Howie's voice, calm but firm, spoke up in her head. You can afford to wait a little while - I was waiting for a few final items of proof myself- but I wouldn't wait too long, honey. Because the longer this siege goes on, the more dangerous he'll become.
She thought of Howie starting to back down the driveway, then stopping to put his lips on hers in the sunshine, his mouth almost as well known to her as her own, and certainly as well loved. Caressing the side of her throat as he did it. As if he knew the end was comings and one last touch would have to pay for all. An easy and romantic conceit for sure, but she almost believed it, and her eyes filled with tears.
Suddenly the papers and all the machinations contained therein seemed less important. Even the Dome didn't seem very important. What mattered was the hole that had appeared so suddenly in her life, sucking out the happiness she had taken for granted. She wondered if poor dumb Andy Sanders felt the same way. She supposed he did.
I'll give it twenty-four hours. If the Dome's still in place tomorrow night, I'll go to Rennie with this stuff- with copies of this stuff- and tell him he has to resign in favor oj Dale Barbara. Tell him that if he doesn't, he's going to read all about his drug operation in the paper.
'Tomorrow,' she murmured, and closed her eyes. Two minutes later she was asleep in Howie's chair. In Chester's Mill, the supper hour had come. Some meals (including chicken a la king for a hundred or so) were cooked on electric or gas ranges courtesy of the generators in town that were still working, but there were also people who had turned to their woodstoves, either to conserve their gennies or because wood was now all they had. The smoke rose in the still air from hundreds of chimneys.
And spread.
5
After delivering the Geiger counter - the recipient took it willingly, even eagerly, and promised to begin prospecting with it early on Tuesday - Julia headed for Burpee's Department Store with Horace on his leash. Romeo had told her he had a pair of brand-new Kyocera photocopiers in storage, both still in their original shipping cartons. She was welcome to both.
'I also got a little propane tucked away,' he said, giving Horace a pat. 'I'll see you get what you need - for as long as I can, at least. We gotta keep that newspaper running, am I right? More important than ever, don't you t'ink?'
It was exactly what she t'ought, and Julia had told him so. She had also planted a kiss on his cheek. 'I owe you for this, Rommie.'
'I'll b e expectin a big discount on my weekly advertising circular when this is over.' He had then tapped the side of his nose with a forefinger, as if they had a great big secret. Maybe they did.
As she left, her cell phone chirruped. She pulled it out of her pants pocket. 'Hello, this is Julia.'
'Good evening, Ms Shumway'
'Oh, Colonel Cox, how wonderful to hear your voice,' she said brightly 'You can't imagine how thrilled we country mice are to get out-of-town calls. How's life outside the Dome?'
'Life in general is probably fine,' he said. 'Where I am, it's on the shabby side. You know about the missiles?'
'Watched them hit. And bounce off. They lit a fine fire on your side - '
'It's not my - '
'-and a fairly good one on ours.'
'I'm calling for Colonel Barbara,' Cox said. 'Who should be carrying his own goddam phone by now.'
'Goddam right!' she cried, still in her brightest tone.'And people in goddam hell should have goddam icewater!' She stopped in front of the Gas & Grocery, now shut up tight. The hand-lettered sign in
the window read HRS OF OP TOMORROW 11 AM-2 PM GET HERE EARLY!
'Ms Shumway - '
'We'll discuss Colonel Barbara in a minute,' Julia said. 'Right now I want to know two things. First, when is the press going to be allowed at the Dome? Because the people of America deserve more than the government's spin on this, don't you think?'
She expected him to say he did not think, that there would be no New York Times or CNN at the Dome in the foreseeable future, but. Cox surprised her.'Probably by Friday if none of the other tricks up our sleeve work. What's the other thing you want to know, Ms Shumway? Make it brief, because I'm not a press ofEcer.That's another pay grade.'
'You called me, so you're stuck with me. Suck it up, Colonel.'
'Ms Shumway, with all due respect, yours is not the only cell phone in Chester's Mill I can reach out and touch.'
'I'm sure that's true, but I don't think Barbie will talk to you if you jshine me on. He's not particularly happy with his new position as prospective stockade commandant,'
Cox sighed. 'What's your question?'
'I want to know the temperature on the south or east side of the Dome - a true temperature, meaning away from the fire you guys set.'
'Why - '
'Do you have that information or not? I think you do, or can get it. I think you're sitting in front of a computer screen right now, and you have access to everything, probably including my underwear size.' She paused. 'And if you say sixteen, this call is over.'
'Are you exhibiting your sense of humor, Ms Shumway, or are you always this way?'
'I'm tired and scared. Chalk it up to that.'
There was a pause on Cox's end. She thought she heard the click of computer keys. Then he said, 'It's forty-seven Fahrenheit in Castle Rock. Will that do?'
'Yes.'The disparity wasn't as bad as she had feared, but still considerable. 'I'm looking at the thermometer in the window of the Mill Gas and Grocery. It says fifty-eight. That's an eleven-degree difference between locations less than twenty miles apart. Unless there's a hell of a big warm front pushing through western Maine this evening, I'd say something's going on here. Do you agree?'
He didn't answer her question, but what he did say took her mind off it. 'We're going to try something else. Around nine this evening. It's what I wanted to tell Barbie.'