Two guns. One for Eddie, and one for Odetta... when and if Odetta was ready for a gun. He put on Jack Mort"s coat again, dropped two boxes of sh.e.l.ls into the right pocket and two into the left. The coat, formerly impeccable, now bulged out of shape. He picked up the clerk"s.357 Mag and put the sh.e.l.ls in his pants pocket. Then he tossed the gun across the room. When it hit the floor Fat Johnny jumped, uttered another wee shriek, and squirted a little more warm water in his pants.
The gunslinger stood up and told Fat Johnny to turn around.
10.
When Fat Johnny got another look at the geek in the blue suit and the gold-rimmed gla.s.ses, his mouth fell open. For a moment he felt an overwhelming certainty that the man who had come in here had become a ghost when Fat Johnny"s back was turned. It seemed to Fat Johnny that through the man he could see a figure much more real, one of those legendary gunfighters they used to make movies and TV shows about when he was a kid: Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Butch Ca.s.sidy, one of those guys.
Then his vision cleared and he realized what the crazy nut had done: taken the cops" guns and strapped them around his waist. With the suit and tie the effect should have been ludicrous, but somehow it wasn"t.
"The key to the wristbands is on the counter. When the poss.e.m.e.n wake up they"ll free you."
He took the wallet, opened it, and, incredibly, laid four twenty dollar bills on the gla.s.s before stuffing the wallet back into his pocket.
"For the ammunition," Roland said. "I"ve taken the bullets from your own gun. I intend to throw them away when I leave your store. I think that, with an unloaded gun and no wallet, they may find it difficult to charge you with a crime."
Fat Johnny gulped. For one of the few times in his life he was speechless.
"Now where is the nearest-" Pause. "-nearest drugstore?"
Fat Johnny suddenly understood-or thought he understood-everything. The guy was a junkball, of course. That was the answer. No wonder he was so weird. Probably hopped up to the eyeb.a.l.l.s.
"There"s one around the corner. Half a block down Forty-Ninth."
"If you"re lying, I"ll come back and put a bullet in your brain."
"I"m not lying!" Fat Johnny cried. "I swear before G.o.d the Father! I swear before all the Saints! I swear on my mother"s-"
But then the door was swinging shut. Fat Johnny stood for a moment in utter silence, unable to believe the nut was gone.
Then he walked as rapidly as he could around the counter and to the door. He turned his back to it and fumbled around until he was able to grasp and turn the lock. He fumbled some more until he had managed to shoot the bolt as well.
Only then did he allow himself to slide slowly into a sitting position, gasping and moaning and swearing to G.o.d and all His saints and angels that he would go to St. Anthony"s this very afternoon, as soon as one of those pigs woke up and let him out of these cuffs, as a matter of fact. He was going to make confession, do an act of contrition, and take communion.
Fat Johnny Holden wanted to get right with G.o.d.
This had just been too f.u.c.king close.
11.
The setting sun became an arc over the Western Sea. It narrowed to a single bright line which seared Eddie"s eyes. Looking at such a light for long could put a permanent burn on your retinas. This was just one of the many interesting facts you learned in school, facts that helped you get a fulfilling job like part-time bartender and an interesting hobby like the full-time search for street-skag and the bucks with which to buy it. Eddie didn"t stop looking. He didn"t think it was going to matter much longer if he got eye-burned or not.
He didn"t beg the witch-woman behind him. First, it wouldn"t help. Second, begging would degrade him. He had lived a degrading life; he discovered that he had no wish to degrade himself further in the last few minutes of it. Minutes were all he had left now. That"s all there would be before that bright line disappeared and the time of the lobstrosities came.
He had ceased hoping that a miraculous change would bring Odetta back at the last moment, just as he ceased hoping that Detta would recognize that his death would almost certainly strand her in this world forever. He had believed until fifteen minutes ago that she was bluffing; now he knew better.
