too. "Then he took out the security people and disappeared into the woods. By then he'd gone crazy. One night he came into town and went on a rampage, strangling and beating everybody he saw. They couldn't stop him. Eventually, an enraged mob was able to drive him out. They tracked him into the nearby hills, took a few more casualties, and finally brought him down with a plasma shell. "They buried him in the cemetery, along with their own dead. Members of his family were notified, and several came for the service. They were horrified to hear what had happened. Forrest had simply vanished. Nobody had known what had happened to him. When it got out that he was behind it, Cleev had been so worried he went public and denied the story. Claimed it was renegade scientists. Within a week of the burial, somebody descended on the ruined lab and removed everything that could connect it with the government." "My God," I said. "Is that really true? Did that actually happen?" The shopkeeper's eyes were gray. His hair was also gray, and his skin was sallow. I remember thinking that he needed to get away from the souvenir shop. Get away from the cemetery. "It gets worse," he said. "What else happened?" asked Alex. "Several weeks after they took down the lab, something attacked the town again. They didn't know what it was. But they started finding bodies. Beaten to death. Clubbed. Strangled. Witnesses swore it was Barryman. A reporter went out to the cemetery." "The grave was empty," said Alex. "Yes." That part of the story I'd heard before we left Marinopolis. "They asked for help from the authorities. But they just laughed. And so did the media, which, in those days, wasn't worth a damn anyhow. So the town got up an action committee. They went out after him, tracked him down a second time, and killed him again. Everybody agreed it was the same person. This time, they encased the body in concrete before putting it in the ground. They brought in a priest to perform an exorcism ceremony, and they put a stone block on top of the burial site to keep him in his grave." Had the shopkeeper by any chance seen Vicki Greene? Had she actually come to town? "Who?" he asked. So we moved on. To one of the town's two restaurants. The hostess was tall and looked a bit too sensible to be living in a place like Boldinai Point. I doubted the town had much in the way of prospects. As we were getting seated, I asked whether there was anything to the Barryman story, no kidding, and she said sure, where had I been all my life? "I'll tell you something else," she added. "There's a connection of some sort with Callistra." "With Callistra?" "Most times you go out there, everything's quiet. But do it at night, when the star's directly overhead, and you can feel that thing trying to break out of its tomb." Welcome to Boldinai Point.
We picked a hotel, but it was full. "Try the Hamel," they said. The Hamel was okay, but it wasn't the luxurious kind of place Alex liked. They didn't have suites available, so we checked into separate rooms. During the process, Alex asked the AI whether she knew who Vicki Greene was. "Oh, yes, sir," she said. "She's very popular at the Point." "Can you tell me whether she showed up here during the past year?" "That's private information, sir," she said. "I'm sorry, but I'm not permitted to speak of such matters. I can check to see whether she's staying at this hotel now, if you like." We tried calling the Point Man , which was the local journal. She had been here, had in fact stayed at the Hamel, had "starred at a special event for delighted visitors," during which she'd spoken about why people want to believe in the supernatural. She'd signed books, including some bound collector's
editions, and had "joined a number of her readers at a raucous party." She'd also submitted to an interview, which the Point Man made available. As before, she looked fine.
Q: Ms. Greene, why have you come to the Point?
A: It's a special place, Henry. I've always wanted to come here.
Q: Are you working on your next book?
A: I'm always working on my next book. (Laughs.)
Q: Would you want to tell us what it's about?
A: It's still in its early stages.
Q: Can you give us the title?
A: The working title is The Devil's Eye .
Q: You're visiting the Point?
A: Yes. That seems to be true.
Q: Can I guess that means you're writing about Forrest Barryman?