Under the Dome

2

'Big Jim,' Randolph said. 'What's happened here?'

'I believe that's obvious,'Big Jim said.'ChuckThompson's airplane got into a little argument with a pulp-truck. Looks like they fought it to a draw.' Now he could hear sirens coming from Castle Rock. Almost: certainly FD responders (Re

'That ain't what happened,' Alden Dinsmore said stubbornly 'J was out in the side garden, and I saw the plane just—'

'Better move those people back, don't you think?' Re

Randolph addressed Morrison and Wettington. 'Hank,' he said, and pointed at the spectators from The Mill. Some had begun prospecting among the scattered pieces of Thompson's plane. There were cries of horror as more body parts were discovered.

'Yo,' Morrison said, and got moving.

Randolph turned Wettington toward the spectators on the pulp-truck side. 'Jackie, you take…' But there Randolph trailed off.

The disaster-groupies on the south side of the accident were standing in the cow pasture on one side of the road and knee-deep in scrubby bushes on the other. Their mouths hung open, giving them a look of stupid interest Re

And now Peter Randolph, certainly no dummy (not brilliant, not by a long shot, but at least he knew which side his bread was buttered on), was looking at the same place as the rest of them, and with that same expression of slack-jawed amazement. So was Jackie Wettington.

It was the smoke the rest were looking at. The smoke rising from the burning pulper.

It was dark and oily. The people downwind should have been darned near choking on it, especially with a light breeze out of the south, but they weren't. And Re

Jim Re

'What is it?' Randolph asked. His voice was soft with wonder.

Dinsmore, the farmer, placed himself in front of Randolph. "TW guy'—pointing at Ernie Calvert—'had Homeland Security on the phone, and this guy'—pointing at Re

'I did, too—' Rory began, and this time it was his brother Ollie who went up the backside of Rory's head. Rory began to whine.

Alden Dinsmore said, 'It hit something. Same thing the cruck hit. It's there, you can touch it. That young fella—the cook—said there oughta be a no-fly zone out here, and he was right. But Mr Re

Re

But—maddeningly—it was Alden Dinsmore who go: the last word. 'That fella Barber was right. He was right and Re

Re

'Control this scene!' he told Randolph.

'Jackie, move those people back,' the Assistant Chief said, pointing toward the lookie-loos on the pulp-truck side of the accident. 'Establish a perimeter.'

'Sir, I think those folks are actually in Morton—'

'I don't care, move them back.' Randolph glanced over his shoulder to where Duke Perkins was working his way out of the green Chief's car—a car Randolph longed to see in his own driveway. And would, with Big Jim Re

'What about…' She pointed at the smoke-smudge, which was still spreading. Seen through it, the October-colorful trees looked a uniform dark gray, and the sky was an unhealthy shade of yellowy-blue.

'Stay clear of it,' Randolph said, then went to help Hank Morrison establish the perimeter on the Chester's Mill side. But first he needed to bring Perk up to speed.

Jackie approached the people on the pulp-truck side. The crowd over there was growing all the time as the early arrivers worked their cell phones. Some had stamped out little fires in the bushes, which was good, but now they were just standing around, gawking. She used the same shooing gestures Hank was employing on The Mill side, and chanted the same mantra.

'Get back, folks, it's all over, nothing to see you haven't seen already, clear the road for the firetrucks and the police, get back, clear the area, go home, get ba—'

She hit something. Re

The goddarn farmer stuck his oar in then: 'See? What'd I tell you:›'

Randolph and Morrison hadn't seen. Neither had Perkins; the three of them were conferring together by the hood of the Chief's car. Re