Well, it"ll be better than strangling an inch at a time, he thought, but after seeing the loathsome lobster-things night after night, he really didn"t believe that was true. He hoped he would be able to die without screaming. He didn"t think this would be possible, but he intended to try. he thought, but after seeing the loathsome lobster-things night after night, he really didn"t believe that was true. He hoped he would be able to die without screaming. He didn"t think this would be possible, but he intended to try.
"They be comin fo you, honky!" Detta screeched. "Be comin any minute now! Goan be the best dinner those daddies evah evah had!" had!"
It wasn"t just a bluff, Odetta wasn"t coming back... and the gunslinger wasn"t either. This last hurt the most, somehow. He had been sure he and the gunslinger had become-well, partners if not brothers-during their trek up the beach, and Roland would at least make an effort effort to stand by him. to stand by him.
But Roland wasn"t coming.
Maybe it isn"t that he doesn"t want want to come. Maybe he to come. Maybe he can"t can"t come. Maybe he"s dead, killed by a security guard in a drug store-s.h.i.t, that"d be a laugh, the world"s last gunslinger killed by a Rent-A-Cop-or maybe run over by a taxi. Maybe he"s dead and the door"s gone. Maybe that"s why she"s not running a bluff. Maybe there"s no bluff to run. come. Maybe he"s dead, killed by a security guard in a drug store-s.h.i.t, that"d be a laugh, the world"s last gunslinger killed by a Rent-A-Cop-or maybe run over by a taxi. Maybe he"s dead and the door"s gone. Maybe that"s why she"s not running a bluff. Maybe there"s no bluff to run.
"Goan be any minute now!" Detta screamed, and then Eddie didn"t have to worry about his retinas anymore, because that last bright slice of light disappeared, leaving only afterglow.
He stared at the waves, the bright afterimage slowly fading from his eyes, and waited for the first of the lobstrosities to come rolling and tumbling out of the waves.
12.
Eddie tried to turn his head to avoid the first one, but he was too slow. It ripped off a swatch of his face with one claw, splattering his left eye to jelly and revealing the bright gleam of bone in the twilight as it asked its questions and the Really Bad Woman laughed...
Stop it, Roland commanded himself. Roland commanded himself. Thinking such thoughts is worse than helpless; it is a distraction. And it need not be. There may still be time. Thinking such thoughts is worse than helpless; it is a distraction. And it need not be. There may still be time.
And there still was-then. As Roland strode down Forty-Ninth street in Jack Mort"s body, arms swinging, bullshooter"s eyes fixed firmly upon the sign which read DRUGS DRUGS, oblivious to the stares he was getting and the way people swerved to avoid him, the sun was still up in Roland"s world. Its lower rim would not touch the place where sea met sky for another fifteen minutes or so. If Eddie"s time of agony was to come, it was still ahead.
The gunslinger did not know this for a fact, however; he only knew it was later over there than here and while the sun should should still be up over there, the a.s.sumption that time in this world and his own ran at the same speed might be a deadly one... especially for Eddie, who would die the death of unimaginable horror that his mind nevertheless kept trying to imagine. still be up over there, the a.s.sumption that time in this world and his own ran at the same speed might be a deadly one... especially for Eddie, who would die the death of unimaginable horror that his mind nevertheless kept trying to imagine.
The urge to look back, to see, was almost insurmountable. Yet he dared not. Must Must not. not.
The voice of Cort interrupted the run of his thoughts sternly: Control the things you can control, maggot. Let everything else take a flying f.u.c.k at you, and if you must go down, go down with your guns blazing. Control the things you can control, maggot. Let everything else take a flying f.u.c.k at you, and if you must go down, go down with your guns blazing.
Yes.
But it was hard.
Very hard, sometimes. hard, sometimes.
He would have seen and understood why people were staring at him and then veering away if he had been a little less savagely fixed on finishing his work in this world as soon as he could and getting the h.e.l.l out, but it would have changed nothing. He strode so rapidly toward the blue sign where, according to the Mortcypedia, he could get the Ke-flex stuff his body needed, that Mort"s suitcoat flapped out behind him in spite of the heavy lead weighting in each pocket. The gunbelts buckled across his hips were clearly revealed. He wore them not as their owners had, straight and neat, but as he wore his own, criss-cross, low-hung on his hips.
