Repairman Jack [08]-Crisscross Read Free Page A

keep the money. I know you'll try your best."
    He looked at the sheets of newspaper. A multipage, two-week-old article on Dormentalism from The Light by someone named Jamie Grant.
    The Light … of all the papers in New York, why'd it have to be The Light ? He'd had a bad experience with one of the paper's reporters a few months ago. Memories from June flooded back and swirled around him… his sister, Kate… and that kid reporter… what was his name? Sandy Palmer. Right. The kid had given him a few gut-clenching moments.
    "Make sure you read that," Maria said. "It will serve as a good primer on Dormentalism."
    Jack checked out the title: "Dormentalism or Dementedism?" He smiled. Whoever Jamie Grant was, Jack liked him already.
    He tucked the envelope into a front hip pocket but held on to the article.
    "I'll get to work on this right away."
    "Wonderful." Her smile faded. "You won't fail me, will you?"
    "Not if I can help it. All I can guarantee is that I'll give it my best shot."
    Maria Roselli sighed. "I suppose that's all one can ask for. What will be your first step?"
    Jack held up the newspaper. "First I'm going to have to learn about this Dormentalism stuff. Then I guess I'll become a convert."

3

    Back on the street, Jack was tempted to make a quick run to Gia's—she lived less than ten blocks uptown from Maria Roselli's—but his visit had taken longer than expected and he was running late for a meeting with another customer.
    In the old days, long before he was born, a person could have hopped the El on Second Avenue. Or Third. Today he settled for a crosstown bus at Forty-ninth Street. He'd take the 27 over to the West Side and catch a subway up to Julio's.
    He dipped his Metrocard and found a seat on the half-full bus. As he unfolded the Dormentalism article he glanced up and noticed one of the ads above the opposite seats. He looked closer. Damned if it wasn't for the Dormentalist Church. He stood for a closer look.
    DORMENTALISM!
    Another better You slumbers within! The Dormentalist Church will help you awaken that sleeping part of you. Reestablish contact with your hidden self now! DON'T DELAY! Momentous change is coming! You don't want to be left out! PREPARE YOURSELF! Join the millions of Seekers like Yourself. Find the nearest Dormentalist Temple and discover the Other You… before it's too late!
    A toll-free number and a Midtown address on Lexington Avenue ran along the bottom. Jack jotted them down on the margin of the article.
    "You'll stay away from that lot if you know what's good for you," said a creaky voice behind him.
    Jack turned and saw a chubby, hunched old woman staring up at him from a nearby seat.
    "Sorry?"
    "You heard me. How can they call themselves a church when they never mention God? They're doing the devil's work, and you'll endanger your immortal soul if you even go near them."
    Jack instinctively looked around for a dog of some kind, but didn't see one. She wasn't carrying anything big enough to hide one.
    "Do you have a dog?" he said.
    She blinked up at him. "A dog? What sort of question is that to ask? I'm talking about your immortal soul and—"
    "Do… you… have… a… dog?"
    "No. I have a cat, not that it's any business of yours."
    A sharp reply leaped to his lips but he swallowed it. Just some Paleolithic busybody. He glanced back at the ad. The last line bothered him.
    Other You…
    He'd got to the point where the word other triggered all sorts of alarms. And now this old lady warning him against the Dormentalists. But the strange women who'd been popping in and out of his life lately never appeared alone. They always had a dog along.
    Jack dropped back into his seat. Second-guessing every little thing that happened was a sure shortcut to the booby hatch.
    "Just trying to give you a friendly warning," the old lady said in a low voice.
    Jack looked back and noticed she was pouting.
    "I'm sure you were," he told her. "Consider me warned."
    He turned to the article from The