Pete raised his eyebrows.
'Our Mr Rennie's the home team,' Julia said. 'He's going to climb onto the stump at the emergency town meeting Thursday night and try to wind this town up like a pocketwatch. The visitors get first ups, though.' She pointed at the newspapers. 'Those are our first ups. If enough people read that, he'll have some tough questions to answer before he gets to speechifying. Maybe we can disrupt his rhythm a little.'
'Maybe a lot, if we find out who did the rock-throwing at Food City,' Pete said. 'And you know what? I think we will. I think this whole thing was put together on the fly. There's got to be loose ends.'
'I just hope Barbie's still alive when we start pulling them,'Julia said. She looked at her watch. 'Come on, Rosie, let's take a ride. You want to come, Horace?'
Horace did.
18
'You can let me off here, sir,' Sammy said. It was a pleasant ranch-style in Eastchester. Although the house was dark, the lawn was lit, because they were now close to the Dome, where bright lights had been set up at the Chester's Mill-Harlow town line.
'Wa'm nuther beer for the road, Missy Lou?'
'No, sir, this is the end of the road for me.' Although it wasn't. She still had to go back to town. In the yellow glow cast by the domelight, Alden Dinsmore looked eighty-five instead of forty-five. She had never seen such a sad face... except maybe for her own, in the mirror of her hospital room before she set out on this journey. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. The stubble there prickled her lips. He put his hand to the spot, and actually smiled a little.
'You ought to go home now, sir. You've got a wife to think about. And another boy to take care of.'
'I s'pose you're right.'
'I am right.'
'You be okay?'
'Yes, sir.' She got out, then turned back to him. 'Will you?'
'I'll try,' he said.
Sammy slammed the door and stood at the end of the driveway, watching him turn around. He went into the ditch, but it was dry and he got out all right. Pie headed back toward 119, weaving at first. Then the taillights settled into a more or less straight line. He was in the middle of the road again - f**king the white line, Phil would have said - but she thought that would be okay It was going on eight thirty now, full dark, and she didn't think he'd meet anyone.
When his taillights winked out of sight, she walked up to the dark ranch house. It wasn't much compared to some of the fine old homes on Town Common Hill, but nicer than anything she'd ever had. It was nice inside, too. She had been here once with Phil, back in the days when he did nothing but sell a little weed and cook a little glass out back of the trailer for his own use. Back before he started getting his strange ideas about Jesus and going to that crappy church, where they believed everybody was going to hell but them. Religion was where Phil's trouble had started. It had led him to Coggins, and Coggins or someone else had turned him into The Chef.
The people who had lived here weren't tweekers; tweekers wouldn't be able to keep a house like this for long, they'd freebase the mortgage. But Jack and Myra Evans had enjoyed a little wacky tobacky from time to time, and Phil Bushey had been happy to supply it. They were nice people, and Phil had treated them nice. Back in those days he'd still been capable of treating people nice.
Myra gave them iced coffee. Sammy had been seven or so months gone with Little Walter then, showing plenty, and Myra had asked her if she wanted a boy or a girl. Not looking down her nose a bit. Jack had taken Phil into his little office-den to pay him, and Phil had called to her. 'Hey, honey, you should get a load of this!'
It all seemed so long ago.
She tried the front door. It was locked. She picked up one of the decorative stones that bordered Myra's flowerbed and stood in front of the picture window, hefting it in her hand. After some thought, she went around back instead of throwing it. Climbing through a window would be difficult in her current condition. And even if she was able (and careful), she might cut herself badly enough to interfere with the rest of her plans for the evening.
Also, it was a nice house. She didn't want to vandalize it if she didn't have to.