To the shoppers, boppers, and hawkers on Forty-Ninth, he looked much as he had looked to Fat Johnny: like a desperado.
Roland reached Katz"s Drug Store and went in.
13.
The gunslinger had known magicians, enchanters, and alchemists in his time. Some had been clever charlatans, some stupid fakes in whom only people more stupid than they were themselves could believe (but there had never been a shortage of fools in the world, so even the stupid fakes survived; in fact most actually thrived), and a small few actually able to do those things of which men whisper-these few could call demons and the dead, could kill with a curse or heal with strange potions. One of these men had been a creature the gunslinger believed to be a demon himself, a creature that pretended to be a man and called itself Flagg. He had seen him only briefly, and that had been near the end, as chaos and the final crash approached his land. Hot on his heels had come two young men who looked desperate and yet grim, men named Dennis and Thomas. These three had crossed only a tiny part of what had been a confused and confusing time in the gunslinger"s life, but he would never forget seeing Flagg change a man who had irritated him into a howling dog. He remembered that well enough. Then there had been the man in black.
And there had been Marten.
Marten who had seduced his mother while his father was away, Marten who had tried to author Roland"s death but had instead auth.o.r.ed his early manhood, Marten who, he suspected, he might meet again before he reached the Tower... or at it.
This is only to say that his experience of magic and magicians had led him to expect something quite different than what he did find in Katz"s Drug Store.
He had antic.i.p.ated a dim, candle-lit room full of bitter fumes, jars of unknown powders and liquids and philters, many covered with a thick layer of dust or spun about with a century"s cobwebs. He had expected a man in a cowl, a man who might be dangerous. He saw people moving about inside through the transparent plate-gla.s.s windows, as casually as they would in any shop, and believed they must be an illusion.
They weren"t.
So for a moment the gunslinger merely stood inside the door, first amazed, then ironically amused. Here he was in a world which struck him dumb with fresh wonders seemingly at every step, a world where carriages flew through the air and paper seemed as cheap as sand. And the newest wonder was simply that for these people, wonder had run out: here, in a place of miracles, he saw only dull faces and plodding bodies.
There were thousands of bottles, there were potions, there were philters, but the Mortcypedia identified most as quack remedies. Here was a salve that was supposed to restore fallen hair but would not; there a cream which promised to erase unsightly spots on the hands and arms but lied. Here were cures for things that needed no curing: things to make your bowels run or stop them up, to make your teeth white and your hair black, things to make your breath smell better as if you could not do that by chewing alder-bark. No magic here; only trivialities-although there was was astin, and a few other remedies which sounded as if they might be useful. But for the most part, Roland was appalled by the place. In a place that promised alchemy but dealt more in perfume than potion, was it any wonder that wonder had run out? astin, and a few other remedies which sounded as if they might be useful. But for the most part, Roland was appalled by the place. In a place that promised alchemy but dealt more in perfume than potion, was it any wonder that wonder had run out?
But when he consulted the Mortcypedia again, he discovered that the truth of this place was not just in the things he was looking at. The potions that really worked were kept safely out of sight. One could only obtain these if you had a sorcerer"s fiat. In this world, such sorcerers were called DOCKTORS, and they wrote their magic formulae on sheets of paper which the Mortcypedia called REXES. The gunslinger didn"t know the word. He supposed he could have consulted further on the matter, but didn"t bother. He knew what he needed, and a quick look into the Mortcypedia told him where in the store he could get it.
He strode down one of the aisles toward a high counter with the words PRESCRIPTIONS FILLED PRESCRIPTIONS FILLED over it. over it.
14.
