Part 3 (2/2)
”Rusty told me that you went down into a ditch off Highway 1,” the doctor said as he scribbled the prescription. ”What happened?”
Rick turned to the doctor, putting on his jacket and wincing slightly. He was getting sore already. ”I went down into a ditch trying to avoid hitting something in the road.”
”What was in the road? Animal?”
In all the excitement he had almost forgotten the claw. Rick reached into his jacket pocket and pulled it out. Dr. Jorgensen's eyes widened behind his wire-framed gla.s.ses at the sight of it. ”My G.o.d!”
”Ever see anything like this around these parts?” Rick asked. His heart quickened in beat slightly at the sight of Dr. Jorgensen's reaction to the claw.
”Never,” Dr. Jorgensen said. He gestured at the claw. ”May I?”
Rick handed it over. ”Be my guest.”
Dr. Jorgensen took the claw in his hands and examined it, turning it this way and that. He moved his fingers along its edges and probed along the section of meat that hung in strips from the joint where it had been ripped off the creature's body. He looked up at Rick. ”Mind if I wrap this up and put it in my freezer? I have a friend at the University of Maine's Biology department who would probably love to take a look at this, if it's okay to you.”
”By all means, please do,” Rick said.
”What do you think it is?” Rusty asked. He had been standing quietly the whole time and was just as awed by the claw as Dr. Jorgensen.
”Don't know for sure,” Dr. Jorgensen said as he examined it, turning it over in his hands the way a small boy will examine a bug or a lizard he has found while playing. ”I've certainly never heard or seen a crustacean of this size before in these parts.” He marveled at the claw for another minute, then set it down on the counter.
He wiped his hands on a paper towel and turned his attention back to the task at hand. He slipped the prescription over the counter. ”Take two of these tonight when you get home. Depending how you feel tomorrow morning, you might want to take one before each meal. Don't exceed five in one day. You staying in town for awhile?”
”I'm writing my next book here.”
”Ah.” He raised his eyebrows in interest. ”Not about us, I hope.” He grinned.
Rick laughed. ”Not sure yet.”
”Well, since you're going to be local and all, I'll know where to find you when I find out about our friend here.” He indicated the claw on the table. ”As far as the prescription or anything else, if you have any problems come and see me.”
Rick pocketed the prescription ”Thanks, Dr. Jorgensen.”
”Call me Glen.”
Rick smiled. ”Thanks, Glen.”
”Don't mention it.” Glen's blue eyes twinkled merrily. ”And I'll be looking out for one of your books in the next few days. I can probably use some good old-fas.h.i.+oned horror novel to get me in the Halloween spirit.”
”Try Night of the Devil,” Rusty said at the door. He opened up the umbrella against the pouring rain. ”It's great.”
”I will.” Glen waved from the counter. ”Take care, you two.”
”Thanks again,” Rick said, and then they were heading back out into the rain into Rusty's squad car.
Once in the car, Rusty wasted no time in slipping back into his jostling, happy-go-lucky demeanor. ”We'll get you over to Shelby's Drug Store in a jiffy! This is where the best part comes!” Rusty grinned as they left Glen Jorgensen's. The rain had turned to a steady drizzle now.
”What do you mean?” Rick asked.
”What I told you about before.” Rusty started the car and pulled away from the curb. ”The best part of town is where we're headed!”
”The best part of town is the drugstore?” It was hard to believe that the drugstore could be the hotspot of Phillipsport.
”It's where the drugstore is at!” Rusty grinned. His voiced cracked with excitement. ”You'll see.”
Rusty swerved the patrol car to the left and headed farther inland. Rick looked over his shoulder and out the back window at the receding buildings. He turned his head back to the front and saw what was rapidly approaching. His jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Rusty noticed his expression and grinned wider. ”Ain't she a beauty?”
Rick's soul crumpled up and blew away.
They were approaching a tan colored myriad of stores with glittering signs and slick banner advertis.e.m.e.nts. It was the ugliest excuse for a shopping mall he'd ever seen. A huge yellow and pink sign had been erected in the main driveway.
SEASIDE PLAZA.
30 Shops for your convenience!
We speak tourist!!!
”G.o.d no!” In the middle of history and character there was this.
Rusty slowed the car down and looked up at the plastic totem-like sign that advertised the mall. Rusty looked up at it as if it was the shroud of Turin. Rusty's eyes seemed to mist up. ”They just opened a frozen yogurt store last week.”
Rick sank into his seat as Rusty drove into a parking lot that would probably accommodate more cars than the entire population of Phillipsport. The shopping center was grouped around a K-mart and Lucky Supermarket. Those were accompanied by a Wherehouse CD & Tape store, Blockbuster video, Marshall's, Pizza Hut, and a Subway Sandwich shop. There was also a Barnes and n.o.ble bookstore. His books were probably being sold there to the vast Phillipsport ma.s.ses.
”Yes, sir,” Rusty said. He was still beaming. ”Anything you'd ever want is right here in this center. In fact, I think you could be born, raise a family and die right in this parking lot and never have to leave for anything.”
Rick shook his head and grinned. He had never heard anybody get so excited about a shopping mall before.
Rusty nodded as they pulled into the parking lot. ”Okay. Shelby's Drug Store is in this mall. Everybody in town usually hangs out here. Well, here and at the Denny's over on Pine Road.” Rusty pulled into a slot across the way from Shelby's Drug Store. Rick noticed the items advertised in the windows and Rusty killed the engine.
Rick looked out at the drug store and snickered. It was decorated with pumpkins, black cats, and witches. ”Denny's, huh? Home of the Grand Slam Breakfast.”
Rusty's eyes lit up. ”You like them, too? Oh boy, that's great! My favorite author likes the same food I do.”
Rick rolled his eyes at Rusty's excitement as they exited the vehicle.
Chapter Five.
The drug store wasn't as bad as the rest of the mall looked. It had obviously been built in the fifties and had retained its inner design of the old-fas.h.i.+oned drug stores that served milkshakes and fries for the Fonzies and Richies of that era. The mall was brand spanking new; the stucco walls still looked virgin, unmarred by the weather of time and decay. Shelby's Drug Store contained a small coffee shop on the left, complete with white-and-gold-flecked Formica tabletops and sunburst decorations. The booths and most of the seats at the counter were taken up with what Rick a.s.sumed were locals. Very few appeared to be under fifty, and they all had one thing in common. They were looking at Rick as if he'd just stepped off a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.
Rick felt himself grow small, as if he was shrinking inside. Deputy Rusty waved to a group of men milling around the counter and led Rick through the coffee shop. A thousand eyes followed him as he walked through the room. How dare you walk in here looking like that, boy! What the h.e.l.l's th'matter with you?
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