Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat, page 23
Next up was Hank. He answered groggily, but perked up when I told him the address. He was bright enough to sort the rest out on his own. I think I mentioned previously that every Seeker had lost loved ones to the Bill of Deviations. None of us had a soft-spot for Wolram E. Deaps, and we stuck together as a matter of course.
Then I called a third number while tidying up the scene. I trusted Hank and Mac to ignore or fix anything I missed—with Controllers and Seekers in on the job it was unlikely anyone else would dig too deep. Safety first, and all that jazz.
“Precious,” I said into the receiver. “It’s me. Yeah. Not bad. Listen, I have some interesting news—Wolram Deaps is dead. Suicide. Now, don’t get all excited. Yeah. That’s a good girl. Yep, I’m being patronizing. I need you to handle this with the media—we want you to break the story. Thank you. Really. Yep—at Deaps’ apartment. He was paranoid, thought he was a Deviant. Couldn’t handle that, so popped himself. Call this number: 052794–072388. Name of Fergus MacDonell. He’ll look after you. Just don’t listen too closely to any of his nonsense. Oh, and Dot? Deaps mentioned he has some files here on various pols that need to see the light of day. Hank’ll help you dig them up. I also have some more in the mail to you. Yeah, you met him before. That’s right. Goodnight, precious.”
I gave the room a quick once over, and after a short debate with myself, went over and grabbed the figurine of the black bird from the mantel, putting it in the plasti-bag with my errant shoe. I took one last look at Deaps’ body on the sofa, opened the door, and went out through the living room to the passageway.
Laurel was standing there—her arm still in a sling, but she was all cleaned up, dressed in jeans and an oversized white t-shirt that had bold kanji symbols across the front. From her expression I could tell that she’d heard everything.
“What’s the t-shirt say?” I asked as I put my arm around her shoulders and held her tight.
“It says kibou. Hope.” She turned her head to face me. “I heard the shot. You finished it?”
“All done.”
“Will we be alright?”
“Everything’s arranged.”
“I cleaned upstairs and in the kitchen. I left no traces.”
“Thank you.” I leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“Oh, and I made a friend.”
“Do tell.”
“C’mere.” She led me to the kitchen by the hand. Laurel’s newfound buddy had four legs, genus Oreamnos americanus: the young brown mountain goat. She must’ve let the bugger out of its pen, because as soon as she got to the kitchen doorway it came over and nuzzled her. “Her name’s George. We’re going to take her with us.”
“That’s a funny kind of name.”
“And you’re a funny kind of cute.”
“I try.”
“So what happens now?”
“I don’t know. But we’re in this together, kid—all we’ve got is that maybe you love me and maybe I love you.”
“You know whether you love me or not.”
“Maybe I do.”
With that, I swept up my girl, the champagne, the goat, the bird and my scuffed up shoe, and left the goddamned world to sort itself out.
Exit
The Encylopedia Tobacciana
Floyd’s got a habit of referencing obscure films, characters, and actors... so here’s your go-to place for that movie you never saw or a quick refresher on one you have. Also perfect for those of you that have never heard of Darth Vader, Elvis Presley, or Clint Eastwood.
Allen, Irwin: Producer of sci-fi and disaster films & TV shows during the 1960s-70s.
All About Eve (1950): Classic American drama co-starring George Sanders.
Apocalypse Now (1979): Harrowing journey into the madness of the Vietnam conflict.
Arness, James: Played monstrous title character in The Thing from Another World.
Asahi: Leading Japanese beer brewery & soft drink company.
Astaire, Fred: Star of over 30 musicals, mostly with dancing partner Ginger Rogers.
Austen, Jane: Author of 19th century romances Sense and Sensibility & Pride and Prejudice.
Bacall, Lauren: Star of noir classics The Big Sleep and Dark Passage opposite Humphrey Bogart.
Bach, Johann Sebastian: German composer in 18th century Baroque period.
Batman: Camp 1960s TV series that guest starred George Sanders as Mr. Freeze.
Battle of Britain: World War II conflict.
