A Crying Shame (19 page)

Yes,” Mike said.

Joe was taking pictures as fast as the Polaroid could whine them out.
It's the devil's work!” he said.
The mark of the beast.”

Shit!” Mack said, taking pictures for the LHP with his Polaroid.

I can do without that from both of you,” the sheriff said.

Even if what I said was the truth?” Joe defended his statement.

Mike ignored that, verbally, but he stared at the man until Joe dropped his gaze. He directed a question to the coroner.
What is this thing, Henry?”

I ... ah ... well, I really don't know, Mike. But I'll tell you this: you'd better sit on this; you'd better not let the populace find out something like this ... thing is roaming around the parish. God, you'd have panic on your hands. All sorts of people running around shooting at anything that moved in the night. And you'd better consider the real possibility that, if there's one of them, there is probably another. At least. Mike, if word of this leaks out, we'll have professional adventurers coming in, bounty hunters, and rank amateurs ... all of them falling over each other. You'd have scientists, professors, archaeologists, tourists, nuts—the entire spectrum. And some of them would get hurt—maybe killed. It would turn into a sideshow—a freak hunt. I mean it, Mike. Panic is what you'd have.”

Mack's hand-held walkie-talkie squawked. He stepped out of the room and spoke for a moment. When he returned, he said,
You've got anger right this minute, Sheriff. Down the road. Blackwell. He's giving Bradbury a bad time of it.”

Hell with Blackwell,” Mike said.
Let him stew. If he gets too abusive with Brad, I'll have the son of a bitch arrested for interference with a law officer in the performance of his duty.” He looked at Joe and the trooper.
You men all through here?”

All finished,” they replied.