Frings waited at a window table in the diner where he’d had a coffee with Ellen Aust the previous day. He wasn’t sure what to expect from her. He’d come here instead of meeting her on the street, giving her some room; letting her make the move if she wanted to continue to talk. Either she’d want to or she wouldn’t. It didn’t make a difference how aggressively he pursued it.
A couple of older men sat at the counter talking about the horses while Frings sipped his coffee and watched the ladies walk by on the sidewalk. A man in shirt and tie, his hair slicked back with sweat, paused by the window and plastered a sign against the pane, the glue spreading out under the pressure. Frings could see through it from the back. TRUFFANT FOR MAYOR.
He was giving Ellen until a quarter past the hour and then he’d split. He didn’t have to wait nearly that long.
Ellen looked different today; wearing makeup, he thought. Her dress was nicer, too, though still maid-wear. She must have seen him through the window because she made straight for his table. Frings held up a finger for another coffee and stood up to greet her.
When they were sitting, Ellen said, “I’d like to apologize for yesterday. You caught me by surprise.”
Frings shook his head. “Please, I should apologize to you for showing up like that; no warning.”
She smiled, keeping her lips tight to hide her teeth. “Dr. Maddox, he tells us to be wary and vigilant in the world; that the Trickster comes in many guises and holds sway over many people. But I know you, Frank. I know you from before and I believe I can trust you.”
Frings smiled.
“And I think maybe there are things you’d want to know. Is this going to be in the newspaper?” This last bit seemed to worry her.
Frings shook his head. “Not if you don’t want it to be. Ellen, depending on what I hear, I might want to find out more from other people. I’ll have to see. You don’t need to worry about your name or your words being printed, though.”
She thought about this, staring down into her coffee. “It’s not just being in the paper, Frank.”
Frings sensed her quandary, was surprised that she was willing to talk to him. She had her congregation and little else besides. No good could come out of talking to Frings about it; potentially some bad. There must be a reason she wanted to talk. There must be something she needed to tell him. He decided to wait her out, let her take it at her speed. He sipped his coffee.
She lifted her eyes to Frings, looking decisive. “I think Dr. Maddox is troubled.”
“How’s that?”
“Understand that he is a man of God, Frank; that he concerns himself with holy things. But he’s under so much pressure, he’s been distracted, even withdrawn. It’s not just me that sees it, neither. He’s drawing into himself, nurturing his relationship with the Lord while he ignores this life. But that’s not it, or at least not all of it. He fasts and prays in seclusion all day, then comes out and preaches for four, five hours at a time.”
“What about?”
Her eyes were fatigued, terrified. “Enemies. Enemies of the church. The police come into our neighborhood now, almost every night. That never used to happen. Dr. Maddox says that they are watching us, seeing if we are making preparations for the Last Days. He says that our enemies watch us from the abandoned buildings around our neighborhood; that they stalk the perimeter at night. We pray, sometimes nearly all night, for them to be driven away. But every night Dr. Maddox says that they are still out there.”
“You don’t believe that, do you?”
“I’m scared. The police are in our neighborhood all the time now. They never used to be. People don’t leave the neighborhood after dark; don’t even walk in the neighborhood alone after dark.”
Frings nodded.
Ellen shrugged and Frings could see the debate that played out in her mind between her respect for Prosper Maddox’s authority and insight and her own common sense.
Frings pushed. “What is it? What do you want to tell me?”
Ellen’s face flushed. “We are living in the Last Days, Frank. It’s happening right now.” Her voice was urgent. “Dr. Maddox says all the signs are there, and the Antichrist, he is among us.”
“Among us?”
“Here. The City. Dr. Maddox had studied prophecy and prayed and it was revealed to him that Father Womé is the Antichrist.”
Frings blinked twice, shook his head. “Father Womé?”
“Yes! Christ is returning, Frank, and you are not saved.”