Ben-Hur (1959): Extravagantly expensive film spurring catch-phrase “Bigger than Ben-Hur”.
Bergman, Ingmar: Swedish director of The Seventh Seal.
Berlin, Irving: Famed composer who penned many classic songs for Hollywood films.
Big Sleep, The (1949): Humprey Bogart as Philip Marlow, based on Raymond Chandler novel.
Bogart, Humphrey: Played detectives Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, also starred in Casablanca.
Bogie: (see Bogart, Humphrey)
Bond, James: Suave secret agent 007 created by Ian Fleming and first played by Sean Connery.
Bradbury, Ray: Penned short story anthology The Illustrated Man, adapted to film in 1969.
Brando, Marlon: Played title role in The Godfather and Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now.
Brazil (1985): Surreal, satiric take on British bureaucracy directed by Terry Gilliam.
Brothers Karamazov, The: 1880 novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, made into 1958 movie.
Bullitt (1968): Starring Steve McQueen, has one of the most influential car chases in film history.
Burke, Robert O’Hara: Leader of 1861 expedition crossing Australia in which most perished.
Burroughs, William S.: Beat Generation author of Naked Lunch.
Bush & Stockton Streets: Intersection closest to the alley (Burritt Street) where Sam Spade’s partner in The Maltese Falcon was murdered.
Cabaret Voltaire: Experimental British industrial band of the 1970s.
Casablanca (1942): Classic wartime drama. Bitterness, love & redemption rolled up in one.
Chandler, Raymond: Famed noir author, creator of Philip Marlowe.
Charade: 1963 suspense/comedy starring Cary Grant & Audrey Hepburn.
Charles, Nick & Nora: Martini-swilling husband-and-wife detective team created by Dashiell Hammett and featured in a string of movies.
‘Cheek to Cheek’: Song by Irving Berlin first performed by Fred Astaire in Top Hat.
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency, the covert American spy network.
Clockwork Orange, A (1971): Stylistic film about a young man with a penchant for violence.
Cole, Nat King: Famed American singer memorable for ‘Unforgettable’, among others.
Colonel Kurtz: Renegade, possibly mad American military officer in Apocalypse Now.
Colonel Sanders: Iconic founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).
Connery, Sean: Established career with his 1960s turn as James Bond/007.
Cotten, Joseph: Played the blundering pulp fiction author, Holly Martins, in The Third Man.
Crime and Punishment: Novel published by Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky in 1866.
Dalek: Villainous alien/robot hybrid race with distinctive, reverberating voices in Doctor Who.
Dalí, Salvador: Spanish surrealist painter, collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock on Spellbound.
Dante: 14th century poet of Divine Comedy, a tour through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.
Darth Vader: Iconic villain of the first two Star Wars films.
Dick Dastardly: Moustachioed cad in Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the 1960s.
Disney, Walt: Animation pioneer responsible for the media empire bearing his name.
Doctor Who: Longest running sci-fi TV show, started in 1963 featuring the titular time traveler.
Doraemon: Second-longest running Japanese anime TV series.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor: 19th century Russian author.
Drivas, Robert: Starred in The Illustrated Man opposite Rod Steiger.
Duchamp, Marcel: Part of dada art movement; famously put a urinal into an exhibition.
Eastwood, Clint: Starred as the “Man with No Name” in classic spaghetti westerns.
Edo period: Japanese historical era 1603-1868, when Tokyo was called Edo.
Falcon Takes Over, The (1942): Adaptation of Farewell My Lovely starring George Sanders.
Farewell My Lovely: Philip Marlowe’s second adventure, authored by Raymond Chandler.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998): T. Gilliam’s film of Hunter S. Thompson’s novel.
Fear in the Night (1947): Film noir tale directed by Maxwell Shane.
Flynn, Errol: Australian who starred in swashbucklers such as The Adventures of Robin Hood.
Fonda, Henry: Often cast as a cowboy, an everyman, or politician.
Gable, Clark: Starred in Gone With the Wind and Mutiny on the Bounty, among others.
Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The (1947): Romantic fantasy co-starring George Sanders.
