Year's Best Scifi 3 Part 38

But what the h.e.l.l did Isaac mean about my family?

Jenna was overseas, and not really family-yet. My folks lived in Teaneck, my sister was married to an Israeli guy in Brookline... what connection did they have to what was happening here?

Jeez-none! Isaac hadn't been referring to them at all.

I was slow on the uptake today. He'd likely mistaken me for Mo-he'd seen bothof us for the first time here yesterday.

He was talking about Mo's family-Corinne and the kids.

I raced back to the car, the smoky air cutting my throat with a different jagged edge each time my foot hit the ground.

"What's going on?" Sarah said.

I waved her off, jumped in the car, and put a call through to Corinne. Ring, ring, ring. No answer.

"What's the matter?" she asked again.

I quickly told her. "Let's get over there," I said, and turned the car, screeching, back on to Northstar.

"All right, take it easy," Sarah said. "It's Sat.u.r.day- Corinne could just be out shopping with the kids."

"Right, the day after their father died-in my arms," I said.

"All right," she said again, "but you still don't want to get into an accident now.

We'll be there in ten minutes."

I nodded, tried Corinne's number again, same ring, ring, ringing.

"Fireflies likely caused the fire," Sarah said.

"What?"

"Fireflies-a few of the Amish use them for interior lighting," Sarah said.

"Yah, Mo mentioned that," I said. "But fireflies give cool light-bioluminescence-no heat."

"Not the ones I've seen around here," Sarah said. "They're infected with certain heat-producing bacteria-sym-bionts, really, not an infection-and the result gives both light and heat. At least, that's the species some of these people use around here when winter starts setting in. I had a little Mendelian lamp myself-that's what they're called-you know, the one that broke on the floor in my place last night."

"So you think one of those... lamps went out of control and started the fire?" I asked. Suddenly I had a vision of burning up as I slept on her couch.

Sarah chewed her lip. "Maybe worse-maybe someone set it to go out of control. Or bred it that way-a bio-luminescent, bio-thermic time-bomb."

"Your bio-mob covers a lot of territory," I said. "Allergens that cause low-level irritation in millions of people, catalysts that amplify other allergens to kill at least two people, anti-catalytic tomato sauce, and now pyrotechnic fireflies."

"Not that much distance at all when you're dealing with co-evolution and symbiosis," Sarah said. "h.e.l.l, we've got aci-dophilous bacteria living in us right now that help us digest our food. Lots more difference between them and us than between thermal bacteria and fireflies."

I put my foot on the gas pedal and prayed we wouldn't get stopped by someeager-beaver Pennsylvania trooper.

"That's the problem," Sarah continued. "Co-evolution, bio-mixing-and-matching, is a blessing and a curse. When every-thing's organic, and you cross-breed, you can get marvelous things. But you can also get flies that burn down buildings."

We finally got to Mo's house.

"d.a.m.n." At least it was still standing, but there was no car in the driveway. And the door was half open.

"You wait in the car," I said to Sarah.

She started to protest.

"Look," I said. "We may be dealing with killers here- you've been saying that yourself. You'll only make it harder for me if you come along and I have to worry about protecting you."

"Okay," she nodded.

I got out of the car.

Unfortunately, I didn't have my gun-truth is, I never used it anyway. I didn't like guns. Department had issued one to me when I'd first come to work for them, and I'd promptly put it away in my closet. Not the most brilliant move I'd ever made, given what was going on here now.

I walked into the house, as quietly as I could. I thought it better that I not announce myself-if Corinne and the kids were home, and I offended or frightened them by just barging in, there'd be time to apologize later.

I walked through the foyer and then the dining room that I'd never made it into to taste Corinne's great cooking yesterday. Then the kitchen and a hallway, and- I saw a head, strawberry blond on the floor, poking out of a bedroom.

Someone was on top of her.

"Laurie!" I shouted and dove in the room, shoving off the boy who was astride her.

"Wha-" he started to say, and I picked him up, bodily, and threw him across the room. I didn't know whether to turn to Laurie or him-but I figured I couldn't do anything for Laurie with this kid at my back. I grabbed a sheet off the bed, rolled it tight, and went over to tie him up.

"Mr., I-" He sounded groggy, I guess from hitting the wall.

"Shut up," I said, "and be glad I don't shoot you."

"But I-"

"I said shut up." I tied him as tightly as I could. Then I dragged him over to the same side of the room as Laurie, so I could keep an eye on him while I tended to her."Laurie," I said softly, and touched her face with my hand. She gave no response.

She was out cold on something- I peeled back her eyelid, and saw a light blue eye floating, dilated, drugged out on who knew what.

"What the h.e.l.l did you do to her? Where's her mother and sister?" I bellowed.

"I don't know-I mean, I don't know where they are," the kid said. "I didn't do anything to her. But I can help her."

"Sure you can," I said. "You'll excuse me if I go call an ambulance."

"No, please, Mr., don't do that!" the kid said. His voice sounded familiar. Amos Stoltzfus!

"She'll die before she gets to the hospital," he said. "But I have something here that can save her."

