The Gate of Days - Book of Time 2 by Guillaume Prevost

Author:Guillaume Prevost
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2017-11-20T05:00:00+00:00

Bang-bang-bang-bang!

“Come out with your hands up!” he shouted.

Then he lit the second strip of firecrackers and heaved it as far as he could down the street. The cars driving up the street slammed on their brakes and honked their horns: Ahooga! Bang! Bang! Ahooga! Bang! It was a lively Fourth of July concert — a few days early!

Sam dove back into the basement and hid.

“Son of a gun!” shouted the man with the raspy voice. “What gives?”

“Out the back way!” ordered the sadist. “We ain’t done with you yet, Faulkner!”

Sam and Lily heard running in the hallway overhead, going toward the back of the store.

“C’mon, step on it!”

A bolt slammed, and the footsteps were now pounding down the sidewalk outside. Sam counted to five, then headed up the stairs. The gangsters had taken off, and the glass door leading to a courtyard behind the buildings was ajar. He closed and latched it. Shouts and swearing came from the street, and Sam and Lily went to look out the window. Somebody fired a shot — a real one this time — and a car roared away.

Sam walked back into the store with Lily on his heels. The room had been turned upside down, with drawers opened, windows smashed, and damp flour and shards of glass everywhere. But there was no sign of James Faulkner. What had they done with him?

“Aaah…”

The moan came from behind the counter, and they hurried over to it. Kneeling on the floor, his nose bloodied, was their great-grandfather, rubbing the back of his neck as he gradually gathered his wits.

“Who … who are you?” he asked, trying to stand.

“We were passing by the store,” Sam improvised. “There seemed to be some fighting inside, and we thought they might be robbers. We threw some firecrackers to scare them.”

“Firecrackers?” James Faulkner grimaced as he felt his badly swollen upper lip. “You scared them with firecrackers? That’s a hoot! How did you get in?”

“By the front door,” said Lily. “In fact, it might be a good idea to lower the shutters. It would be safer.”

“No. My … my wife is at the movies. She’ll be back soon.” Then, as he surveyed the extent of the damage: “Those dirty rats! They smashed everything! I’m going to call the mayor! And the newspapers too! People have to know what’s going on in this city! And the police! They can’t act as if I don’t exist, can they? Owww…”

He staggered and had to be content with sitting down on a stool near the cash register. To Sam and Lily, encountering James Faulkner was almost beyond belief. Sam had seen a black-and-white photograph of him a couple of times, when he’d tried to please Grandma by pretending to be interested in the family photo albums. The picture showed the grocer with his apron, standing a little stiffly in front of his store. He was of medium height, with a handlebar mustache — a total stranger. There were also a couple of stories told about him, which Sam only half remembered.

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