Part 9 (1/2)
”My G.o.d.” Dave was having trouble breathing. ”What happened to my house?”
”We left it. It's back in 2018.”
They were in a theater district. But not the one along Chestnut and Walnut in Philadelphia. They were standing in front of the St. James Theater, which was showing Naughty Marietta Naughty Marietta. Across the street, the Imperial was running Laugh Parade Laugh Parade, and the Schubert had Everybody's Welcome Everybody's Welcome.
The women wore jazz-age clothes, and a lot of them were wrapped in furs. Skirts were long.
Shel's hands were in his pockets. He stood quietly, gazing around, taking everything in, making no real effort to conceal how pleased he was. Behaving as if he did this every day. ”Dave,” he said, ”we're in New York. On West Forty-fourth Street.”
Dave's voice had deserted him. He needed a minute to get it back. ”Not possible,” he said.
”It's 1931.”
”Come on, Shel.” Dave leaned against a doorframe.
”December thirteenth.”
He wanted a place to sit down. But there were no benches. They were standing outside a music store.
”There was no way to warn you about this,” said Shel. ”Or prepare you for it.”
”Time travel-” Dave shook his head. ”They only do that in the movies.”
”You want to ask a cop?” Shel nodded toward a police officer strolling in their direction.
The policeman took a quick look at them as he pa.s.sed. And apparently decided they didn't const.i.tute a threat. Snippets of conversation caught Dave's attention: ”-I heard it on WEAF-”
”-Hoover's going to figure it out-”
”-the Roadster. We're all all going.” going.”
Dave's hand gripped the black device attached to his belt. ”It really is is, isn't it? A time machine?”
”Yes. And it's how I got out into western Pennsylvania.”
”And you didn't know know?”
”The thing didn't come with instructions, Dave. How could I have known?”
”My G.o.d, Shel. Where'd you get it?” And suddenly he understood. ”Your father.”
”Yes.”
”It's how he disappeared out of his house.”
”That's right.”
”So where'd he go?”
”I don't know exactly. He said maybe he was going to talk to Galileo. Maybe Ben Franklin. Maybe Albert Einstein. h.e.l.l, who knows?”
Dave burst out laughing. ”Galileo.”
”It's why I need you.”
”He's dead. They're all dead.”
”Come on, Dave. Stay with me.”
”You're going after him.”
”Yes. I'm going to try Galileo first.”
”And you need somebody who speaks Italian.”
”Right again.”
”Let me understand what we're talking about here. You want to go back to the-what is it?-the seventeenth century to look for your father?”
”You always were quick, Dave.”
”Shel, I don't know how to break this to you, but the Italian they spoke several hundred years ago isn't going to be the Italian they speak today.”
”Dave, you're my best shot. Please-”
”Do you know when when?”
”What do you mean?”
”Do you know precisely when and where in the seventeenth century he was planning to go?” He frowned. ”Listen to me. I sound like a nut.”
Shel managed a pained smile. ”No,” he said. ”Only that he would go to see Galileo.”
”Well, you have a time machine. Why don't you go back and ask him?”
”I've already done that. I don't think I can do it again.” They were standing with a crowd at an intersection, waiting for the light to change. It did, and the crowd started across. A car making a turn tried to push its way through. There was some yelling.
”Why can't you?” asked Dave.
”It's complicated. But he says if I create a paradox, bad things will happen.”
”What kind of bad things?”
”Heart attacks, maybe.”
”What?”
”He lost a partner during an experiment. The event's over. I can't go back and change it.”