, crazed look in his eyes could mean that he was beyond threats to either himself or his brother, and thus beyond reason. It frightened me. I said, 'Don't you think Jesus would want you to help this child?'
The man shook his head. 'It doesn't make any difference if you kill Floyd or me. Soon we'll both be in Paradise.'
'Good for you-but that doesn't answer my question. Don't you think Jesus would want you to cooperate with us in stopping a child molester from abusing a little girl's mind and body?'
'You're lying about Reverend Kenecky! He would never-!' He abruptly stopped speaking, but it was too late; the child molester had already been let out of the bag.
'Mongo?! Has he told you where we can find the dirt?! My arm's getting tired!'
I glanced over my shoulder at Garth, and didn't at all care for what I saw. My brother had pushed the twin in the blue parka back over the edge of the parapet, and the only thing that was keeping the man from falling four stories was Garth's grip on the front of his parka. The man's legs pumped up and down, and his fingers clawed at the brick wall he was bent back over. Garth lowered him a little more. I didn't think Garth would drop him-but I had to admit to myself that, under the circumstances, I wasn't absolutely sure. Vicky Brown's plight had him more worked up than I'd ever seen him, and he'd already made it very plain to me that he cared nothing for the rights- and, presumably, the lives-of victimizes or their allies. He had truly lost patience with the evil in the world in the most profound sense; to Garth, evil people were no longer people. And even if he didn't drop dear Floyd intentionally, there was always the chance that his gloveless hands might become stiff and numb in the cold, and lose their grip.
Cold hands just wouldn't make a very good defense at our murder trial-and our being brought up on charges of murder wouldn't do anything to help Vicky Brown.
'Uh, Garth, hold off for a while, will you?! My friend here and I are just getting into a serious chat! Why don't you bring your guy over and join us?!'
For a moment I didn't think he was going to do it. Our eyes met, held. Then he shrugged before abruptly pulling brother Floyd back up over the parapet. He dragged him back across the roof and again sat him down on my rosebush, next to his twin.
'These guys seem to have popped out of the same fruitcake as Valley, Mongo,' Garth said easily. 'I think I may have to start breaking things in them.'
'You hear the way my brother talks?' I said, looking back and forth between the two men, whose faces had suddenly become oddly vacant. 'He's the bad guy-but you're in luck, because I'm the good guy. I say, let us reason together.' I paused, moved in front of the man in the blue parka. 'Floyd, your brother tells me he doesn't believe Reverend William Kenecky would sodomize a young girl. Well, what if he would? Just
The twins looked at each other-with Floyd displaying what might have been a slight frown of disapproval at his brother's talkativeness. But neither spoke.
'What the hell is it that you Nuvironment people are trying to hide that's worth all this aggravation?' I continued, struggling to remain calm and keep my tone even. 'Why did Patton have you follow us? What on earth is he afraid we may find out?'
Again, there was no response. The twin in the tan parka had bowed his head again, and appeared to be praying.
'Show them the letter, Garth.'
'You show it to them if you want,' Garth replied tersely, taking the well-worn envelope containing Vicky Brown's letter out of his pocket and handing it to me.
I removed the letter from the envelope, shielded it from the gusting wind and snow with my body, held it out in front of them. 'Is this a lie? Read it.'
Neither twin would look at the letter. 'We won't be tricked,' the man in the blue parka said.
I refolded the letter, put it back in the envelope, and handed it back to Garth as I continued to study the faces of the brothers. Suddenly I felt pity for them. Appeals to reason and Garth's threats were getting us nowhere; I wondered what might happen if I appealed to their madness. Christmas Eve was no time to be beating on people, no matter the reason.
'I can see that the two of you are very devout,' I said seriously. I was rewarded with a flicker of interest in their eyes. 'Garth and I respect that, but it's difficult for us to understand just what it is you believe. I know it's the millennium and all that, and every thousand years all sorts of people take it into their heads that the world is going to end; it's part of the human condition. But what's interesting about you two is that you seem to be convinced that it's going to happen tomorrow or the next day. What do you know that we don't? If the world is really going to end that soon, maybe Garth and I should start thinking about getting our affairs in order.'
'You mock,' the twin in tan said. 'You don't believe it.'
'I'm just curious as to the specifics of what you believe. Is what you believe supposed to be a secret?'
He shook his head. 'It's clear for all who have truly taken Jesus into their hearts.'
'What's clear? That the world is going to end?'
'Yes!' the second twin snapped. 'Jesus is coming!'
'When?'
'Soon. Very soon.'
'How do you know that?'
'Let him who has eyes see. Let him who has ears hear.'
'How is the world going to end?'
'In fire,' the twin in tan said. 'As it is prophesied.'
'What's going to happen then? What's on the celestial agenda after the world ends in fire?'
'Those who truly have Jesus Christ in their hearts will be spared, including those who have died before. Those of us who are clean will be swept up to the sky to be with Jesus while demons ravage those of you who have been left behind and who have survived the fire. There will be hell on earth for you. After seven years, Jesus will finally descend to vanquish the demons and establish His kingdom here on earth. We will join Him, and we will live forever. People like you will be dead. And damned.'
'So you really believe this nonsense Kenecky has been feeding you?'
Both men had been shivering. Now they stopped, and their eyes flashed. 'It's all in prophecy!' the twin in tan shouted. 'It's clearly written for all to see! The fact that you have not seen and do not believe is what damns you. Reverend Kenecky has Christ in his heart; when Reverend Kenecky speaks, it is the same as Christ speaking.'
'Even you can't believe that Christ wants him to rape little girls-and that's what he's doing. I think you know now that it's true, even if you won't read Vicky Brown's letter. I think you know Vicky Brown-and you certainly know Kenecky. Garth and I wouldn't be up here in the cold chatting with you unless we were absolutely certain that what we say is happening is happening. And you say that a man who screws kids has Christ in his heart? Give us a break.'
The twins exchanged uncertain glances, and it seemed to me that each was waiting for the other to say something. I felt a rush of excitement. Mine had certainly been the voice of sweet reason, and I could see by the expressions on their faces that what I said had troubled them; I dared to hope that my words would serve as an antidote to the poison in their heads-at least long enough for one of them to give us the single piece of information we needed to go on. I glanced at Garth, gave a slight nod. Obviously, he didn't share my optimism; he simply shook his head slowly.
'So come on,' I continued evenly. 'I'm telling you the truth about Kenecky. Where are Kenecky and the little girl? That's all we want to know.'
The twin in the blue parka said tightly, 'It doesn't matter what's happening now. Next week, it will end. Everything that we have known will end.'
I blinked slowly in astonishment. The voice of reason croaked, 'It doesn't matter?'
'Floyd's right,' the twin in tan blurted. 'And even if Reverend Kenecky is doing something to Vicky, it must be God's will. Perhaps the reverend's attention to her is God's gift to the child. You simply don't understand. God may be working for Vicky's salvation through the reverend. What he does with her would be like a sacrament.'
