The Devil's Fate Read Free Page A

one copy left and I’m keeping that for myself.”
    “I’ll pay you double for it. Here’s seventy dollars.”
    “Sorry man, but this is the last copy of a limited edition. No amount of money can buy it.”
    “Five hundred dollars should be enough even for a limited edition!”
    “Maybe I’ve not made myself totally clear. You can’t put a price on the effect that reading those words has. That book will go straight into my bookcase and will stay there till I croak. You can buy plenty of other books for five hundred dollars. Have a look around; I’ll give you a discount on anything you want to buy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other customers to serve.”
    Norman glanced around gloomily, and then remembered that the biggest book store in the city was on the street where he worked. He hurried out and made his way towards the shop, following the directions on the flashing neon sign. It was about two hundred yards away and it took him a couple of minutes to get there. He approached the first assistant he saw, who was busy stacking newly arrived books on the shelves.
    “Excuse me, but I’m looking for a book called “Instructions for ...”
    “… Living. You’re the hundredth person I’ve had to give bad news to this morning. We’ve sold out, like, I guess, all the book stores in the city. And maybe the whole State for all I know. I’ve ordered more copies from the publishing house, but it’s a limited edition and it doesn’t look good for you and all the others who haven’t managed to buy it.”
    “What have I got to do to buy this book? You see, it’s extremely important to me.”
    “I don’t doubt it. That’s what everybody says. I think some of them would go without eating to get one. But the only way is to contact the publishing house directly. Maybe if they get a few hundred letters they’ll think about reprinting.”
    “Which publishing house?”
    “Well, originally it was called Soderberg, in Oslo, but I reckon it doesn’t exist any more. It was bought out by a bigger, more powerful house, O’Neal Publishers, owned by the millionaire who runs the largest corporation in the world.”
    “Where can I find it?”
    “Hang on, I’ll have a look.”
    The man went over to his computer and typed in the name ‘O’Neal’ on his database. The state-of-the-art microprocessor came up with it in a fraction of a second.
    “Here we are. The headquarters are in Shanghai, but there’s a branch in Hollywood. Not surprising considering. Couldn’t be any other way.”
    “Why? What do you mean?”
    “Don’t you know what they say about Mr. O’Neal? Where have you been living? The millionaire with more dark sides than anyone on the planet? He’s been accused of as many homicides as he has millions. Thanks to these suspicious deaths, he managed to get his hands on some of the world’s best-sellers. When that didn’t work, he bought the publishing house that held the rights. At a bargain price of course, after getting rid of the majority shareholder.”
    “So, he’s in prison?”
    “Aw man, you must have been living without a television for too long. That individual is nothing less than a genius and he’s got so much power, he’s untouchable.”
    “A genius? What makes him so special?”
    “You’ve really never heard of him? You must be the only one on the face of the earth! Except for my dog... Ryan A. O’Neal, or Mister as he likes to be called, is the author of the book you’re looking for. The greatest blockbuster of all time.”
    Anger suffused Norman’s face and he lost his temper.
    “Bloody bastard!”
    “I beg your pardon? How dare you, you prick!”
    “Sorry, I didn’t mean you. I was thinking out loud. Please, give me the address.”
    The man muttered a few insults, and sulkily handed him the card he had written the details on.
    “Thank you. Be seeing you.”
    “Don’t hold your breath, man!”
    Norman left the shop and switched on his mobile. It was strange that there