Gilliam, Terry: Member of Monty Python; now known as director of Brazil, 12 Monkeys, more.
Glazunov, Alexander: Russian composer, scored the ballet Raymonda.
Godard, Jean-Luc: French New Wave director, pioneer of jump cut style of film editing.
Godfather, The (1972): Coppola’s masterful adaptation of Mario Puzo’s mobster family drama.
Godot: Character from the play Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett.
‘Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight’: Song popularized in 1950s by The McGuire Sisters.
Gordon, Don: Played Steve McQueen’s sidekick Delgetti in Bullitt (1968).
Gould, Elliott: Starred as a scattered, grizzled version of Philip Marlowe in The Long Goodbye.
Grange Hermitage: Australia’s most famous and collectable wine.
Grant, Cary: Debonair leading man and screwball comedian.
Hammett, Dashiell: Created iconic noir characters Sam Spade and duo Nick & Nora Charles.
Harlow, Jean: 1930s platinum blonde icon, in films like The Public Enemy and Reckless.
Hawks, Howard: Famed director who dabbled in noir with The Big Sleep.
Hays Code, the: Dictated strict censorship of American movies produced from 1930 to 1968.
Hector the Road Safety Cat: Iconic brainwasher of Aussie kids in the 1970s.
Hepburn, Audrey: Style beacon and star of classic romps like Charade and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Heston, Charlton: Iconic actor famous for roles in Planet of the Apes, Ben Hur, Soylent Green.
Hitchcock, Alfred: Director, pioneer of the suspense & psychological thrillers.
Holiday, Billie: Inimitable jazz singer/songwriter.
Holmes, Sherlock: Famous, unerringly accurate detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Holy Grail: Chalice sought out for its miraculous powers in Arthurian legend & much cinema.
Hope, Bob: Vaudeville & Hollywood comedian, in That Certain Feeling with George Sanders.
Hudson, Rock: Paired-up with Tony Randall as swinging bachelors in several romantic comedies.
Hylax: A large corporation specializing in plastics.
‘I Feel Love’: Trailblazing 1977 disco song by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder & Pete Bellotte.
‘I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen’: Popular Irish ballad (though written in America).
Illustrated Man, The: Published by Ray Bradbury in 1951; adaptation by Jack Smight in 1969.
‘I Wanna Be Like You’: Song from Disney’s The Jungle Book, performed by Louis Prima.
Jaws (1975): Classic shark attack flick directed by Steven Spielberg with iconic theme music.
Jeunet, Jean-Pierre: Directed whimsical Amélie; also dark/surreal films like Delicatessen.
Johnnie Walker: Most widely distributed & famous of blended Scotch whisky.
Joker, The: Comic book villain, humourist & Batman’s long-time nemesis. Why so serious?
Jones, Indiana: Swashbuckler in the franchise bearing his name, as played by Harrison Ford.
Jungle Book, The (1967): Disney adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s tale.
Kagemusha (1980): Akira Kurosawa film, a criminal is coerced to impersonate a dead warlord.
Kelly, Gene: Famously danced with his umbrella in Singin’ in the Rain; also played a Musketeer.
Kettle, Ma: Comically abrasive chicken farmer, played by Marjorie Main in ten films.
KGB: Opposite number of American CIA, espionage arm of Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Kitt, Eartha: Singer & entertainer; played the purring, sexy Catwoman in 1960s Batman.
Kurosawa, Akira: Masterful director of Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, The Hidden Fortress, more.
Lancaster, Burt: Debuted in enduring noir The Killers; swashbuckled as The Crimson Pirate.
Lazarus: The lucky sod that Jesus raises from the dead in the New Testament.
Lime, Harry: Orson Welles’ morally-bankrupt American black marketer in The Third Man.
‘Little Girl’: Nat King Cole standard also known as ‘I Want a Little Girl’.
Lucas, George: Renowned for his Star Wars franchise; also made THX 1138.
Luftwaffe, the: German air force 1935-46.
Lynch, David: Created unorthodox gems Blue Velvet and Eraserhead.
