Page 119
“Stark is the same way. Except for some ladies.”
I lean on the bar.
“Brigitte picks up bad habits fast. And she enjoys tormenting me.”
“Buck up, boy. That means she likes you. The respect of men is important, but women, in my experience, usually have a truer sense of a man’s character. They see through the veil of horseshit we build around ourselves. Pardon me again.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Jim,” says Candy. “You should hear Stark at home. One little annoyance and he’d make a pirate blush.”
“You must be a good woman to put up with the likes of him.”
“She is,” I say. “Better than I deserve.”
Candy does a theatrical eye roll. Says, “Don’t fish for compliments in front of family, dear.”
Bill laughs.
“As charming as this reunion is, will one of you explain to me what you’re doing in this godforsaken pig wallow?”
“We’re here to fix things, Bill. Or try to. There’s trouble back in the world and some of it comes from here. If I can stop what’s wrong in Hell, maybe it will help both of our worlds.”
“Will it get folks into Heaven?”
“That’s what I hope.”
Bill holds up the newspaper he was reading when we came in.
“You see this? I’ve been reading this damned thing over and over again for months. It’s a dismal pastime and I’m ready for a fresh venture. So, how can I help?”
“We need to find a man named Norris Quay. Ever heard of him?”
Bill thinks for a minute.
“Can’t say that I have. Are you saying this Norris feller is the source of this affliction?”
“No. That’s a bunch called Wormwood.”
“Haven’t heard of them either. Damn. I thought a man would hear every kind of secret running a saloon.”
“Quay isn’t the source of the trouble, but he’s the man in the center. If we can get to him, maybe we can shut the whole thing down.”
“Well, I’m game,” says Bill. “Where is the son of a bitch?”
“That’s the problem. We don’t know,” says Candy.
“That a bit constraining. Hell’s a big place to wander with no sure destination.”
A candle at the end of the bar gutters out. Bill takes a box of similar candles from under the bar and lights a replacement. Putting the box back, he says, “This is currently my sole and most prized possession. Some days a little light is all that keeps a body’s spirits up.”
I take out the Maledictions and offer one to Bill.
“Don’t mind if I do,” he says.
He lights us up with one of the candles and takes a long puff.
“Like smoking skunkweed. But if skunkweed is what you have, be grateful for it.”
Candy looks at us. “You’re both going to get cancer from those things.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119 (Reading here)
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185