Before she could reply, there was another violent crack of thunder overhead. A purple flash seeped into the room, and the lights went out! Liz uttered an involuntary cry.
"Well, I guess that's it!" he said. "We'd better go downstairs. I have a flashlight. We'll go across the hall and get the one in your room—and hope the Bambas have dry matches."
Nick met them at the foot of the stairs. "Come into the family room. We're lighting lamps. Sorry about this. We should have a generator, but there've been so many other things to do and buy."
"Qwill," Lori called from the office door, "why don't you bring Koko and Yum Yum down?"
For the next five hours, four persons and two animal companions huddled together as sheets of rain assaulted the building and the wind screamed through the treetops like a hundred harmonicas. At the storm's apex, when the turbulence was directly over the island, the thunder was a series of explosions, each louder than the last, making the ground shudder. There were moments when the building quaked enough to rattle glasses and tilt pictures. At such moments Lori sat quietly with eyes closed and lips moving as she hugged Koko for security. Qwilleran held Yum Yum, mumbling reassurances. Both cats were wide-eyed, and their ears swiveled wildly.
Nick produced a jug of red wine, saying, "We might as well be drunk as the way we are."
Qwilleran had to exercise intense willpower to refuse. "How long can it last?" he shouted above the din.
"It's passing over."
Now there were several seconds or even a full minute between thunderclaps, and the purple flashes were weaker, but the rain still bombarded the building. Occasionally there was a loud crack as a tree limb snapped off, followed by a jarring thump as it landed on the roof. No one mentioned it, but all must have been thinking, What if a tree comes through the roof? What if tons of water pour into the building?
Now at least it was possible to talk and be heard, although there was no conversation as such—merely .spoken thoughts:
"It still sounds like a locomotive roaring past!" "The ancient gods of the island are snarling and gnashing their teeth."
"Thank God we sent the kids to the mainland." "They'll be getting it over there, too." "Have you ever seen one as bad as this?" "The cats are very good. Koko is tense, though." "Yum Yum has been trembling nonstop." "Did you look at the wind gauge, Nick?" "It broke the gauge. Must've reached a hundred." "Wonder how high the lake is." "If it reaches road-level, we could have a washout." "Did anyone ever read High Wind in Jamaica?" Sometimes the wind stopped for one blessed moment, then resumed its attack from another direction. When> in the small hours of the morning, the tumult ceased, there was stunned silence in the small room. Everyone claimed to be weary.
"Anyone hungry?" Lori asked.
It was sleep that everyone craved. The oil lamps were extinguished, and flashlights guided the survivors through the black rooms.
CHAPTER 18
No daylight filtered through the shuttered windows the day after the storm; even the Siamese didn't know it was breakfast time. Only the sound of the sheriff's helicopter assessing the damage and the sound of Nick removing shutters suggested that it was time to get up.
Lori offered Qwilleran hot coffee, cold cereal, and an orange from the fruit basket. "Look out the front door," she said. "You won't believe it."
The sun was shining; the flood waters were rapidly receding; and a workmanlike breeze was drying the drenched building and terrain.
"We were lucky." Lori said. "Wait'll you hear the eleven o'clock newscast!" The WPKX announcer said:
The worst storm in forty years has done its dirty work in Moose County. Beach homes and fisheries on the shore sustained minor damage, but the storm vented its greatest fury on the south end of Pear Island, commonly called Breakfast Island. The Pear Island Hotel was virtually leveled during the five-hour onslaught, which has been officially recorded as a northern hurricane. Winds up to a hundred miles an hour, plus a lake surge, made mincemeat of a structure that was completed less than two months ago. Uprooted trees of tremendous height fell on the flat-roofed building and adjoining strip malls. Sections of the boardwalk and piers were hurled into the wreckage. All personnel had been evacuated from the complex, and no casualties have been reported. The developers, XYZ Enterprises, could not be reached for comment at this hour, but observers estimate that the damage will be in the high millions. Elsewhere on the island, buildings that have survived almost a century of storms continued to withstand the elements with only minor damage.
Qwilleran asked Lori, "Has Ms. Cage been down?"
