Shahla ate her Big Mac with gusto and popped each ketchup-drenched French fry into her mouth, separately, in order to fully savor it. Since her brush with hunger, yesterday, food had risen in her scale of importance. She hoped that this newfound appetite wouldn’t make her fat. Tony was eating a more sensible fish sandwich.
They were sitting in the car, parked outside the McDonald’s. A Porsche wasn’t the most comfortable place to eat lunch, but at least it was temporarily shaded from the September sun by the fronds at the top of a tall palm tree, and the top was down so they benefited from a wisp of a breeze.
Other people, young and old alike, continuously streamed in and out of the restaurant, like bees at a hive. The young ones looked like high school students. Apparently this was a lunch hangout for a local school. Shahla remembered that she should be in school. She felt a pang of conscience. She hated to miss even one day.
When the cell phone rang, it startled her, even though she was hoping it would ring. She had the Big Mac in one hand and a couple of fries in the other. “Let me answer it,” she said, desperately trying to free her hands without spilling food all over herself and the car. She gave a quick swipe to her greasy fingers with a paper napkin and pressed the talk button on the phone.
“Hello, this is Sa…Shahla.” She had almost given her Hotline name of Sally.
“Are you alone?”
Shahla felt a chill as she recognized the voice of the Cackling Crucifier. Or was it Nathan? It was both of them. Tony was right; the Crucifier and Nathan were the same person. She had never heard Nathan’s voice on the phone before.
“Yes,” she lied.” She looked at Tony and put her finger to her lips.
“I hear noises in the background.”
“I’m in the parking lot of a restaurant.” Stay as close to the truth as possible.
“Where is your maniac boyfriend?”
“He…had to go to work.”
“You’re using his phone.”
“He…he lent it to me. I left mine at home.”
“You said you wanted to be part of the Ascension.”
“Yes.” She clamped her mouth shut so she wouldn’t be tempted to say anything more. She had to find out how much information Nathan would give her before she started asking questions and made him suspicious.
“You haven’t given up your worldly possessions.”
“Can’t I…that is, can’t you take me as your…guest?” She couldn’t bring herself to use a stronger word, such as concubine.
“Is that what you want?”
No. “Yes.”
“How can I trust you?”
That question was unanswerable and might lead to her babbling. She remained silent, with an effort.
“Will you still feel the same way tonight?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll see.”
Shahla was afraid that Nathan would hang up. She said, “There is one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“If you take me, you have to let Tina go.”
Silence. Had he already killed Tina? Was this in vain? Shahla could hardly breathe. Beside her, Tony had cocked his ear and was staring at her, as if he wanted to snatch the phone. She put up her free hand to forestall him.
“That might be arranged.”
Shahla exhaled. “Let me speak to Tina.”
More silence. She wanted to yell into the phone. Only her Hotline training prevented her from doing that.
“Shahla?”
It was Tina’s voice, soft but unmistakable. “Tina, are you all right?”
“My hands and feet are taped. He says if I scream, he’ll tape my mouth too. He…he’s got a knife.”
She was crying. Shahla had heard Hotline listeners cry on the phone, and she knew the sounds well. At least Tina was still alive. “Are you in the car?”
“Yes.”
“Answer yes or no. Do you know where you are?”
“No.”
“Did you travel on the 405 to get where you are?”
“Uh…yes.”
“Do you see any hills close to you?”
There was some confusion on the other end of the line. Then Nathan’s voice said, “So you know she’s all right. I’ll call you later to make sure you’re still interested.”
“Nathan, wait.”
There was a click and the silence that signaled a hang up. Shahla turned to Tony. “You may be right. They may not be far from here.” She filled him in on the rest of the call.
“You did a good job.”
“That isn’t going to save Tina.”
“It helps.” He patted her shoulder. “Let’s do some exploring.” He started looking at the Thomas Guide.
Shahla was glad Tony was with her. He would keep his cool. He would prevent her from going off like a rocket ship.
CHAPTER 37
One of the reasons that Tony was driving around was to show activity. He hoped that they-especially Shahla-would see activity as progress. In any case, it was better than sitting in one place and waiting for Nathan to call again.
Tony and Shahla explored the open areas adjoining La Cienega Boulevard. Tony hadn’t realized how many grasshoppers pumping oil still existed in the middle of Los Angeles. They sat on various levels of the hillsides, bobbing their heads up and down with a regular beat, oblivious to the city that had grown up around them.
But the most logical place from which to ascend into heaven seemed to be the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. Tony remembered that there had been a Los Angeles county supervisor named Kenneth Hahn, one of the five powerful people who governed one of the most populated counties in the nation.
The spacious park had amenities to suit various tastes. Some people fished in the lake and others picnicked on the grass of the urban oasis, sheltered from the traffic and noise. But what caught the eyes of Tony and Shahla was the hillside. It was steep, and it had a ridge that extended for some distance along the north side of the park. But the first trails they saw that led to the ridge appeared to go straight up.
“If they have to climb one of these,” Tony said, “only the fittest and healthiest are going to get into heaven.”
They looked around some more and found an official trail that snaked up the west side of the hill and then went along the crest, according to a map they found at the trailhead. It did not ascend as steeply as the others they had seen. They decided to climb it and did so, slowly, to allow for Tony’s knee.
The dirt path was wide enough for a four-wheel-drive vehicle to navigate. They walked east along the ridge and found several roofed shelters where hikers could receive a temporary respite from the unforgiving sun that baked the brushy hillside, parched from a summer without rain. They could see a substantial sweep of the Los Angeles basin. It was like looking over a calm sea-but the sea in this case was composed of houses.
“I’ll bet this is beautiful at night,” Tony said, “with all the city lights. You can picture millions of people peacefully going about their business.”
“Or in some cases, not so peacefully,” Shahla said. “Maybe we should have told the police that we talked to Nathan and that Tina is with him.”
“If we told them that we talked to him by cell phone they might try to call him. If they did, don’t you think he would suspect that we’d tipped them off?”
“That I had tipped them off. You’re not with me, remember? But you’re right. Of course, they may try to call him anyway.”
“That’s the chance we have to take. But we can be sure they’re working on it from the church angle. Maybe they’ve found the good reverend.”
“And maybe not. Los Angeles is so big. How are we going to find Nathan if he doesn’t call back?”
“If he comes here, we’ll find him. And this looks like a logical place.”
Tony tried to exude confidence. Shahla looked vulnerable. He placed a consoling hand on her arm. They held each other for a while. Tony pictured a battery charger connected to a cell phone to recharge it. In this case, both of them were the chargers and both of them were the cell phones. They were trying to recharge each other-with courage and hope.