Page 45 of The Pale Rider
Shit, he was right next door, and he was coming back. If he was really dangerous, and I ran, he might hurt Miss Mabel. Where could I go, anyway? Aeron had connections all over California, and I was pretty sure everyone I knew except Miss Mabel was dead. I could go to Jade, but Aeron would get there first since he had Meremoth. She also knew him better than she knew me and had more reason to trust him.
“I don’t think we can trust Aeron,” I whispered.
“What makes you say that?”
I pointed to the Pale Horse I’d painted surrounded by death.
“Because I’ve ridden on that horse. It belongs to Aeron, and he’s already admitted it’s not a normal horse.”
Miss Mabel pat my hand.
“I know you’ve had shitty luck with men, my dear, but you didn’t see him the day you went missing. He was distraught and blaming himself. He couldn’t fake that.”
“What if I drew something and saw he was dangerous? What if he staged the entire thing because he found out I would run?”
“He’s here. You’re here. You’ve got a broom I can beat him with, and you’ve been clutching Smurfette like you think someone will steal her from you. Just question him. Or, grab a sketch pad and see if anything comes to you.”
“What did you send him for?”
Miss Mabel just grinned at me.
“You looked like you needed to relax. Most of the booze now is hard to find and homemade. It tastes like something you’d use to run your car with. The marijuana growers got things up and running as soon as they got the power grid back up.”
“Aw, and you will share your pot stash with us? What’s the occasion? You made me bring my own when we smoked up together before.”
Miss Mabel pinched my arm.
“Don’t say I did nothing nice to you. Maybe if we get Aeron high, he’ll get that stick out of his ass.”
Have I mentioned how much I love this woman?
Chapter 27
A
eron came back with a vintage cigar box and a confused look on his face. Miss Mabel and I were huddled together on my sofa, trying to figure that motherfucker out. She thought I should trust him and go with him to Mexico, but I had my doubts. I put my life in Aeron’s hands, and I believed him when he told me he couldn’t give me my life back right away, but why didn’t he want me to know about those paintings or that I could draw things like that?Whycould I draw stuff like that?
“Is getting high really the best use of our time?” Aeron said. “I would let Ariel explore her apartment to see if it triggered her memories, then we need to get back on the road.”
“Why didn’t you want me to know about those photos, Aeron? Why didn’t you want Miss Mabel to tell me about what happens when I paint?”
Aeron flopped on my armchair and started expertly rolling joints with Miss Mabel’s stash.
“So, I guess we are doing this, or you won’t leave with me? After everything we went through on the road, you don’t trust me.”
“That’s Meremoth on my wall, Aeron. I keep painting four horses. There are four horses in the Book of Revelations that bring about the end of the world. My train of thought is that I saw all this when I was painting, realized you were involved and painted you this way. I tried to get away at the diner, and it was you and your team that stuck me in that coma and took my memories.”
Aeron looked like I just ran over his puppy on purpose, then backed up and ran over it a second time. Miss Mabel just lit up her joint and took a huge hit.
“Can you blame her, Aeron? After her father, she doesn’t really have any reason to trust men, and you made a scene about the paintings.”
“Fuck it. I will need to get high to have this conversation.”
Miss Mabel was leaning back on my sofa with her eyes in slits.
“That’s Purple Panther. It’s guaranteed to get that stick out your ass.”
There was a lot I couldn’t remember, but I could remember everything about Miss Mabel. She’d never tell me her source, but she could always find the best weed, and she pretty much never shared with me. After she told me it helped with her arthritis, I stopped asking and brought my own when we smoked together. She must have been in a sharing mood if she was breaking out her stash for two more people.