Maltese Falcon, The (1941): Humprey Bogart as Sam Spade, from Dashiell Hammett’s novel.
Mark of Zorro, The (1940): Tyrone Power as swashbuckling Zorro, Basil Rathbone as villain.
Marlowe, Philip: Detective created by Raymond Chandler made famous by Humphrey Bogart.
Martins, Holly: Amiable pulp fiction writer, played by Joseph Cotten in The Third Man.
McDowell, Malcolm: Starred in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.
McDuff: Mispeaking of Macduff, a character in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth.
McGuire Sisters, The: Popular American musical trio during the 1950s-60s.
McQueen, Steve: Starred in The Magnificent Seven, Bullitt, more.
Melbourne Uni: University of Melbourne, founded in 1853.
Memoirs of a Professional Cad: The memoirs of actor George Sanders.
Messerschmitt Bf 109: German WW2 fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt.
MI6: British espionage equivalent of CIA and KGB.
Miller, Frank: Reinvented Batman in noir style as The Dark Knight. Created 300 and Sin City.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Popular anime franchise involving huge robots & military intrigues.
My Darling Clementine (1946): Biopic of marshal Wyatt Earp starring Henry Fonda.
My Geisha (1962): Comedy starring Shirley MacLaine as actress who masquerades as a geisha.
Naked Lunch (1991): David Cronenberg’s take on William S. Burroughs’ classic novel.
Netochka Nezvanova: Author Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s first, unfinished attempt at a novel.
Newton, Robert: Famous as pirate Long John Silver in Disney’s adaptation of Treasure Island.
Nineteen Eighty-Four: George Orwell’s tale of a fascist police-state future.
Nyby, Christian: Film editor for Howard Hawks; directed The Thing from Another World.
Outer Limits, The: Anthology TV series was a mix of sci-fi, horror and fantasy.
Pokémon: Hugely popular Japanese anime series based on Nintendo game.
Pollock, Jackson: 20th century abstract expressionist painter.
Power, Tyrone: Starred in romantic/swashbuckling/pirate escapades like The Mark of Zorro.
Presley, Elvis: One of the most popular American singers of the 20th century.
Prima, Louis: Ran gamut of jazz, swing & big band; voiced orangutan in Disney’s The Jungle Book.
Purgatory: Christian limbo between earth and Heaven.
R2-D2: Squat, salt-shaker-shaped droid star of Star Wars, designed by John Stears.
Rachmaninoff, Sergei Vasilievich: Russian composer.
Randall, Tony: Paired-up with Rock Hudson as swinging bachelors in romantic comedies.
Rathbone, Basil: 1930s-50s screen villain; also made role of Sherlock Holmes his own.
Raymonda: Russian ballet first performed in 1898.
Reed, Carol: Directed The Third Man, The Fallen Idol and Odd Man Out.
Reilly, Doghouse: Fake name used by Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep.
RKO: One of the 5 big studios in Hollywood’s golden age from 1929-1957.
Robin: Batman’s sidekick in the long-running comic created by Bob Kane.
Rogers, Ginger: Starred in over 70 films, most famously with dancing partner Fred Astaire.
Running Man, The: Penned by Stephen King, later a film, about a game show to the death.
Saint, Eva Marie: Starred with Bob Hope and George Sanders in That Certain Feeling.
Sanders, George: Actor famous for his suave, snobbish air and “British” sensibilities.
Serling, Rod: Creator, narrator, & often writer of the original TV series The Twilight Zone.
Seven Samurai (1954): Essential Akira Kurosawa flick starring Toshiro Mifune.
Seventh Seal, The (1957): Directed by Ingmar Bergman, a knight plays chess with Death.
Shatner, William: Best known as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek, also in Brothers Karamazov.
Shere Khan: Arrogant, menacing tiger antagonist in Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book.
Sister Street Fighter (1974): Martial arts spin off from Sonny Chiba’s The Street Fighter.
Smight, Jack: Directed The Illustrated Man.
Soylent Green (1973): Prescient look at a future in which the world is suffering food shortages.
Spade & Archer: Name of Sam Spade’s and Miles Archer’s private detective agency.
