The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (14 page)

‘And…? Did you
find a baby?’ Justin asked. He couldn’t hide the condescending bite in his
voice.

‘No,’ she said.
‘There wasn’t anything...’

‘That’s it,’
Justin said and got out of bed. ‘I’ve just about had enough of this.’ With
that, he took his pillows. He walked to the closet where he pulled out a spare
blanket.

‘What are you
doing?’ Rebecca asked.

‘I’m going to
sleep on the couch,’ he said. ‘I don’t know about you, but I have a rough day
ahead of me.’

‘Justin, don’t—’

‘No Rebecca, I
will! This has gone on for long enough now. Either you sort out your issues, or
I leave. Got it?’ With that, he walked from the room and slammed the door shut
behind him.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘My wife said my
name,’ Justin said.

Simon looked up.
‘Excuse me?’

‘That day in the
coffee shop. You knew my name because my wife said it out loud.’

Simon shook his
head and laughed. ‘She didn’t say your name out loud,’ he said. ‘Not once.’

Justin thought
back to that day but couldn’t remember whether she did or not. ‘If it wasn’t
her,’ he asked. ‘How did you know?’

‘It was given to
me,’ Simon answered.

‘Given to you?
By whom?’

‘By God, of
course,’ Simon said. His smile transformed into a sly grin. ‘But since you
don’t believe in God, I’m sure that you’ll be able to find a way to
scientifically justify it.’

‘You really
believe that, don’t you?’ Justin asked. ‘You really believe that you got my
name from God?’

‘That’s right.’

‘Was it a
booming voice from heaven, or did He meet you for coffee beforehand?’

‘You mock,’
Simon said. ‘But deep inside you know that I’m speaking the truth.’

‘All right,’
Justin said and cleared his throat to sound more serious about the topic. ‘How
does He talk to you?’

‘It’s not
audible,’ Simon said. ‘It’s more an inner knowledge that just occurs to me.’

‘An inner
knowledge?’

‘Yes,’ Simon
said. ‘I would know what the Lord
wants
me to know about a certain person
or event. But outside of that I know you no better than you know me.’

A smile formed
on Justin’s face. ‘Okay,’ he said, ‘what am I thinking right now?’

Simon chuckled.
‘It doesn’t work like that.’

‘Come on,’
Justin goaded. ‘I’ll make it easy for you. It’s a colour.’

‘I don’t know
the colour that you’re thinking of,’ Simon said and stood up. ‘But I do know
this.’ He held up his index finger. ‘One,’ he said. ‘It’s not a good idea to
move out. Rebecca needs you now more than ever.’

Justin’s face
dropped. ‘How did you...?’

Simon held up a
second finger. ‘Two,’ he said. ‘Nothing is impossible for God to forgive. Not
even an abortion. All you need to do is ask.’ With that, Simon turned and left.

*    -    -   
-    *

Something
bothered Simon. On his way to the hospital he wondered if it might be something
about Justin or his wife. As he neared the hospital, the feeling intensified.
Something was wrong with little Timmy. Simon could sense it.

‘Lord,’ he
prayed as he parked his car in the visitor’s lot. ‘Please don’t let anything
happen to Timmy.’ He got out and locked the door. ‘Please let him be all
right.’

The feeling
intensified even more.

Simon headed for
the reception desk. ‘What’s wrong with the boy?’ he asked the nurse without
greeting her.

‘Oh hi, Simon,’
the nurse at the desk greeted him. ‘Nothing that I’m aware of. Why?’

Simon ignored
her and ran down the hallway to Timmy’s room. He hesitated a moment before
entering the room and when he finally did, it took him a moment to register
that everything was fine.

‘Why, Lord? Why
would you allow anything bad to happen to him?’ Simon asked out loud as he
knelt down next to the bed.

Beep! Beep!
Beep!

‘Everything to
the glory of God,’ Simon said softly and took the boy’s hand in his own.
‘Everything to the glory of God...’

Through his
prayers, Simon couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was about to
happen to Timmy.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘He’s going to
leave me, Tanya.’

‘He’s not going
to leave you, Becks,’ Tanya said. ‘And if he does...good for you!’

Rebecca smiled.
Tanya meant well, but she didn’t always realize what she was saying. ‘I can’t
afford to lose him,’ Rebecca said after a moment. ‘I can’t begin to imagine my
life without him.’

Tanya sighed
louder than she intended to. It was clear to Rebecca that she saw them
splitting up as a good thing. ‘Why would he
want
to leave you? Because
you’re a bad wife, or because you claim that weird things are happening at your
apartment?’

‘I don’t know,’
Rebecca said. ‘Perhaps I am a bad wife? He’s been sleeping on the couch for
almost a week now...’

‘That doesn’t
make you a bad wife,’ Tanya spat in her usual tactless manner. ‘It makes him a
crummy husband.’

Rebecca merely
looked down without saying anything.

‘In fact, I
think he’s having an affair.’

‘What?’ Rebecca
asked and almost choked.

‘Yes,’ Tanya
said and nodded as if to confirm her resolve. ‘I think that Justin is having an
affair.’

Rebecca thought
about the prospect for a moment. ‘No,’ she said when she finally spoke again.
‘I don’t think so.’

Tanya brought
the car to a stand-still at a traffic light and shifted it into neutral. ‘Think
about it, Becks. The long hours at work. Sleeping on the couch. The eagerness
to go to what he calls ‘sites,’ and then the sudden urge to leave you as soon
as you tell him that you’re not having a good week?’

‘That’s not
entirely accurate,’ Rebecca said, although Tanya’s observations did have a sad
ring of truth to it.

