thinking furiously.
MIKE
Streets still passable? What do you think?
HATCH
In a four-wheel drive? Yeah. Probably until midnight. After that HATCH shrugs, indicating 'Who knows.'
MIKE
You take Kirk and go on over to the fire station. Find Robbie and Henry. Keep your eyes open and be careful. Lock the place up, then bring them back here.
(long look at LINOGE)
We can keep an eye on our new pal while you do that. Can't we, Jack?
JACK
I dunno as that's such a good idea
MIKE
Maybe not, but right now it's the only idea. I'm sorry, but it is.
None of them look really happy, but MIKE is the boss. HATCH and KIRK FREEMAN head out, zipping up their coats. JACK has gone back to looking at LINOGE.
When the door is closed, MIKE starts shuffling through the Polaroids again. Suddenly he stops, looking at:
29 INTERIOR: THE POLAROID OF MARTHA'S CHAIR, CLOSE-UP.
Bloody and spooky as an old electric chair, but empty. MIKE'S HANDS shuffle to the next photo of the chair. In this one, the chair is also empty.
146 STEPHEN KING
30 INTERIOR: MIKE, CLOSE-UP. Surprised and puzzled. Remembering.
31 INTERIOR: MARTHA'S LIVING ROOM, WITH MIKE (flashback).
He has just pulled the drapes across the broken window and anchored them with the table. He turns back to MARTHA'S chair, raises the Polaroid, and TRIGGERS IT.
32 INTERIOR: THE WOLF'S HEAD CANE, CLOSE-UP (flashback).
It stares at us with its bloody teeth and eyes like a ghost wolf in a stroke of lightning, then FADES.
33 INTERIOR: RESUME CONSTABLE'S OFFICE, FEATURES MIKE. He's got three two pictures of MARTHA'S chair, side by side.
MIKE It's gone.
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JACK What's gone?
MIKE doesn't answer. He shuffles a fourth photo out of the stack. This is the one featuring the message written in MARTHA'S blood, and the rudimentary drawing of the cane. MIKE looks slowly up at LINOGE.
34 INTERIOR: LINOGE.
He cocks his head and puts his forefinger beneath his chin, like a girl being coy. He smiles a little.
35 INTERIOR: RESUME CONSTABLE'S OFFICE.
MIKE walks toward the cell. As he goes, he hooks a chair to sit in, but his eyes never leave LINOGE'S face. He's still got the Polaroids.
JACK
(nervous) Thought you said to stay away.
STORM OF THE CENTURY 147
MIKE
If he grabs me, why don't you shoot him? Gun's there on the desk.
JACK glances that way, but makes no move for the pistol. The poor guy looks more nervous than ever.
36 EXTERIOR: THE ISLAND DOCKS NIGHT.
They have been pretty well erased by the POUNDING OCEAN.
37 EXTERIOR: THE HEADLAND LIGHTHOUSE NIGHT.
It stands straight and white in the SHEETING SNOW, its big light going round and round. WAVES
CRASH HIGH around it.
38 INTERIOR: LIGHTHOUSE CONTROL ROOM NIGHT.
It's completely automated, and empty. Lights BLINK and FLASH. The SOUND OF THE WIND
outside is very strong, and the anemometer is flickering between fifty and sixty-three MPH. We can hear the place CREAKING and GROANING. Wave-spume splatters the windows and beads up on the glass.
39 EXTERIOR: THE LIGHTHOUSE NIGHT.
A big wave a monster like the one that destroyed PETER GODSOE'S warehouse strikes the headland and all but inundates the lighthouse.
40 INTERIOR: LIGHTHOUSE CONTROL ROOM NIGHT.
Several windows shatter, and water SPRAYS ACROSS THE EQUIPMENT. The wave withdraws and everything continues working ... so far, at least.
41 EXTERIOR: THE SIDE OF THE FIREHOUSE NIGHT.
ROBBIE BEALS and HENRY BRIGHT come out, shoulders hunched against the storm. They're not the men they were when they went in ... ROBBIE is especially shaken. He takes out a huge ring of keys (ROBBIE has keys to almost everything on the island, town manager's perogative) and begins to fumble through them, meaning to lock the
148 STEPHEN KING
131
door. HENRY puts a tentative hand on his arm. Once again, both men SHOUT to be heard above the HOWL OF THE STORM.
HENRY
Shouldn't we at least check upstairs? See if anyone else ROBBIE
That's the constable's job.
He sees the look HENRY'S giving him, the one that says, 'You sure changed your tune,' but he won't back down; it would take a lot more man than HENRY BRIGHT to get ROBBIE upstairs after what they just saw downstairs. He finds the right key and turns it in the lock, securing the firehouse.
ROBBIE
We ascertained that the victim is dead, and we have secured the scene. That's enough. Now come on. I want to get back to the
HENRY
(pedantic, fussy)
We never really made sure he was dead, you know . . . never took his pulse, or anything . . .
ROBBIE
His brains were all over the running board of Pumper Number Two, why in God's name would we have to take his pulse?
HENRY
But there might be someone else upstairs. Jake Civiello . . . Duane Pulsifer, maybe . . .
ROBBIE
The only two names written on the duty board were 'Ferd Andrews' and 'Lloyd Wishman.'
