Cry of Angels

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29 WHEN Tio FOUND OUT ABOUT THE MOTORCYCLE HE WAS BESIDE himself. "That's an old Harley 80 stroker!" he cried as Em lifted it out of the water. "She'll bust the road wide open!" "Won't be bustin' nothin' anymore," observed Em, watching the mud and water drip. "Front tire's gone, frame twisted. You got a piece of junk there's what you got." Tio was all over it, squatting, feeling, testing, pulling. "You don't know what you're talkin' about, man; we take her apart and clean her up, touch up a little here and there, this mama bird'll totally fly!" We dragged it back to the garage and Tio cleared a space and began overhauling operations immediately. He spread one of Mr. Teague's best bedsheets on the dirt floor, and in no time it was covered with rods, tubes, bearings, pistons, springs, gaskets and metal entrails of every shape and size. I was amazed at how many parts a motorcycle could be broken into, and still Tio was taking parts out of parts. I was surprised when he set the wheels aside without removing the spokes. Then he started removing the spokes. 252 B O O K T W O "I can't stand here and watch this slaughter," said Em, and wandered off to get a beer. Later that afternoon, when I was in the loft fixing supper, I heard a slight noise, like coals falling in the heater. At first I thought nothing of it, thinking it was Tio down below. Then I heard it again, a scraping, and coming not from below, but from the shed side of the garage, and I turned in time to see a blue-jeaned leg come over the window sill. Phaedra Boggs lifted herself easily through the opening and dropped Jayell's missing shoe on the floor. "Hi, sport," she said, smiling. "Well, hello," I said. "You know, there's a door over on the other side." "Yeah, I know," she said, tugging at her sweatshirt. "I didn't want to be seen from the house. You can't see this side from up there." "I didn't know you could see any side from your place." That was a revelation. I had always thought the garage was completely secluded. She went to the window and pointed. "Up through there, see that little patch of white? That's the corner of my bedroom. You can see the whole place from up there. I used to watch you and the Indian sleeping on the floor in the summer—that looked like fun—and a couple of times I saw you coming up from the shower. Hah! You're blushing!" Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Aw, don't worry, Early boy, you got nothing big enough to be seen from that distance." I shoved a pot to the back of the stove and she broke up, doubling over, the laughter coming in deep, rich waves. After a moment, she said, "Seriously, I came to thank you, Earl, boy. You pulled me out of a grand mess last night." "Yeah, well, I thought I was saving the devil. If I'd known it was you I might have let you drown. Want some coffee?" "I'd love some. Here, I'll fix it. Sit down." I lifted myself on the sill. "What were they after you for anyway?" Phaedra shrugged. "Speeding, the costume—who knows. The highway patrol got in behind me about ten miles out, and I guess they radioed ahead because the city boys had a roadblock waiting at Four Forks. It was close gettin' there for a while." "Where were you coming from?" "Fraternity-house party in Athens. Vince Oliver took me over. 253 A C R Y O F A N G E L S But the games got childish so Sally grabbed her clothes and came home. The devil suit was the nearest thing handy." "How did you come by the bike?" "Some jerk stopped and offered me a lift home, but it turned out it was his home he had in mind, so I unloaded him at a red light and came on." "It's downstairs, by the way. What you want us to do with it?" "Keep it, sell it for junk—who cares." "Won't he come looking for it?" "Nah, the creep never even asked where...