Free Miracle Man by Hildy Fox Page B

seemed nice enough, so I agreed. Of course, at this stage I
knew nothing about what was going on. Then when you told me about the cinema
and you being fired I just couldn't think about anything else so I didn't
bother about seeing him. Only he took it upon himself to drop in." The
next few scenes were about to be cast onto the cutting room floor. "We
spoke for a while, and that's when you called. Then I duly went crazy and
kicked him out."
    "You kicked him
out?"

 
    "Yep. Didn't even wait
for an explanation. So this morning I decided to go over and confront him, to
find out what I could. I was naively hoping that there'd been some sort of huge
misunderstanding. But he only confirmed the worst. Demolition begins next week,
and they're planning to build a giant-sized pinball parlour. I just don't
believe it."
    "So what did you
do?"
    "There was nothing I
could do. I told him I'd do everything I could to stop him, then left. And here
I am and I'm not sure where to begin. I need your help on this."
    The waitress delivered two
cups and a pot of tea to the table. Wally's grey eyes looked at Lahra, and she
could almost see the machinations of his mind behind them. The Miracle Cinema
sat silently across the road like a third party in the conversation.
    "You say this Marcus
Dean works for some company in the city?"
    Lahra nodded.
    "So chances are they've
got an army of lawyers that specialise in all of this real estate development
stuff."
    Lahra nodded as if to say
yes, probably.
    "And we've got about
three days to figure out a way of stopping them from tearing down the
Miracle."
    Again Lahra nodded, slowly.
    "Boy, you sure know how
to pick a fight, Doc," Wally said shaking his head.
    "Wally, think about it.
I don't have to tell you how important the Miracle is to Riverbank, let alone
how important it is to you and me. It's one of the most beautiful buildings of
its era. Any building that special should be protected at all costs."
    "I know that, and you
know that. But I've watched over recent years, and people just don't seem to
come here like they used to. It doesn't seem like the people of Riverbank know
what we know."

 
    "Wally, you've done
everything you could to keep the Miracle on its feet. But with someone like
Perkins running it it's no wonder business has been going downhill. At least
his father cared about the place enough to maintain it and have a decent
program. Perkins is gone, now. If we can find some way to get the people of
Riverbank behind what we want to achieve, maybe we can stop Marcus, or at least
get him to rethink."
    "In three days?"
    "I know, I know,"
Lahra conceded. "But we have to at least try. From what I understand, all
of this business has been planned without the town being aware of any of it.
It’s all back door deals. If we make it an issue people might sit up and start
listening. We have a university full of students! Surely they're dying to
protest about something!"
    Lahra smiled at Wally, and
once again she watched the activity behind his eyes. But this time there was
something else. An added spark. An energy.
    "I have an idea or
two," he said at last in a low, gruff voice. "But if we start this,
there's no turning back. No regrets if things don't come out right. If you
declare a war, Doc, you have to be prepared to fight."
    "Lately I've been
surprising myself at my ability to handle confrontations. I can handle it if
you can."
    Wally's moustache curled up
into a smile. "Alright. Here's what I was thinking..."
    But Lahra's attention was
suddenly elsewhere. Wally's gaze followed hers through the window, into the
street. Pulling into a parking space right alongside the Miracle was a black
convertible BMW.
    "Lahra, what is
it?"

 
    Lahra swallowed hard as
butterflies sprouted wings in the pit of her stomach and took flight. Until now
the concept of Marcus Dean's association with the Miracle Cinema was almost an
abstract one. It had been discussed, but little else. Now, seeing him emerging
from his