Fiends by John Farris Read Free Book Online

Enid paused, then smiled again, a shade thinly. Marjory shut up. Enid did have a bad side, and the penalty for getting on Enid's bad side was about a week in Coventry. It was very difficult for Marjory to live a week in the house without having Enid to talk to. So they were having a guest for Sunday dinner, and she'd lay out a delicious spread and try not to spoil Enid's good-works project.
    Enid selected a pair of dark blue Dacron trousers, and held them up. "I can hem these."
    "We'd better get going."
    "He'll need a belt."
    Marjory followed her to the belt rack. "Does he have a family?"
    "Not that anyone knows of."
    "How long has he been at Cumberland State?"
    "Maybe sixty years. There aren't any records."
    Marjory was stunned. "Sixty years? How old is he?"
    "He might be seventy. But—"
    "There aren't any records." Marjory shook her head. "That's unbelievable! If he's not any trouble, then why have they kept him so long?"
    "Well, it's just one of those things. They kind of lost track of Mr. Horsfall." Enid chose a fabric belt. "This goes good with the blue. Okay, that's all. Unless you want to shop for a bra?"
    "I'll do it Saturday. What if he tries to hang himself with that belt?"
    "Will you stop? You are so morbid. Mr. Horsfall is not suicidal. Probably he shouldn't be in Cumberland State at all. But after so much time, they just don't know what to do with him. And they can't release him. He's not capable of supporting himself. What we need badly in Nashville is a halfway house for people like Mr. Horsfall. But try to get the politicians to realize that."
    They each had a cherry Coke from the pizza place next to Zayre's, and Marjory took the Interstate around downtown Nashville.
    "Did they find out what caused the fire at the KA house?" she asked her sister.
    "Probably it was somebody careless with a cigarette. There was a lot more smoke than fire, actually."
    "It was on the news last night. All those Greeks lying around on the lawn in their formals and tuxes, it looked as if they died from overdressing."
    "They just moved the party outdoors, that's all."
    "I heard Pete Dunleavy jumped out of a third-story window."
    "He does that when it's not on fire."
    "Hey, Enid, does he still call you?"
    "Oh, sure."
    "His daddy's the third-largest poultry processor in the Southeast."
    "That's a lot of feathers."
    "That's a lot of chickenshit, but who cares? They're rolling in it."
    "Chicken do-do?"
    "No, money."
    "Marjory, I don't know where your avid interest in money comes from, I swear I don't."
    "It comes from never having any."
    "Tell the truth, now, wouldn't you be just a little disappointed in me if I went out with somebody like Pete Dunleavy?"
    "No."
    "Well, I don't think I could be comfortable socializing with a boy who had his whatzit tatooed."
    "You mean his ding-dong? His tallywhacker? Merciful heavens! Just call it a dick."
    "I don't enjoy being vulgar."
    "Do you suppose he really did? Have it tatooed?"
    "I'm sure I can't verify the truth of that. But I know somebody who probably can."
    "The Swedish girl who always has a gorgeous tan, even in the middle of winter?"
    "I forgot about her," Enid said thoughtfully.
    "Lord, can she wear clothes! Or not wear them, as the case may be."
    "You are being catty. How did this get started, anyway?"
    "We were sort of on the subject of being impoverished, and what a few plucked chickens can do for the checkbook."
    Enid shook her head slightly as if she needed to clear it and leaned forward to fiddle with the buttons on the radio, which buzzed a lot while occasionally providing soothing moments of music.
    Marjory glanced at Enid, but held her tongue about favorite subjects —the frustrated lawsuits, the poor advice they'd received from lawyers following the death of their parents. They hadn't been paid a red cent in compensation by the railroad or the county for this tragedy; only a meager Social Security check each month had sustained them, along with what Enid earned as a part-time