Oaths and Miracles by Nancy Kress

Author:Nancy Kress [Kress, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

NINETEEN

Mind that cable,“ the blond girl said to Wendell. She didn’t smile. The cable was a thick bundle of a lot of little cables tied together, snaking across the narrow hallway. The girl, Wendell figured, was something like a roadie for a rock group, even though ”Albany Right Now“ didn’t go on any road and the girl sounded snooty when she warned him about the cable. He didn’t bother to answer. She was just a roadie. He was going to be on TV in ten minutes.

“Nervous?” asked Jake Peterson, the reporter who’d been writing articles about Wendell for the newspaper. One little article had come out; the big one, Peterson said, wasn’t ready yet. Wendell shrugged. The palms of his hands felt slippery.

“Just remember,” Peterson said, “you’ve got an important message to bring to the attention of the public.”

Wendell didn’t answer. He already knew that. Peterson was watching him real close, smiling faintly, which pissed Wendell off. So Peterson had coached him, all right, but this was still Wendell’s show. And it was happening in a real TV studio, with cables on the floor and everything, not some little hole-in-the-wall operation like “The Rick Abrams Hour.”

“They’re ready for you in the studio,” the snotty girl said. She had a fat ass. Wendell had a sudden sharp vision of Saralinda, slim and sweet.

The studio was a large room with black ceiling and walls, two cameras on dollies, and a fake-looking living room built on a low platform. The talk show hostess was already seated. She was in her forties but still a stunner, with that classy look you saw on department store mannequins. Wendell scowled at the technician who attached his mike.

Then he couldn’t stop scowling. “Relax,” the hostess smiled. Fuck that. Peterson said this was an important message, right? You didn’t relax about what was important.

God, he wanted a drink.

“Mr. Botts? Did you hear me? I said thirty seconds till air.”

“Yeah, sure.”

The red light went on.

“Welcome to ‘Albany Right Now,’ the city’s most timely television news magazine. I’m Rebecca Johnson, and we’re so glad you’re here.

Joining us later will be State Senator William Kerber, updating us all on firearms legislation in New York State, and Vivian Jones, author of the best-selling The Bagel Diet. And with me right now is Mr. Wendell Botts, who has a shocking and important story to share. Wendell, you were a member of the Soldiers of the Divine Covenant, the religious group that has a compound just outside the village of Cadillac, in Marion County.“

“That’s right.” His throat felt dry.

“And you lived in the compound.”

“They call it a camp.”

“The camp, yes. When was that?”

“I left two years ago.” He’d left for prison, right after David was born, after the alcohol had attacked Saralinda and Penny. But Peterson had said the hostess wouldn’t bring that up. Wendell could see Peterson now, just beyond the cameras, his hands thrust deep in his pockets, his eyes missing nothing.

“And you’re here to tell us… what?”

The woman’s smile was encouraging, not like that asshole on the radio.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.