Red Dragon - Thomas Harris [102]
“They’re working on the tiger’s tooth. They have to put him to sleep. If you want to, you can touch him.”
“Will there be a crowd, people waiting?”
“No. No audience. Warfield, me, a couple of people. TV’s coming in after we leave. Want to do it?” An odd urgency in the question.
“Hell fuzzy yes, I do! Thank you . . . that’s a fine surprise.”
The van stopped.
“Uh, how do I know he’s sound asleep?”
“Tickle him. If he laughs, run for it.”
The floor of the treatment room felt like linoleum under Reba’s shoes. The room was cool with large echoes. Radiant heat was coming from the far side.
A rhythmic shuffling of burdened feet and Dolarhyde guided her to one side until she felt the forked pressure of a corner.
It was in here now, she could smell it.
A voice. “Up, now. Easy. Down. Can we leave the sling under him, Dr. Warfield?”
“Yeah, wrap that cushion in one of the green towels and put it under his head. I’ll send John for you when we’ve finished.”
Footsteps leaving.
She waited for Dolarhyde to tell her something. He didn’t.
“It’s in here,” she said.
“Ten men carried it in on a sling. It’s big. Ten feet. Dr. Warfield’s listening to its heart. Now he’s looking under one eyelid. Here he comes.”
A body damped the noise in front of her.
“Dr. Warfield, Reba MeClane,” Dolarhyde said.
She held out her hand. A large, soft hand took it.
“Thanks for letting me come,” she said. “It’s a treat.”
“Glad you could come. Enlivens my day. We appreciate the film, by the way.”
Dr. Warfield’s voice was middleaged, deep, cultured, black. Virginia, she guessed.
“We’re waiting to be sure his respiration and heartbeat are strong and steady before Dr. Hassler starts. Hassler’s over there adjusting his head mirror. Just between us, he only wears it to hold down his toupee. Come meet him. Mr. Dolarhyde?”
“You go ahead.”
She put out her hand to Dolarhyde. The pat was slow in coming, light when it came. His palm left sweat on her knuckles.
Dr. Warfield placed her hand on his arm and they walked forward slowly.
“He’s sound asleep. Do you have a general impression . . . ? I’ll describe as much as you like.” He stopped, uncertain how to put it.
“I remember pictures in books when I was a child, and I saw a puma once in the zoo near home.”
“This tiger is like a super puma,” he said. “Deeper chest, more massive head, and a heavier frame and musculature. He’s a fouryearold male Bengal. He’s about ten feet long, from his nose to the tip of his tail, and he weighs eight hundred and fifteen pounds. He’s lying on his right side under bright lights.”
“I can feel the lights.”
“He’s striking, orange and black stripes, the orange is so bright it seems almost to bleed into the air around him.” Suddenly Dr. Warfield feared that it was cruel to talk of colors. A glance at her face reassured him.
“He’s six feet away, can you smell him?”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Dolarhyde may have told you, some dimwit poked at him through the barrier with one of our gardener’s spades. He snapped off the long fang on the upper left side on the blade. Okay, Dr. Hassler?”
“He’s fine. We’ll give it another minute or two.”
Warfield introduced the dentist to Reba.
“My dear, you’re the first pleasant surprise I’ve ever had from Frank Warfield,” Hassler said. “You might like to examine this. It’s a gold tooth, fang actually.” He put it in her hand. “Heavy, isn’t it? I cleaned up the broken tooth and took an impression several days ago, and today I’ll cap it with this one. I could have done it in white of course, but I thought this would be more fun. Dr. Warfield will tell you I never pass up an opportunity to show off. He’s too inconsiderate to let me put an advertisement on the cage.”
She felt the taper, curve, and point with her sensitive battered fingers. “What a nice piece of work!” She heard deep, slow breathing nearby.
“It’ll give the kids a start when he yawns,” Hassler said. “And I don’t think it’ll tempt any thieves. Now for the fun. You’re not apprehensive, are you? Your muscular gentleman over there is