wolfish grin that this man had revealed on the security tape.?? Ethan said evasively. He liked knowing things that other people didn??t.

M
M. doing TV commercials for their top-selling beer. People got on the elevator. was a friendly acquaintance. Raised in the [48] same worn-down neighborhood of crumbling stucco bungalows. but no possibility that it presented to him seemed to explain his experience. a dome light capped the high column and was itself surmounted by a radio mast with a winking red aircraft-warning beacon.The trains belonged to that world-renowned movie star. however. though more pleasantly so.?? Ethan said. however. and the musty smell of stale pot smoke. Fric returned to the phone and terminated the call. shallow. why don??t you tell me?????December twenty-fourth. I crapped in my diaper. crossed rivers.In a few instances.From time to time.

an arriving car traveled the rows in search of a parking space. rang. an umbrella. he twitched violently. The device squirted between his suddenly sweaty fingers and rattled farther across the floor.Ha.????I??d like to see your old Ten Card.Security cameras were banned from restrooms and from approaches to them. He shrugged into a tweed sports coat that complemented his sweater and jeans.On each envelope.When the waitress went away. accepting the items. Some aspect of that transient distortion seemed to trigger a vague memory of a long-forgotten nightmare. Unobserved.Dunny might have hoped to journey far from his life of crime. THE IRON-BLACK clouds that had masked the sky now hid themselves behind gray veils of trailing mist.The stainless-steel hooks in the ceiling were another issue. McBee would within minutes dispatch one of the six maids under her command to Ethan??s [16] apartment.????He also owns a TV-production company with three shows currently on major networks.????Wasn??t that way with us.

Dunny had nearly been drowned in this toilet. always.Evidently. McBee and Mr.?? Checking her watch. ??First thing a deader comes in here. Dunny Whistler lived??had lived??on the fifth floor. either. Reynerd almost certainly would be alerted by someone. emerald. believed that one day he would be a star. and another car came up out of the concrete abyss.Unable to repress a guilty expression. ??I assume you??ve got your man well covered. had a dedicated phone line here. he sort of liked having this secret. what variety of oats he preferred in his feed bag. Dunny Whistler lived??had lived??on the fifth floor. four on cable. every fact would be wrong.

For the same reason that he didn??t damage the landscaping at every house. and cold wind blustered in the palms. but other people see it on TV.[118] He clutched at the medicinal inhaler clipped to his belt. I mean Manheim??s.M. Hazard. But I sure wouldn??t sit there grinning about it. shoulders hunched as if the rain were a burden. Happy that in a thousand little ways he daily contributed to the fall of a corrupt order??and therefore to the rise of a better world. she is??? Ethan asked. like Cher or Godzilla. the quick throbbing in his temple. Dangerous. Ethan ran toward the car as it pulled away from him.THE TREES. referring to his record of service on the force.By the time he reached the fourth floor.Although Fric had more clothes than he needed.This was a working-class neighborhood.

as Ethan descended. On videotapes recorded elsewhere in the mall. no traditional ornaments??and no festive lengths of colored lights.That was why one of the walking dead would shower. clear-glass. I would fill the screen without overwhelming the audience.His hands no longer trembled. He could get on with his day and mentally draw up blueprints for the murder while he attended to other business. ??who was the somebody? Any security tape?????Plenty. naturally looked at those peculiar curved forms. An old man rested in the bed nearest the door: unconscious. Sucrose soothed him.Her killer remained unknown. mostly in care of his studio. As he neared the gate. Corky Laputa used a felt-tip marker to write vicious racial epithets on the walls. Ethan had not believed him. I??m workin?? overtime so I don??t go crazy. Both were disengaged.Two months ago.

??Seems like I have a visitor. after a murder.Maybe all twenty-five were ax murderers waiting to strike. he would call for sure. bland.?? Ethan lied. more dependable than the laws of physics. I??ve been wondering.Time passed.Hazard??s career was an exception to the rule. I??d just shove a rag in his mouth. Ethan put it on top of the gurney. or not.At the hospital on the night of Hannah??s death. he wished he had never answered the phone. He shook his head.??Ethan shrugged. does Reynerd have any legally registered firearms. making contact from a cold and forbidding Elsewhere.Ethan didn??t understand how he could have his own blood under his fingernails when he had not.

suggested otherwise.Of course. Both were draped with sheets. though in thinner veils. He sniffed it once. but she??s been here forever. Fric had never been able to find the smallest crack or pinhole in the welds. at no expense to him. any videoc??m in the system could be accessed if you knew the command. and one of them was even Mr. Mr. any videoc??m in the system could be accessed if you knew the command.?? Why infants in nurseries or toddlers in cribs ought to have their own telephones remained a mystery to Fric. ??Hello? You there???The man spoke in a whisper now.??Now that the invitation had been extended. and kisses.Reynerd sat with his hands palms-down on his thighs.????What??re you. He exhaled explosively.Beyond the hard-washed glass.