The Katz who had opened Katz"s Pharmacy and Soda Fountain (Sundries and Notions for Misses and Misters) on 49th Street in 1927 was long in his grave, and his only son looked ready for his own. Although he was only forty-six, he looked twenty years older. He was balding, yellow-skinned, and frail. He knew people said he looked like death on horseback, but none of them understood why. why.
Take this crotch on the phone now. Mrs. Rathbun. Ranting that she would sue him if he didn"t fill her G.o.dd.a.m.ned Valium prescription and right now, RIGHT THIS VERY INSTANT. right now, RIGHT THIS VERY INSTANT.
What do you think, lady, I"m gonna pour a stream of blue bombers through the phone? If he did, she would at least do him a favor and shut up. She would just tip the receiver up over her mouth and open wide. If he did, she would at least do him a favor and shut up. She would just tip the receiver up over her mouth and open wide.
The thought raised a ghostly grin which revealed his sallow dentures.
"You don"t understand, Mrs. Rathbun," he interrupted after he had listened to a minute-a full minute, timed it with the sweep second-hand of his watch-of her raving. He would like, just once, to be able to say: Stop shouting at me, you stupid crotch! Shout at your DOCTOR! He"s the one who hooked you on that s.h.i.t! Stop shouting at me, you stupid crotch! Shout at your DOCTOR! He"s the one who hooked you on that s.h.i.t! Right. d.a.m.n quacks gave it out like it was bubblegum, and when they decided to cut off the supply, who got hit with the s.h.i.t? The sawbones? Oh, no! Right. d.a.m.n quacks gave it out like it was bubblegum, and when they decided to cut off the supply, who got hit with the s.h.i.t? The sawbones? Oh, no! He He did! did!
"What do you mean, I don"t understand?" The voice in his ear was like an angry wasp buzzing in a jar. "I understand I do a lot of business business at your tacky drugstore, I understand I"ve been a loyal at your tacky drugstore, I understand I"ve been a loyal customer customer all these years, I understand-" all these years, I understand-"
"You"ll have to speak to-" He glanced at the crotch"s Rolodex card through his half-gla.s.ses again. "-Dr. Brumhall, Mrs. Rathbun. Your prescription has expired. It"s a Federal crime to dispense Valium without a prescription." And it ought to be one to perscribe it in the first place... unless you"re going to give the patient you"re perscribing it for your unlisted number with it, that is, And it ought to be one to perscribe it in the first place... unless you"re going to give the patient you"re perscribing it for your unlisted number with it, that is, he thought. he thought.
"It was an oversight!" the woman screamed. Now there was a raw edge of panic in her voice. Eddie would have recognized that tone at once: it was the call of the wild Junk-Bird. the woman screamed. Now there was a raw edge of panic in her voice. Eddie would have recognized that tone at once: it was the call of the wild Junk-Bird.
"Then call him and ask him to rectify it," Katz said. "He has my number." Yes. They all had his number. That was precisely the trouble. He looked like a dying man at forty-six because of the fershlugginer fershlugginer doctors. doctors.
And all I have to do to guarantee that the last thin edge of profit I am somehow holding onto in this place will melt away is tell a few of these junkie b.i.t.c.hes to go f.u.c.k themselves. That"s all.
"I CAN"T CALL HIM!" she screamed. Her voice drilled painfully into his ear. she screamed. Her voice drilled painfully into his ear. "HIM AND HIS f.a.g BOY-FRIEND ARE ON VACATION SOMEPLACE AND NO ONE WILL TELL ME WHERE!" "HIM AND HIS f.a.g BOY-FRIEND ARE ON VACATION SOMEPLACE AND NO ONE WILL TELL ME WHERE!"
