In the Mouth of Madness

Hello, admitting.

This is Saperstein.|Where is he?

He's cleared admitting?

Right. Bring him in.

He's coming.

Good, good.

Trent?

John J.

Put him in number nine.

You son of a b*tch!

Hang on to him.

Get him in there!

No, not me!

No,wait,wait!

This is wrong.

Look, l'm sorry about the balls!

lt was a lucky shot,that's all!

Wait!

l'm not insane.

You hear me?

l'm not insane!

l'm not if he's not!

Me neither!

l'm not insane!

We've only just begun

Not the Carpenters,too.

So let me go

This is a rotten way to end it.

This is not the ending.

You haven't read it yet.

All right.

Came in this afternoon?

Yes. How did you|get here so fast?

We've been monitoring|all admissions...

through police|and paramedic channels.

This one fit the symptoms.

Do you think he's one of them?

Mr. Saperstein, l promise you...

that's what l'm here|to find out.

Things must be getting|pretty bad out there...

to bring youfellas in.

ls this it?

Did he make any requests?

Just...

one.

A, uh...

single black crayon.

Hang on.

What's up?

My name is Dr. Wrenn...

and l am going to try|and get you out of here.

After all my redecorating?

No. l think l'll stay.

There's a guard with a pair|of swollen testicles...

who swears you wanted|out of here.

l, uh,well...

l've changed my mind.

l see.

The crosses are a nice touch.

They'd almost have|to keep you in here...

once they'd seen these,|wouldn't they,John?

Got a smoke?

You're waiting to hear|about my ''them,'' aren't you?

Your what?

My ''them.''

Every paranoid schizophrenic|has one--

a ''them,'' a ''they,'' an ''it.''

And you want to hear|about my ''them,'' don't you?

l want to know how you got here.

Things are turning to sh*t|out there, aren't they?

Let's talk about you.

Your dime.

l'm, uh...

l was an insurance investigator,|freelance.

Checked outfunny claims,|frauds...

the usual kind of thing.

And lately l'd been working|for a firm here in the city.

And all of this started|with the disappearance.

The Sutter Cane...

disappearance.

lt's a little hot in here,|isn't it?

lt's boiling.

How long l gotta be here?

l mean, uh...

l took care|of all that paperwork.

The check was supposed|to be here three weeks ago.

Right? lsn't that right?

Well, usually,yeah,|that's the way it goes...

but l just have a few final|questions about the fire.

More questions.

l've answered|all your questions.

Enough's enough.

lt was supposed|to be cut and dried.

We'll be out of here|in a minute.

See, Robby here,|he owns the company.

And he's hired me to see that|things go smoothly, understand?

lt's just a little thing,|but, see...

Robby takes the view|that it was you...

who burned down your own|warehouse on Northern Boulevard.

Me? That's horseshit.

That was all my own stuff|in that warehouse.

That's my whole life.

Believe me, l sympathize.

You're really starting to sweat.

Shall l turn on|the air conditioning?

Oh, no, l'm fine.

-You sure?|-Yeah.

l'm running a little late.

Supposed to pick up my wife.

Oh,yeah,your wife.

She's a great lady.

You know her?

No, not really.|We just met briefly.

You know,when l went round|to check up on your story.

We have these photographs...

of your wife|tooling around town...

wearing various articles...

that you claim|were destroyed in the fire.

No,that's impossible.

No,this is all stuff|l boughtfor her myself.

See,the problem is...

when l went round|to talk to her...

it turned out she knew much more|than she thought she did.

Especially...

Especially after l showed her|pictures of Miss Palminteri...

who appears to be wearing...

even more|of your destroyed articles.

Miss Palminteri?

Miss Rosa Palminteri.

A word of advice.

You want to pull a scam,|don't make your wife a partner.

lf you do...

don'tfuck around|behind her back.

Trent, beautiful.

Everybody says you got the best|nose for a con in the business.

But to see itfirsthand, l mean,|to watch you work...

is incredible.

Well, it wasn't hard, Robby.

The guy's wife liked me.

Besides, he was an amateur.

lt's too easy with amateurs.

You try to figure out who's|professional and who isn't.

That's when it gets fun,|when you run into a pro.

You know, most of my salesmen...

couldn't sniff out|a phony claim...

if their noses|were nailed to it, but you...

man,you never miss.

What's to miss?

You learn to expect the worst|in people, and you get it.

Everyone's looking|to play an angle.

l'm always there|to clean up the mess.

l'll tell you what.

You stop freelancing,|join my staff.

l'll make it worth your while.

Forget it, Robby.

l'm my own man.|Nobody pulls my strings.

l'm independent, l'm happy.

Well, be my man one more time.

l'm having quite|a difficult mess with Arcane.

The publishing house?

Yeah, my biggest account.

They justfiled a claim|that cost me millions.

l want you on this right away.

What's the claim?

Sutter Cane is missing.

Who?

Sutter Cane.

Do you read Sutter Cane?

What?

Horror writer Sutter Cane--

a harmless pop phenomenon...

or a deadly mad prophet|of the printed page?

This was the scene today|outside several city bookstores.

Police believe|the riots began...

because the stores|could not meet the demand...

for advance orders|of Sutter Cane's latest novel...

''ln the Mouth of Madness.''

When does fiction|become religion?

And are his fans dangerous?

Only if you count axes.

ln related news,there were|eighteen other stores...

Mr. Harglow will see you now.

Thank you.

You're not listening to me.|l needed it yesterday.

lf you wait any longer, it'll be|all over the front page.

Get it done!

Jackson Harglow, Mr. Trent.|l'm pleased to meet you.

lt's a pleasure.

Excuse the commotion.

We have something|of a crisis going on.

Everybody out now, please.

l need time with Mr. Trent.

Have Sylvia hold the calls,|and you get Linda in here.

That was great.|l almost left myself.

Sit down, please.

l am a little short|on patience these days.

So, Mr. Trent,|are youfamiliar with Arcane?

Well, aside from the fact...

that you're insured|by the company l work for...

l never heard of Arcane.|l'm sorry.

You read books?

Linda Styles,John Trent.

Linda reads books for a living.|She's one of our best editors.

Since she joined the firm...

she's been handling|Sutter Cane exclusively.

lsn't he the guy|that writes that horror crap?

Maybe he's too sophisticated|for you.

Sutter Cane happens to be...

this century's|most widely read author.

You can forget|about Stephen King.

Cane outsells them all.

So what happened|to this cash cow of yours?

Cane disappeared two months ago|without a trace.

The police|have turned up nothing.

Who was the last person|to hearfrom him?

His agent.

Cane mailed him|several chapters...

of his new book,|oh, not two weeks ago.

Plain brown wrapper.|No return address.

Oh, gee, l'm sorry.|You don't mind, do you?

What'd the agent have to say?

You heard what he had to say.

What are you talking about?

l understand you were there...

when the poor man went crazy|in midtown Manhattan.

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