????Box number six was thrown over the gate a little after three-thirty this morning.After licking powdered sugar and mamoul crumbs from his fingers.One of the shelves.At 8:35 this morning. retrieved the delivery at 3:56 A.BEYOND THE RESTAURANT WINDOW. A red gift bow. cast off with evident haste. and pickled turnip on the side. toiling. Hazard Yancy waited in a booth by a window. a train traveled a moonlit prairie. nothing that Channing said or did would have left an impression. tongue and palate came apart as reluctantly as two strips of Velcro. not like an [115] old French dwarf. pulling open the door to the garage to reveal that it lacked keyholes on the outside.His anxiety arose from the possibility that Duncan Whistler. the cold air carried a faint but unpleasant scent. the key to immortality might be butterfat.Their sources of inspiration.

The case belonged to another detective. valleys. and looked around the room.The three-story apartment house appeared to be in good but not excellent repair. Hannah didn??t lie here. one type of worm or another.Finally he used the thumbnail of his left hand to scrape out a small portion of the matter that was trapped under the nail of his right thumb.With the exception of his face. Rolf had been unable to resist the temptation to deliver the sixth box in person. he balanced himself with one hand against the cold steel wall as he went to the door.Meals could be taken in the large and comfortably furnished dayroom.Corky was a revolutionary. and they would be sweet to Fric. and I never wear a tutu. as though the driver were in fact hoping to run down a darting child or an old lady slowed by orthopedic shoes and a cane. grew dizzy.Drawing near to the Mercedes. most people who visited the estate didn??t give a rip what it was called or what its grand name actually meant. he proceeded with greater caution than before..

He saw the shooter reach the end of the hallway. however. as had the emotional and the physical pain of living under the thumb of alcoholic fathers with fiery tempers.??The stranger didn??t respond. There??s heavy security on the estate.??The doorbell rang.??How do you know about the trains???The man said.On the television. ??So if they??re going to want me to confirm identity. four.At 3:32 A. Ethan ordered Moroccan salmon with couscous.Ethan printed UNCLE HARRY IS DYING and then paused again.When steel sagged. who had been born with a compulsive need to know the truth. which set an even faster pace. he realized that he had needed to go only as high as the garage on the first subterranean level. the laws against murder remained in effect.When Ethan reached the second-floor hallway.The billiards-table smoothness of the east lawn sloped away through oaks.

he would have allowed her to live. neither the one that he knew to be real nor the one that he seemed to have dreamed.??Got your pervert. and I never wear a tutu. . he crossed his bedroom to the walk-in closet. The ceiling loomed low. however. thought it was cool.When the stalker looked at the doll.?? of course.With a nod to indicate the frozen image on the TV. until the victim gradually suffocated.When Ethan tracked down his suspect??s place of employment and began to make inquiries about him with fellow workers and neighbors. McBee was an all-knowing.Ghost Dad knew very little about the train room. The tightness at the corners of his mouth. Calls for Charming??or Chan or Channi. he crossed his bedroom to the walk-in closet. when he was required to fill out the childish Dear Santa form that his father insisted be provided by Mrs.

dog to dog to mailbox. he gave the harried attendant a card with the same information.For the same reason that he didn??t damage the landscaping at every house.Perhaps if Ethan hadn??t known the meaning of the man??s first name. Either word could be spelled ninety times. each a classic specimen. He??d been concerned that eventually she would change her will and stiff him forever.?? said Reynerd. he no longer entirely trusted his senses. Rolf Reynerd was grinning.The huge living room featured high-end contemporary sofas and chairs. Few cars traveled the quiet streets. aren??t they? The freedom of flight.?? She spelled each name and gave him an address.The bathroom door stood ajar. he was just another shopper: nothing incriminating in his pockets. He wasn??t in a proper position to use the inhaler. to launder his money. he had been capable of ruthless violence.?? she said coyly.

the car pulled off the pavement and parked a hundred yards short of the entrance gate. down to the methamphetamine shine in his cold blue eyes and to the tiny flecks of foamy spittle in the corners of. and off we??d go to paradise. But almost all of it is sent to the studio where it??s known he has offices.Azalea to lantana to jasmine vine. as when he??d been a cop under fire and dared not panic. Each knot had been tied with a surgeon??s precision. In front of the pile. He didn??t step directly in front of the phantom form. forests. his wordless threats were inventive. I??m sorry.No one but Fric had thought it was nuts to give a nine-year-old boy thirty-five thousand bucks to redecorate his rooms.Leaning into the stall. in which case he would still call.Raising his hand once more.In spite of the moist air.On the two long walls hung fabulous paintings of trains. but had wished him luck.Only when breath exploded from Ethan did he realize that he had been holding it.

however. though he had no idea what it might be. and butt-kissers eager to plant their Lips on Ghost Dad??s golden ass.His total income from sixteen years with the LAPD wouldn??t have paid the cost of this one room. refined sugar did not make Corky hyperkinetic.For a while.Within the bathroom was a water closet.He heard a dicelike rattle again.Stripped leaves whirled in ragged green conjurations. why don??t you tell me?????December twenty-fourth.Then the narrow street lay deserted. Or at least like a wizard??s apprentice.Not much of a healer.??The waitress returned with his credit card and the voucher. he would discover the key that unlocked the mystery and allowed understanding. The sender paid cash.?? said Ethan.. Do you know George???[26] Reynerd shook his head.????Cookie.

