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was another leather chair and a small sofa. Garth took
the chair. On the small coffee table between them was a large art book from the
Carnegie museum in Pittsburgh. As soon as they sat, a waiter appeared and
poured coffee for each of them and took their breakfast order.
    “They’ll make you pretty much
anything,” Garth said. “No menu. All the normal stuff.”
    They each gave the waiter an order
and he departed. Although Steven could see people passing by on their way to
breakfast, the alcove was relatively private.
    “Your message was intriguing and
not very informative,” Garth said.
    “Sorry about that,” Steven said. “I
needed to get your attention, because I need your help.”
    “And how can I help you?” Garth
asked, pouring cream into his coffee.
    Months ago Steven might have
danced around the subject. Now he felt the direct approach was the best. “Over
the past few days,” Steven said, “I’ve been harassed by your father, Frank.”
    “Stepfather,” Garth said, taking a
sip of coffee. “And that’s quite impossible, since he’s been dead for forty
years.”
    “It’s not his physical self
threatening me,” said Steven. “It’s his soul.”
    Garth sat his cup down and looked
at Steven defensively. “Is this a shakedown? Despite all this,” he said, waving
his hand, “I don’t have money. It’s all locked away in my children’s hands, so you’re
wasting your time.”
    “No, nothing like that,” Steven
said. “I’m only after information. Your stepfather has threatened to kill me.
I’m trying to figure out why.”
    “You’re speaking about him in the
present tense,” Garth said. “You realize you sound like a lunatic?”
    “I’m betting you know I’m not,”
Steven said.
    Garth eyed Steven again, giving
him the once over.
    “Frank’s soul has been caged for
the past eighty years,” Daniel said. “Even though he passed away forty years
ago, his soul is still very much alive. The problem is the cage is now
deteriorating, and he’ll be on the loose within a few days. And he appears to
be pissed off.”
    The color drained from Garth’s
face. He looked from left to right and back again, seeming to be searching for
a way out of something. “I didn’t think there was a time limit,” he muttered.
    “What?” Steven asked. “Did you say
a time limit?”
    Garth looked up. “Yes, I didn’t
think there was a time limit.”
    “On Frank?” Steven asked.
    “Yes, on Frank,” Garth said.
    “So you know what I’m talking
about?” Steven said.
    Garth sighed. “Yes,” he said. “I
think I do.”
    The waiter appeared with their food.
Garth paused while the plates were passed around and more coffee was poured.
Once the waiter left, Garth took a bite of a bagel. He chewed it slowly and
deliberately, as though he was using the time to pull up memories of Frank.
    “It’s a rather long story, Mr.
Hall,” Garth said.
    “Please, call me Steven,” he
replied.
    “All right, Steven then. It’s a
long story, and it happened a long time ago. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m rather
old now, and my memory isn’t what it used to be. But I’ll go back if you want
me to.”
    “It’s more of a case of needing
you to,” Steven said. “I believe when the cage is gone, he will try to kill me.
He’s already tried and failed.”
    “All right then,” Garth said. “I
believe you. My stepfather was an evil man. Let me tell you what happened back
in 1933.”
     

Chapter Five
     
     
     
    Sean had been hungry all day from
the moment he’d woken up. He’d eaten a couple of spring onions while working in
the fields with his stepfather, but they were still young and bitter and not
very satisfying. Still, it felt good to have something in his mouth to chew.
Since his mother died, that feeling had become increasingly rare.
    The years with his mother now
seemed like a distant dream, a paradise. Then, he and Garth played at home all
day while she worked around the house. They had a large