Katz felt acid seeping into his stomach. He had two ulcers, one healed, the other currently bleeding, and women like this b.i.t.c.h were the reason why. He closed his eyes. Thus he did not see his a.s.sistant stare at the man in the blue suit and the gold-rimmed gla.s.ses approaching the prescription counter, nor did he see Ralph, the fat old security guard (Katz paid the man a pittance but still bitterly resented the expense; his father father had never needed a security guard, but his had never needed a security guard, but his father, father, G.o.d rot him, had lived in a time when New York had been a city instead of a toilet-bowl) suddenly come out of his usual dim daze and reach for the gun on his hip. He heard a woman scream, but thought it was because she had just discovered all the Revlon was on sale, he"d been G.o.d rot him, had lived in a time when New York had been a city instead of a toilet-bowl) suddenly come out of his usual dim daze and reach for the gun on his hip. He heard a woman scream, but thought it was because she had just discovered all the Revlon was on sale, he"d been forced forced to put the Revlon on sale because that to put the Revlon on sale because that putz putz Dollentz up the street was undercutting him. Dollentz up the street was undercutting him.
He was thinking of nothing but Dollentz and this b.i.t.c.h on the phone as the gunslinger approached like fated doom, thinking of how wonderful the two of them would look naked save for a coating of honey and staked out over anthills in the burning desert sun. HIS and HERS anthills, wonderful. He was thinking this was the worst it could get, the absolute worst. His father had been so determined that his only son follow in his footsteps that he had refused to pay for anything but a degree in pharmacology, and so he had followed in his father"s footsteps, and G.o.d rot his father, for this was surely the lowest moment in a life that had been full of low moments, a life which had made him old before his time.
This was the absolute nadir.
Or so he thought with his eyes closed.
"If you come by, Mrs. Rathbun, I could give you a dozen five milligram Valium. Would that be all right?"
"The man sees reason! Thank G.o.d, the man sees reason!" And she hung up. Just like that. Not a word of thanks. But when she saw the walking r.e.c.t.u.m that called itself a doctor again, she would just about fall down and polish the tips of his Gucci loafers with her nose, she would give him a b.l.o.w.j.o.b, she would- "Mr. Katz," his a.s.sistant said in a voice that sounded strangely winded. "I think we have a prob-"
There was another scream. It was followed by the crash of a gun, startling him so badly he thought for a moment his heart was simply going to utter one monstrous clap in his chest and then stop forever.
He opened his eyes and stared into the eyes of the gunslinger. Katz dropped his gaze and saw the pistol in the man"s fist. He looked left and saw Ralph the guard nursing one hand and staring at the thief with eyes that seemed to be bugging out of his face. Ralph"s own gun, the.38 which he had toted dutifully through eighteen years as a police officer (and which he had only fired from the line of the 23rd Precinct"s bas.e.m.e.nt target range; he said said he had drawn it twice in the line of duty... but who knew?), was now a wreck in the corner. he had drawn it twice in the line of duty... but who knew?), was now a wreck in the corner.
"I want Keflex," the man with the bullshooter eyes said expressionlessly. "I want a lot. Now. And never mind the REX."
For a moment Katz could only look at him, his mouth open, his heart struggling in his chest, his stomach a sickly boiling pot of acid.
Had he thought he had hit rock bottom?
Had he really? really?
15.
"You don"t understand," Katz managed at last. His voice sounded strange to himself, and there was really nothing very odd about that, that, since his mouth felt like a flannel shirt and his tongue like a strip of cotton batting. "There since his mouth felt like a flannel shirt and his tongue like a strip of cotton batting. "There is is no cocaine here. It is not a drug which is dispensed under any cir-" no cocaine here. It is not a drug which is dispensed under any cir-"
"I did not say cocaine," the man in the blue suit and the gold-rimmed gla.s.ses said. "I said Keflex. Keflex."
That"s what I thought thought you said, you said, Katz almost told this crazy Katz almost told this crazy momser, momser, and then decided that might provoke him. He had heard of drug stores getting held up for speed, for Bennies, for half a dozen other things (including Mrs. Rathbun"s precious Valium), but he thought this might be the first penicillin robbery in history. and then decided that might provoke him. He had heard of drug stores getting held up for speed, for Bennies, for half a dozen other things (including Mrs. Rathbun"s precious Valium), but he thought this might be the first penicillin robbery in history.