"Like you saved your father?" I asked.

There were tears in the kid's eyes. "I got there too late for my father. How did you know my-Oh, I see, you're the friend of Mo Buhler's I was talking to this morning."

I ignored him and started walking out of the room.

"Please. I care about Laurie too. We're-we've been seeing each other-"

I turned around and picked him up off the floor. "Yeah? That's so? And how do I know you didn't somehow do this to her?"

"There's a medicine in my pocket. It's a tomato variant. Please-I'll drink half of it down to show you it's okay, then you give the rest to Laurie-we don't have much time."

I considered for a moment. I looked at Laurie. I guess I didn't have anything to lose having the kid drink half of whatever he was talking about. "Okay," I said.

"Which pocket?"

He gestured to his left front jeans.

I pulled out a small vial-likely contained only five or six ounces.

"You sure you want to do this?" I asked. I suddenly had a queasy feeling-I didn't want to be the vehicle of some sick patricidal kid's suicide.

"I don't care whether you give it to me or not," Amos said. "Just give some to Laurie already! Please!"

I have to make gut decisions all the time in my line of work. Only usually not about families I deeply care about. I thought for another second, and decided.

I bypa.s.sed his taking the sample, and went over to Laurie. I hated to give her any liquid when she was still unconscious- "It's absorbed on the back of the tongue," Amos said. "It works quick."

G.o.d, I hoped this kid was right-I'd kill him with my bare hands if this wasn't right for Laurie. I put an ounce or two on her tongue. A few seconds went by. More.Maybe thirty seconds, forty... "G.o.dd.a.m.nit, how exactly long does this-"

She moaned, as if on cue. "Laurie?" I asked, and patted her face.

"Mmm..." She opened her eyes. And smiled! "Phil?"

"Yeah, honey, everything's okay," I said.

"Laurie!" Amos called out from across the room.

Laurie got up. "Amos? What are you doing here? Why are you tied up like that?"

She looked at him and then me like we were both crazy.

"Long story, never mind," I said, and went over to untie Amos. I found myself grinning at him. "Good on you, you were right, kid," I said.

He smiled back.

"Where are your Mom and Emma?" I asked.

"Oh," Laurie suddenly looked sadder than I'd ever seen her. "They went over to the funeral home this morning, that's where Dad is, to make arrangements. They took your car, Mom found the keys for it in your bag." And she started crying.

Amos put his arms around her, comforting her.

"You have any idea what happened to you? I mean, after your Mom and sister left?" I asked gently.

"Well," she said, "some nice lady was coming around selling stuff-you know, soaps, perfumes, and little household things-like Avon, but some company I never heard of. And she asked me if I wanted to smell some new perfume-and it smelled wonderful, like a combination of lilacs and the ocean, and then... I don't know, I guess you were calling me, and I saw Amos tied up and... what happened? Did I pa.s.s out?"

"Well-" I started.

"Uhm, Mr., ahm, Phil-" Amos interrupted.

"It's Dr. D'Amato, but my friends call me Phil, and you've earned that right," I said.

"Okay, thanks, Dr. D'Amato-sorry, I mean Phil-but I don't think we should hang around here. These people-"

"What do you mean?" I said.

"I'm saying I don't like what the light looks like in this house. They killed my father, they tried to poison Laurie, who knows what they might have planted-"

"Okay, I see your point," I said, and saw again the Stoltzfus farm-Amos's farm-ashes in the dirt.

I looked at Laurie. "I'm fine," she said. "But why do we have to leave?"

"Let's just go," I said, and Amos and I ushered her out. The first thing I noticed when we were out of the house was that Sarah and my car-Mo's car-were gone.The second thing I noticed was a searing heat on the back of my neck. I rushed Laurie and Amos across the street, and turned back to squint at the house.

Intense blue-white flames were sticking their searing tongues out of every window, licking the roof and the walls and now the garden with colors I'd never seen before.

Laurie cried out in horror. Amos held her close. "Fireflies," he muttered.

The house burned to the ground in minutes.

We stood mute, in hot/cold s.h.i.+vering shock, for what felt like a long, long time.

I finally realized I was breathing hard. I thought about allergic reactions. I thought about Sarah.

"They must've taken Sarah," I said.

"Sarah?" Amos asked, holding Laurie tight in a clearly loving way. She was sobbing.

"Sarah Fischer," I said.

Laurie and Amos both nodded.

"She was a friend of my father's," Laurie said.

"She's my sister," Amos said.

"What?" I turned to Amos. Laurie pulled away and looked at him too. He had a peculiar, almost tortured sneer on his face, mixture of hatred and heartbreak.

"She left our home more than ten years ago," Amos said. "I was still just a little boy. She said she could no longer be bound by the ways of our Ordnung-she said it was like agreeing to be mentally r.e.t.a.r.ded for the rest of your life. So she left to go to some school. And I think she's been working with those people-those people who killed my father and burned Laurie's house."

I suddenly tasted the grapes in my mouth from last night, sweet taste with choking smoke, and I felt sick to my stomach. I swallowed, took a deliberate deep breath.