A woman said, Take that to her.
Horace looked up, his ears pricking. That was not Julia or the other woman; it was a deadvoice. Horace, like all dogs, heard dead-voices quite often, and sometimes saw their owners. The dead were all around, but living people saw them no more than they could smell most of the ten thousand aromas that surrounded them every minute of every day.
Take that to Julia, she needs it, it's hers.
That was ridiculous. Julia would never eat anything that had been in his mouth, Horace knew this from long experience. Even if he pushed it out with his snout she wouldn't eat it. It was people-food, yes, but now it was also floorfood.
Not the popcorn. The -
'Horace?'Julia asked in that sharp voice that said he was being bad - as in Oh, you bad dog, you know better, blah-blah-blah. 'What are you doing back there? Come out.'
Horace threw it in reverse. He gave her his most charming grin - gosh, Julia, how I love you - hoping that no popcorn was stuck to the end of his nose. He'd gotten a few pieces, but he sensed the real motherlode had escaped him.
'Have you been foraging?'
Horace sat, looking up at her with the proper expression of adoration. Which he did feel; he loved Julia very much.
'A better question would be what have you been foraging?' She bent to look into the gap between the couch and the wall.
[Before she could, the other woman began to make a gagging noise. She wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to stop a shivering fit, but was unsuccessful. Her smell changed, and Horace knew she was going to yark. He watched closely. Sometimes peopleyark had good things in it.
'Andi?' Julia asked. 'Are you okay?'
Stupid question, Horace thought. Can't you smell her? But that was a stupid question, too. Julia could hardly smell herself when she was sweaty.
'Yes. No. I shouldn't have eaten that raisin bun. I'm going to - ' She hurried out of the room. To add to the smells coming from the piss-and-scat place, Horace assumed. Julia followed. For a moment Horace debated squeezing back under the table, but he smelled worry on Julia and hurried at her heels instead.
He had forgotten all about the deadvoice.
CHAPTER 20
3
'Rusty,' called Claire McClatchey from the car. It was early, but she answered on the first ring, and he wasn't surprised. No one in Chester's Mill was getting much sleep these days, at least not without pharmacological assistance.
She promised to have Joe and his friends at the house by eight thirty at the latest, would pick them up herself, if necessary. Lowering her voice, she said, T think Joe is crushing on the Calvert girl.'
'He'd be a fool not to,' Rusty said.
'Will you have to take them out there?'
'Yes, but not into a high radiation zone. I promise you that, Mrs McClatchey.'
'Claire. If I'm going to allow my son to go with you to an area where the animals apparently commit suicide, I think we should be on a |first-name basis.'
'You get Benny and Norrie to your house and I promise to take care of them on the field trip. That work for you?'
Claire said it did. Five minutes after hanging up on her, Rusty was turning off an eerily deserted Motton Road and onto Drummond Lane, a short street lined with Eastchester s nicest homes. The nicest of the nice was the one with BURPEE on the mailbox. Rusty was soon in the Burpee kitchen, drinking coffee (hot; the Burpee generator was still working) with Romeo and his wife, Michela. Both of them looked pale and grim. Rommie was dressed, Michela still in her housecoat.
'You t'ink dat guy Barbie really killed Bren?' Rommie asked. 'Because if he did, my friend, I'm gonna kill him myself
Michela put a hand on his arm. 'You ain't that dumb, honey'
'I don't think so,' Rusty said. 'I think he was framed. But if you tell people I said that, we could all be in trouble.'
'Rommie always loved that woman.' Michela was smiling, but there was frost in her voice. 'More than me, I sometimes think.'
Rommie neither confirmed nor denied this - seemed, in fact, not to hear it at all. He leaned toward Rusty, his brown eyes intent. 'What you talking 'bout, doc? Framed how?'
'Nothing I want to go into now. I'm here on other business. And I'm afraid this is also secret.'
'Then I don't want to hear it,' Michela said. She left the room, taking her coffee cup with her.
'Ain't gonna be no lovin from dat woman tonight,' Rommie said.
'I'm sorry'
Rommie shrugged. 'I got 'nother one, crosstown. Misha knows, although she don't let on. Tell me what your other bi'ness is, doc'
'Some kids think they may have found what's generating the Dome. They're young but smart. I trust them. They had a Geiger counter, and they got a radiation spike out on Black Ridge Road. Not into the danger zone, but they didn't get all that close.'
'Close to what? What'd they see?'
'A flashing purple light. You know where the old orchard is?'