Tanya ignored
her. ‘The evidence is there,’ she said. ‘And it’s all pointing to one thing.’
The traffic light turned green and as Tanya pulled away, she took Rebecca’s
hand. ‘Denial is a terrible thing.’

Rebecca pulled
her hand away. ‘I’m not in denial,’ she said. ‘And Justin is not having an
affair. Something is bothering him, but it’s not
that
.’

‘I just call ‘em
as I see ‘em,’ Tanya said and for a moment let go of the steering wheel as she
held her hands up. ‘You wanted my opinion and I gave it to you.’

‘You don’t know
Justin the way I do,’ Rebecca said. ‘He won’t do that. Ever.’

‘I do know how
people work. The symptoms are there. That’s all I’m saying.’

Rebecca forced a
smile. She figured it best to make light of the situation before the
conversation turned into a heated debate. ‘How do they say? If you want
loyalty, get a dog.’

Both burst out
laughing, instantly killing any tension that had been there mere seconds ago.

‘Here we are,’
Tanya said and looked at the grey building that was their office block.
‘Another day of pushing pencil.’

*    -    -   
-    *

‘He’s dead,
isn’t he?’ Simon asked the nurse at the hospital’s reception. He based his
assumption on a feeling that he started having two days earlier. The feeling
only intensified and somehow Simon instinctively knew what had happened. She
did not answer but merely looked apologetically at Simon. ‘Are his parents
here?’

She nodded.

Without saying
another word, Simon headed for Little Timmy’s room. As he opened the door,
Simon saw a woman hunched over Timmy. She cried as a man next to her held his
arms around her shoulders.

Timmy’s parents.

The father
looked up as Simon approached the bed, but he didn’t say anything. The usual
blip on the cardio monitor was gone, replaced only by a blank screen.

‘Is he...?’

The father bit
his lip and nodded. The mother continued crying. ‘And you are...?’ the father
asked.

‘My name is
Simon. I am a friend of Timmy’s.’

The father
raised an eyebrow.

‘Well, Timmy
never knew me,’ Simon said. ‘I started visiting him here after reading about
his unfortunate accident.’

‘You’re very
kind,’ the father said. ‘Thank you.’

‘Why is she
crying?’ Simon asked.

The husband
frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

‘What is she
crying about?’

The man twisted
his face. ‘Are you serious?’

Simon didn’t say
anything.

‘Our son is
dead, for crying out loud, man! Where’s your sense of humanity?’

‘Timmy is not
dead,’ Simon said before he could stop himself from blurting out his thoughts.
‘He is merely sleeping.’

The woman looked
up. Her eyes were as red as the corners of her nose. She had been crying for
quite a while now. Simon could sense that she loved her son dearly.

‘Is this some
kind of sick joke?’ Timmy’s father asked.

Simon shook his
head. ‘It is the will of God that your son should live. For the glory of His
name.’

Timmy’s father
advanced toward Simon at a threatening pace. ‘Just who do you think you are to
come waltzing in here and say things like this?’

‘Let the man
speak,’ Timmy’s mother said.

Simon nodded his
thanks at her. ‘It is not for man to question the reasons of God, but to obey
His wishes.’

‘What are you
talking about, man?’ Timmy’s father asked. ‘Speak English, for crying out
loud!’

Simon merely
stared at the man in front of him without saying anything.

‘What should we
do?’ the mother’s voice finally cut through the tangible silence.

‘Pray,’ Simon
answered.

‘And why should
we trust you?’ Timmy’s father asked. ‘How do we know you’re not nuts? How much
money do you want?’

‘I don’t seek
money,’ Simon said. ‘Sometimes you have to take a chance, Rick.’

The man froze in
place. He narrowed his eyes and studied Simon for a minute. ‘How did you know
my name…?’

‘Sometimes you
have to have faith and trust despite the overwhelming odds.’

‘How did you
know my name?’ Timmy’s father asked again.

‘You’re
focussing on the wrong issue, Rick. Just like your father made the wrong choice
when you were eight years old.’

Rick took a step
back. ‘You still could still have gotten my name from the hospital staff or the
news, but
no one
knows about that...’

‘Pray,’ Simon
said. ‘For the glory of God to be revealed.’

Timmy’s father
said nothing. He covered his wife’s shaking hands in his own.

Simon walked
over to the door and closed it. He then made his way back to the bed and stood
at Timmy’s side. Locking his eyes with that of Timmy’s mother, Simon asked, ‘Do
you believe that Timmy is only sleeping?’

She nodded.

‘We do,’ Rick
Evans answered meekly.

‘Do you believe
that God can raise him?’

For a moment
Timmy’s parents just stood there, eyes fixed on this stranger that owed them
nothing. Timmy’s mother finally managed to pull herself from Simon’s hypnotic
gaze. ‘I...we want to,’ she said. ‘We really do.’

Simon smiled and
leaned forward. He brought his mouth close to the boy’s ears. ‘Wake up, Tim,’
he whispered.

For a moment
nothing happened and Tim’s father exhaled deeply. He knew it! Another publicity
stunt! A
beep
on the cardio monitor made all three turn and look. The
static green line had a spike, and then another, and yet another; each with its
own
beep
.

‘What’s going
on?’ Timmy’s father asked, unable to hide the tremble in his voice. ‘Is this
some kind of practical joke?’

Timmy’s eyes
opened and searched around the room.

Both parents
cried out. They held each other before Timmy’s mother broke away from her
husband and took her boy into her arms.

‘Who are you?’
Rick asked Simon. ‘And what do we owe you?’

Simon didn’t
answer. He merely looked at the boy. Somehow he knew Tim was going to be okay,
but he had no idea
how
he knew it. He was just as unprepared for what
just happened as the parents were and emotions overwhelmed his senses.