In the Mouth of Madness Page #2

You witnessed the shooting,|l believe.

That lunatic with the ax?|That was Cane's agent?

Hard to believe, isn't it?

Yeah,well,you'd think a guy|that outsells Stephen King...

couldfind|better representation.

Excuse me.

lt's just a little joke.

Well,we're not in the mood.

l'll see you out, Mr. Trent.

Thank you.

Cane is a billion-dollar|franchise.

He's the tent pole|to this company.

We've already sold the film|rights to his new book...

as well as publication rights|in eighteen languages--

The book you can'tfind?

Well, his agentfound it,|at least part of it.

You think he took one look|at this latest work of art...

and went ax-happy|in broad daylight?

l think it's great.

lt's great promotion for Arcane,|great publicity.

This was not a publicity stunt.

You were there.

Cane's writing has been known|to have an effect...

on his less stable readers.

An effect? Like what?

Well, disorientation,|memory loss...

severe paranoid reaction.

People pay money|to feel like that? lt's cute.

Put it in the press kit.

We need you.

OK. Well,why don't you and l|get together after work?

We'll go through his files.

l don't think so.

l need to see his contracts,|papers,you know.

lmpossible.|His agent was a total buffer.

We don't even know|where Cane lives.

What do you know?

For about a year|before he disappeared...

his work became erratic,|bent, more bizarre than usual.

He became convinced his writing|was real, notfiction.

Then the work stopped coming.

l need to know|if he's alive or dead.

And l need that book.

We've delayed publication|as long as we can.

His fans are getting|really restless.

This sh*t really sells,|doesn't it?

More than you'd imagine.|Surprised?

Lady, nothing surprises me.

We f***ed up the air,the water,|we f***ed up each other.

Why don't we finish the job...

by justflushing our brains|down the toilet?

Why don't you try|reading his stuff?

See if you can get it.

Got any on tape?

You want some,too, buddy?

No, relax, Robby.

Look, it's a scam,|of course it's a scam.

You see...

all this strange behaviorfrom|people that read the books...

and the agent|going nuts and so on...

lfigure it's like|mass hysteria,you know?

lt's like, um,|it's a pop phenomenon.

lt's a craze. lt'll pass.

lt's this year's Hula-Hoop.|Something like that.

Yeah, my God, it's freaky.

No, it's a setup.

l just have to work out|how it's set up.

lt's just a matter of time.

You,too?

God, l've had heartburn,|tell me about it.

Sporadic riots continue|to hit Eastern cities...

and reports of violence|from Boston and Philadelphia...

are now coming in.

Police continue to describe|barely coherent witnesses...

all reporting having read...

horror novelist|Sutter Cane's latest novel...

''Hobb's End Horror.''

Many officers have been|physically attacked...

and more than|three hundred eighty people...

male andfemale, have been|jailed in New York County.

Two officers in Boston|were hacked to death...

amid jeering crowds|in an attack last night.

What is this horrible,|unexplainable madness...

that is gripping our lives?

What in the world is happening?

l can see.

Now we have an editorial...

Excuse me?

He sees you.

Great. Uh...

Tell him l say hi.

Oh, hi, Robby. Yeah.|Yeah, not a lot.

l picked up some of|these Sutter Cane books.

l've been reading them.

Well, it--

Pulp horror novels.|They're all pretty familiar.

They all seem|to have the same plot.

Slimy things in the dark,|people go mad...

they turn into monsters.

The funny thing is that they're|kind of better written...

than you'd expect.

They sort of get to you|in a way.

l don't know|if it's his style of writing...

or his use of description|or whatever, but--

No, don't be silly.

Do you want some,too, buddy?

He sees you.

What?

Aw, it's just too weird.

Beautiful.

Where'd you go?

Assuming you went somewhere.

Cute.

Now l know why Cane|had the artwork done himself.

See this?|lt's a map.

The red dot is Hobb's End.

lt's not on any real map,|but look at this.

The two line up.

Like it or not...

Cane's book covers|place Hobb's End...

right in the middle|of New England.

So you're saying the man|went someplace fictional?

lt's a real place|in a real state.

New Hampshire,to be precise.

But it's not on the map.

Well, not on any new ones,|but maybe on some old ones.

There's plenty of forgotten|towns across America.

Makes a great contest,|doesn't it?

Put the pieces together,|find the town...

win a Sutter Cane lunchbox.

How can you be sure he's there?

Well, l'd have to go to be sure.

You sure you want me to go?

l'm not suggesting|that you're lying...

that you're about to file|a fraudulent claim...

butforgive me if this sounds...

a little bit|like bullshit to me.

And if you're telling|the truth...

if you really want|your author back...

if you really want your book...

then maybe it's in both|our best interests...

if l go find him.

We have nothing to hide,|Mr. Trent.

l desire only ourfair share|if Cane is dead...

or our property if he's alive.

Since l assume you also|have nothing to hide...

l'm sure you won't mind|if l send Miss Styles along...

on your expedition.

Well, it's your party.

America,the

Beautiful

From sea to

Shining

Who is it? What?

You're awake.

Couldn't you just shake me,|you a**hole?

What did l do?

We're lost.

We are lost because there|is no such place as Hobb's End.

Well,we'll see.

Never, never, never...

throw chips at a driver.

God damn it. Sh*t.

A**hole.

Styles, can l ask you something?

Do you really like working|on Cane's stuff?

Do you really like|busting people?

Yeah. l bustfrauds,|l bust phonies...

and,yeah, l love it.

Have you ever busted|anyone you know?

Yeah, sure l did.

Didn't make any difference.

You see, in my business,|you soon find out...

that anybody's|capable of anything.

lf you can think of it,|they've done it.

Doesn't leave you much|to believe in.

Yeah.|But think of the upside--

it doesn't leave you much|to be disappointed in, either.

Believe me,the sooner we're off|the planet,the better.

Now you sound like Cane.

No, not me.

You're the Cane lover.

l just like being scared.

Cane's work scares me.

What's to be scared about?

lt's not like it's real|or anything.

lt's not real|from your point of view...

and right now reality|shares your point of view.

What scares me|about Cane's work...

is what might happen if reality|shared his point of view.

Whoa. We're not talking|about reality here.

We're talking aboutfiction.|lt's different,you know.

A reality is just what|we tell each other it is.

Sane and insane could|easily switch places...

if the insane were|to become the majority.

You wouldfind yourself|locked in a padded cell...

wondering what happened|to the world.

No,that wouldn't happen to me.

lt would if you realized...

everything you ever knew|was gone.

lt'd be pretty lonely|being the last one left.

Not only in Manhattan proper...

but there was that incident|in Long lsland...

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