Robert weinberg the bl.., p.28
Robert Weinberg - The Black Lodge,
p.28
"That didn't happen with Sangmeister," said Janet, reaching for the truth. "Nor the rest of the Black Lodge."
"Their minds combined with the negative aspects of God's will," said Taine. "For that one instant, they experienced all of the despair and hatred in our world. A thousand lifetimes of lust and degradation flooded their minds. The more innocent ones collapsed immediately. They were the lucky ones.
"Others, like Sangmeister, absorbed the full impact of that anguish. No man living could endure that torment. A few are dead. Most of the rest went insane. Ape is going through the audience now, trying to get some sort of casualty count."
Cautiously, Janet touched Sangmeister's arm. It felt hard as steel. Muscles stretched to the breaking point, he was frozen in place.
"Linked by the Dark Man to the outer darkness, Sangmeister suffered through the tortures of the damned. I feel sorry for him. He lived through agonies a million times greater than any he inflicted. It destroyed his intellect. Physically, he's still alive. But his mind is gone, wiped clean."
"You can feel sorry for that son-of-a-bitch," said Janet, "but I can't. He got what he deserved."
"Being Grand Master of the Black Lodge wasn't enough for him. He wanted complete control over the organization and its lucrative drug operation. So he came up with a complicated plan to eliminate all of his rivals in the Order. You and Tim and even Roger were merely pawns he used to strike at your father. Just as he tried using Angel to upset Victor Caldwell. That failed because that fat slug didn't give a damn about his wife."
"How is Angel?" asked Janet, suddenly aware the woman was nowhere to be seen.
"Ape helped her into the house. Being tied to the cross that way exhausted her. She passed out well before the gruesome stuff started. After a few days rest, she'll be fine."
"And with her father and husband both dead, a very rich lady as well." Janet latched onto one of Taine's arms. "You stay away from her. I didn't suffer through all this to lose you to that blonde."
Taine laughed but made no effort to pull free. She took that to mean he agreed with her assessment of the situation. Then the full import of her words sunk in.
"It never occurred to me, but with Leo dead, I stand to inherit quite a bundle as well."
Thinking about her father brought tears to her eyes. She looked up at Taine. "He saved Tim's life."
"At the cost of his own," said Taine. "I think Leo considered it a fair bargain. You should remember him for that, not for a terrible mistake he made twenty years ago."
Janet nodded. "If sin exists, then so must redemption," she said, echoing his words of the night before.
"Otherwise only evil triumphs," he concluded, somberly. "And that happens all too often."
Taine gently separated his arm from hers. "No more romance till we get home. We should be leaving."
"It all worked out in the end," said Janet. "Just like you said it would. All we have to do is call the police after we're gone. There's nothing here to link us with this place."
"Victor Caldwell bragged that even death could not destroy the Black Lodge. Whenever one Master perished, another rose from their ranks to take his place. He was right. However, he conveniently ignored one equally important fact.
"The Lodge exists only through absolute secrecy. Destroy that and the Order disintegrates. Once the newspapers get a hold of this story, think of the scandal. The wealthiest and most powerful men in Chicago linked with a satanic cult. Publicity will destroy the Black Lodge. Whatever records Sangmeister kept will serve as nails in its coffin.
"We'll make an anonymous call to the two detectives who are after Ape. They sound pretty sharp. It won't take them long to link the order with the Dark Man's murder spree. Especially when they find Sangmeister standing there clutching a blood-stained butcher's cleaver. That will clear Ape's name as well as provide a solid explanation for the killings."
"How will they untangle what happened here tonight?" she asked.
"Who knows? Who cares?"
"Sangmeister thought of himself as the master schemer," she said quietly. "He manipulated people like pawns. You said it yourself. This all took place because of his mad lust for complete control of the Lodge. Yet you outguessed him at every turn. Who are you, Sidney Taine?"
"Yeah, I was wondering that, too," said Ape Largo, coming up silently behind them. "I thought Sangmeister was gonna have a stroke when you started talking about the tarot cards. What's your secret?"
Taine grinned. "I can't argue with such persistence. In his office, I revealed to Victor Caldwell that I belonged to an organization concerned about the future of the Black Lodge. He immediately leapt to the conclusion that I came from another group of black magicians. I saw no reason to correct his mistake."
"Then a White Lodge exists as well?" asked Janet.
"Of course. I was given the long-term mission of infiltrating and destroying this order. Coincidence and luck thrust me into the center of things long before I expected. In the end, it worked out fine. My job here is finished."
"Now what?" asked Janet, with a sinking feeling deep inside.
"I go back to being a detective full-time," he replied. "Maybe I'll even settle down and get married. If the right young woman agrees."
"I think she will," said Janet and threw her arms around his neck.
"Hey, cut it out," said Ape after a few seconds. "Don't you guys have any shame? You can do that stuff when you're alone."
He waved an arm in the general direction of the still senseless audience. "What are we gonna do about these jerks?"
"The police will take care of them," said Taine. "Let's find Papa Benjamin, Tim and Angel and get going."
"I guess we won," said Ape as they walked back to the mansion.
"Just a skirmish," said Taine. "The war continues. But for now, for here, the Black Lodge has met for the last time."
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TK Scanned and proofed. (v1.0) html NOV 2010.
Unknown, Robert Weinberg - The Black Lodge
