Salems Lot by Stephen King

Author:Stephen King
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2010-01-29T04:47:07+00:00

'Salems Lot

Chapter Eleven

BEN (IV)

It was ten past nine on Sunday morning - a bright, sunwashed Sunday morning - and Ben was beginning to get seriously worried about Susan when the phone by his bed rang. He snatched it up.

‘Where are you?’

‘Relax. I’m upstairs with Matt Burke. Who requests the pleasure of your company as soon as you’re able.’

‘Why didn’t you come - ‘

‘I looked in on you earlier. You were sleeping like a lamb.’

‘They give you knockout stuff in the night so they can steal different organs for mysterious billionaire patients,’ he said. ‘How’s Matt?’

‘Come up and see for yourself,’ she said, and before she could do more than hang up, he was getting into his robe.

Matt looked much better, rejuvenated, almost. Susan was sitting by his bed in a bright blue dress, and Matt raised a hand in salute when Ben walked in. ‘Drag up a rock.’

Ben pulled over one of the hideously uncomfortable hospital chairs and sat down. ‘How you feeling?’

‘A lot better. Weak, but better. They took the IV out of my arm last night and gave me a poached egg for breakfast this morning. Gag. Previews of the old folks home.’

Ben kissed Susan lightly and saw a strained kind of composure on her face, as if everything was being held together by fine wire.

‘Is there anything new since you called last night?’

‘Nothing I’ve heard. But I left the house around seven and the Lot wakes up a little later on Sunday.’

Ben shifted his gaze to Matt. ‘Are you up to talking this thing over?’

‘Yes, I think so, ‘ he said, and shifted slightly. The gold cross Ben had hung around his neck flashed prominently. ‘By the way, thank you for this. It’s a great comfort, even though I bought it on the remaindered shelf at Woolworth’s Friday afternoon.’

‘What’s your condition?’

“‘Stabilized” is the fulsome term young Dr Cody used when he examined me late yesterday afternoon. According to the EKG he took, it was strictly a minor-league heart attack . . . no clot formation.’ He harrumphed. ‘Should hope for his sake it wasn’t. Coming just a week after the check-up he gave me, I’d sue his sheepskin off the wall for breach of promise.’ He broke off and looked levelly at Ben. ‘He said he’d seen such cases brought on by massive shock. I kept my lip zipped. Did I do right?’

‘Just right. But things have developed. Susan and I are going to see Cody today and spill everything. If he doesn’t sign the committal papers on me right away, we’ll send him to you.’

‘I’ll give him an earful,’ Matt said balefully. ‘Snot-nosed little son of a bitch won’t let me have my pipe ‘

‘Has Susan told you what’s been happening in Jerusalem’s Lot since Friday night?’

‘No. She said she wanted to wait until we were all together.’

‘Before she does, will you tell me exactly what happened at your house?’

Matt’s face darkened, and for a moment the mask of convalescence fluttered. Ben glimpsed the old man he had seen sleeping the day before.

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