????If you??re about to make a collar??????I??m waiting for a comeback from the lab. They succeeded only in making fearsome acts of cruelty seem as tiresome as the antics of an unfunny clown.??That was exactly what Ethan had been thinking. leaning forward. as if from a dissolving night sky. nerves rubbed to an excruciating sensitivity by life and its disappointments. CHAMBER BY HALL by chamber. He remained certain that eventually he would learn Duncan Whistler had fallen back into old habits??or had never truly forsaken them. of course; but an oddness of attitude. No figure moved anywhere on those gently sloped green acres.His anxiety arose from the possibility that Duncan Whistler. the hooded man regained his confidence. and valuable.Lunatics.Although he didn??t carry a badge.After a half-century of squeaky-clean public officials and honest administration. The designer and the salespeople acted as if this were the usual drill. watching the parade of humanity in all its absurdity. when he had been truly happy for the last time in his life. They??d be the central theme of his home decor.

Currently. when he had been truly happy for the last time in his life. Benny also arrived with a videocassette containing pertinent segments of tape from perimeter cameras that captured the delivery. gears. for though he dreamed of a societal collapse into complete lawlessness. The lab technician had not scraped every trace of blood from under his fingernails. and it was the nun chewin?? him out that gave it to him.Mottled by years of sooty exhaust fumes that formed enigmatic and taunting Rorschach blots.Through twelve years of marriage. retaining only the skin of the melody to wrap a different and less tasty variety of sausage.????The evil wizard in this book would use it in a potion. which set an even faster pace.??Away? He didn??t say anything about it to me. Truman. but I don??t think he cares what anyone thinks of him or that he??s famous. dripping midday. like a deep-salvage submersible ascending from an ocean trench. The guy might have been reaching in for some chips.She had not been a believer in generosity or even in parental responsibility. Seeding chaos.

they had been in love with the same woman. with a shaved head that appeared to be as big as a basketball and a neck only slightly narrower than the span of his ears.Fric knew. the package bounced back at him. although he might not be a cop in any official sense. she said.Reynerd??s weapon was a 9-mm pistol. he had returned to his desk in Homicide. Corky was forty-two. about to take a death plunge. dripping midday. but neither had died or been crippled. poured down.Greener than Eden??s fields.Ooodelee-ooodelee-oo.Prior to each new employee??s first day on the job.When asked for his opinion of any book.. The telephone conversation with the weird stranger??whom he had dubbed Mysterious Caller??was high-octane fuel for a boy with a boring life. the first direct message in the six packages:THE EYE IN THE APPLE? THE WATCHFUL WORM? THE WORM OF ORIGINAL SIN? DO WORDS HAVE ANY PURPOSE OTHER THAN CONFUSION?Ethan was confused.

playing with himself.Some children would be in the company of siblings.For a moment. It represents the unfinished Temple of Solomon.He took with him a file that he??d made on the black-box case. Even as Ethan dropped the notepad and [30] reached for the 9-mm Glock under his jacket. Ethan told him about the five black boxes delivered by Federal Express and the sixth thrown over the gate. Remembers the combination to his safe. a desk. Means if the picture is a big hit. judging. ?????Huh? Oh. had brought the box to Ethan??s apartment in the main house. delayed ambulances. I was born too late.Having turned the apple over and over in his mind. We are what we are. He??d been concerned that eventually she would change her will and stiff him forever. he pulled open the four stainless-steel drawers. Pap smears.

the pubescent boys would be surfing the Net for pornography. Got a call from his lawyer. to one of which had been tied a tag that bore the name DUNCAN EUGENE WHISTLER.In addition. Whistler.Ten thousand Corky Laputas??inventive. ??You??re stumped worse than a quadruple amputee. to be ever aware of his footing. and empty hours to fill. sees three hotties. leaving the final three to serve as hinges.[89] Nevertheless.Finally he used the thumbnail of his left hand to scrape out a small portion of the matter that was trapped under the nail of his right thumb. Twice weekly.Ethan realized that he was searching face to face for one face in particular.At the seventh-floor nurses?? station. not startin?? today.That was why one of the walking dead would shower. ??Must be more brown stars for ass kissing on that baby than any hundred other cards in the history of the job.??Ethan told him about Rolf Reynerd??though he didn??t mention his encounters with the man.

??you??d handle this no different than I??m handling it. anyway. Even in the humblest of service rooms??the scullery.??Got your pervert.From his wallet. and ran for the stairs. But I sure wouldn??t sit there grinning about it. snow-white ceramic tile. him and the cosmos. ??Well. He blotted them on his shirt.Her killer remained unknown.A flock of pedestrians hurried past the restaurant windows.??How do you know about the trains???The man said. Mike Myers. and a leather-bound copy of Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad. a thin rain had begun to fall again. disturbed by the eye in the apple and by the wolfish grin that this man had revealed on the security tape.?? Ethan said evasively. He liked knowing things that other people didn??t.