The Jigsaw Man by Gord Rollo Read Free Book Online Page A

sure, I guess."
    We went to the back of the van, removed two rickety
    old chairs, and helped the two bearded guys into them.
    I was shocked to see that both were missing one of their
    legs, although not the same one. I hadn't noticed that
    "when I'd climbed into the van. I had to ask.
    "Jesus, guys, don't take this the wrong way, but both
    of you have already lost a leg. Don't you need both of
    your arms to get around?"
    "Yeah," the red bearded guy missing his left leg an
    swered. "What's that got to do with anything?"
    "Well, everything. If you're already in a wheelchair,
    how can you sell your arm? You won't be able to push
    yourself around. Not very easily anyway."
    I had a brief image of a frustrated one-armed/one-
    legged man trying to cross a street in his wheelchair, go
    ing nowhere but around and around in circles.
    " Whatareya talMngabout,mister? "the brown-bearded
    man said. "I'm here to sell my left leg, not my arm. Like
    you said, I need my arms."
    "Me too," Red Beard said. "Only I'm selling my right
    leg. I don't got no use for it anyway. May as well take the
    cash, right?"
    Wait a minute, Mike. What's going on here?
    I turned to the other man standing quietly over by the
    front door. "What about you? What are you selling?"
    "My left arm. That's what I thought you guys were
    selling too. It doesn't matter though, as long as we all
    get our money."
    I guess he was right. It didn't really matter. It just
    caught me off guard for a moment, that's all
    "I suppose. It's just a bit of a surprise," I said. "Two arms
    and two legs. I mean; I know this place looks like Fran
    kenstein's castle but nobody told me we were here to sup
    ply the parts for Dr, Marshall to build a body."
    It was an attempted joke but looking around at each
    other, this creepy place we were in, and thinking about
    what I'd just said, nobody laughed—nobody at all.
    Jesus H Christ!
    What was I getting myself into?
    PART THREE
    T H E CASTLE
    C H A P T E R S E V E N
    Drake opened the massive door leading into the medi
    cal center, and hurried the four of us inside. I helped
    push Red Beard's chair, while the limo driver aided the
    other wheelchair-bound man. Once we were all inside
    the building and clear of the door, Drake told us to stay
    put while he checked to see if they were ready for us.
    The moment he walked around the corner, the Hmo
    driver hurriedly said good-bye and exited through the
    front door, leaving us alone.
    There was n o t h i n g to do except stare at each other
    and wait for Drake to come back. The hallway we were
    in was made entirely of concrete;, including the floor,
    with a set of stairs leading up to our left. The ceiling
    towered fifteen feet above our heads and even though
    sound would probably echo quite well in here, no one
    said a word and it was as quiet as a tomb. So quiet, irwas
    making me nervous, so I took the initiative and intro¬
    duced myself.
    "The name's Smith " the other nondisabled man said—
    the man donating his left arm. "William Smith, but I'd
    rather you call me Bill."
    "Hey, imagine that, I'm a Bill too," said the brownbearded man missing his right leg. "Bill Tucker. Just so we
    don't get confused, most people back home called me
    Wheels, on account of this chair and all."
    We all agreed W h e e l s would do just fine.
    Red Beard's name was Sinclair Anderson. I think I
    preferred calling him Red Beard and when I jokingly
    mentioned this to him he smiled and said that was all
    right with him.
    "Lot's of people call me Red. You can t o o , M i k e , if
    you'd like."
    "Sure," I said. "We're in this crazy adventure to¬
    gether, and who better to have on an adventure than a
    pirate, huh? Red Beard it is."
    Together, we laughed and it seemed to break the ten¬
    sion a little. Everyone was uptight and nervous about
    what we were getting into, but at least we were approach¬
    ing it properly, with a sense of humor. It felt good to
    laugh; we needed it. Soon we were kidding each other
    about what we should