rain a pretty bitch, looks like," Heavyset said, "and I can't let this stuff get wet. It starts a chemical reaction. So look fast."
He felt around between one of the barrels and the sidewall of his truck for a moment, then came up with a crowbar. must be as nutty as he is, doing this," he said to Ralph. "I mean, I was just going along home, mindin my business. He hit me."
"Go on," Ralph said. "It'll only take a second."
"Yeah," Heavyset replied sourly, turning and setting the flat end of the crowbar under the lid of the nearest barrel, "but the memories will last a lifetime."
Another thunderclap rocked the day just then, and Heavyset did not hear what Ed Deepneau said next. Ralph did, however, and it chilled the pit of his stomach.
"Those barrels are full of dead babies," Ed said. "You'll see."
Heavyset popped the I'd on the end barre, and such was the conviction in Ed's voice that Ralph almost expected to see tangles of arms and legs and bundles of small hairless heads. Instead, he saw a mixture of fine blue crystals and brown stuff. The smell which rose from the barrel was rich and peaty, with a thin chemical undertone.
"See? Satisfied?" Heavyset asked, speaking directly to Ed again.
"I ain't Ray joubert or that guy Dahmer after all. How 'bout that!" The look of confusion was back on Ed's face, and when the thunder cracked overhead again, he cringed a little. He leaned over, reached a hand toward the barrel, then looked a question at Heavyset.
The big man nodded to him, almost sympathetically, Ralph thought.
"Sure, touch it, fine by me. But if it rains while you're holdin a fistful, you'll dance like John Travolta. It burns."
Ed reached into the barrel, grabbed some of the mix, and let it run through his fingers. He shot Ralph a perplexed look (there was an element of embarrassment in that look as well, Ralph thought), and then sank his arm into the barrel all the way to the elbow.
"Hey!" Heavyset cried, startled. "That ain't a box of Cracker Jack!
"For a moment the crafty grin resurfaced on Ed's face-a look that said I know a trick worth two of that-and then it subsided into puzzlement again as he found nothing farther down but more fertilizer.
When he drew his arm out of the barrel, it was dusty and aromatic with the mix. Another flash of lightning exploded above the airport.
The thunder which followed was almost deafening.
"Get that off your skin before it rains, I'm warning you," Heavyset said. He reached through the Ranger's open passenger window and produced a McDonald's take-out sack. He rummaged in it, came out with a couple of napkins, and handed them to Ed, who began to wipe the fertilizer dust from his forearm like a man in a dream.
While he did this, Heavyset replaced the lid on the barrel, tamping it into place with one large, freckled fist and taking quick glances up at the darkening sky. When Ed touched the shoulder of his white shirt, the man stiffened and pulled away, looking at Ed warily.
"I think I owe you an apology," Ed said, and to Ralph his voice sounded completely clear and sane for the first time.
"You're damn tooting," Heavyset said, but he sounded relieved.
He stretched the plastic-coated tarpaulin back into place and tied it in a series of quick, efficient gestures. Watching him, Ralph was struck by what a sly thief time was. Once he could have tied that same sheetbend with that same dextrous ease. Today he could still tie it, but it would take him at least two minutes and maybe three of his best curse-words.
Heavyset patted the tarp and then turned to them, folding his arms across the substantial expanse of his chest. "Did you see the accident?" he asked Ralph.
"No," Ralph said at once. He had no idea why he was lying, but the decision to do it was instantaneous. "I was watching the plane land. The United."
To his complete surprise, the flushed patches on Heavyset's cheeks began to spread. You were watching it, too." Ralph thought suddenly.
And not just watching it land, either, or you wouldn't be blushing like that... you were watching it taxi!
This thought was followed by a complete revelation: Heavyset thought the accident had been his fault, or that the cop or cops who showed up to investigate might read it that way, He had been watching the plane and hadn't seen Ed's reckless charge through the service