Dee grabbed him and swung him toward the door of a pawn shop so hard that Bobby thought for a moment that he had decided to go along with his friends on the corner after all. Inside the pawnshop, an elderly man with a pair of glasses perched on his bald head looked around in annoyance, then turned back to the newspaper he was reading.
“Hey Dee,” said the boy who pulled Bobby by the hair. “We’re just going to shake this little guy up a bit. Make him pay his way through Diablo territory.
Dee grabbed him and swung him toward the door of a pawn shop so hard that Bobby thought for a moment that he had decided to go along with his friends on the corner after all. Inside the pawnshop, an elderly man with a pair of glasses perched on his bald head looked around in annoyance, then turned back to the newspaper he was reading.
“I can’t help it,” said Bobby. “I need to find the boy I was with yesterday. His name is Ted. He is old, thin and quite tall. He walks kind of hunched over, like Boris Karloff – you know, the guy from the scary movies?
“I was just there,” Dee said. “I did not see a man like Boris Karloff.”
“I can’t help it,” said Bobby. “I need to find the boy I was with yesterday. His name is Ted. He is old, thin and quite tall. He walks kind of hunched over, like Boris Karloff – you know, the guy from the scary movies?
Dee grabbed him and swung him toward the door of a pawn shop so hard that Bobby thought for a moment that he had decided to go along with his friends on the corner after all. Inside the pawnshop, an elderly man with a pair of glasses perched on his bald head looked around in annoyance, then turned back to the newspaper he was reading.
They looked around – Bobby too – and there came a fifth man, also wearing a Diablos jacket, also wearing trousers with a sharp crease; he was wearing moccasins instead of pointed boots, and Bobby recognized him at once. It was the young man who was playing the Frontier Patrol game in The Corner Pocket when Ted was betting. No wonder the shape of the pitchfork looked familiar—it was tattooed on the man’s arm. His jacket was tied inside out around his waist (no club jacket here, he’d told Bobby), but he still wore the Diablos badge.
Bobby pulled away, but the fourth pushed him back at the second. The second grabbed him again, this time not so gently. It was like being surrounded by Harry and his friends, only worse.
Bobby pulled away, but the fourth pushed him back at the second. The second grabbed him again, this time not so gently. It was like being surrounded by Harry and his friends, only worse.
Bobby tried to peer into the newcomer’s mind and saw only vague shapes. His ability was fading again, as it had been the day Mrs. Gerber took them to Savin Rock; shortly after they left McQuown’s booth at the end of the middle, he was gone. This time the blinking had lasted longer, but now it was going away, okay.
“It’s still too early.” I think he’ll be there between half past nine and ten. I have to be there when he comes because there are several men chasing him. They wear yellow coats and white shoes. . . they drive big shiny cars. . . one of them is a purple DeSoto and…
“You have money, right?” asked the third. “Because it’s a toll road, you know.”
“I’ve got to go to The Corner Pocket,” said Bobby.
Bobby pulled away, but the fourth pushed him back at the second. The second grabbed him again, this time not so gently. It was like being surrounded by Harry and his friends, only worse.
“Not this one,” Dee said. ‘I know him. He is my friend.
“I can’t help it,” said Bobby. “I need to find the boy I was with yesterday. His name is Ted. He is old, thin and quite tall. He walks kind of hunched over, like Boris Karloff – you know, the guy from the scary movies?
Dee grabbed him and swung him toward the door of a pawn shop so hard that Bobby thought for a moment that he had decided to go along with his friends on the corner after all. Inside the pawnshop, an elderly man with a pair of glasses perched on his bald head looked around in annoyance, then turned back to the newspaper he was reading.
Mosso stepped back, frowning, and produced a cigarette from his pocket. One of the others flashed on him and Dee pulled Bobby a little further down the street.
Opposite the bar was a defunct restaurant with a tattered awning hanging over the soaped windows. Bobby slipped into his shadow and kept walking, cowering once when someone shouted and a bottle went over. When he reached the next corner, he crossed Nasty Gansett Street diagonally again, going back to the side the Corner Pocket was on.
He pulled away from the hands that held his shoulders and walked around the man. He only took a step before one of the others grabbed him. “Where are you going, huh?” asked this one. “Where are you going huh? M��o?’
“Little boy,” the fourth almost sang. He reached out and grabbed the bristles of Bobby’s cropped hair and pulled hard enough to bring tears to Bobby’s eyes. Little munchkin, what do you have for money, eh? How much of the good old dinero? You got something and we’ll let you go. You have nothing and we’re going to smash you.
“The women in the long yellow coats,” Dee sighed. “I saw these guys. Some of the others saw them too. You don’t want to mess with guys like that, bro. Something is wrong with these guys. They don’t look right. Make the bad guys hanging around Mallory’s lounge look like good guys.
“The women in the long yellow coats,” Dee sighed. “I saw these guys. Some of the others saw them too. You don’t want to mess with guys like that, bro. Something is wrong with these guys. They don’t look right. Make the bad guys hanging around Mallory’s lounge look like good guys.
“Hey Dee,” said the boy who pulled Bobby by the hair. “We’re just going to shake this little guy up a bit. Make him pay his way through Diablo territory.
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