The Body Shop and Other Amusements

THE BODY SHOP


' Visitor! Visitor! ' the unseen voice screamed as soon as he entered the storefront.

Graff Pauley paused and searched for the source. He found the talking head perched on a bookrack to his right, pressed firmly between tomes on herbal medicine and hydraulics. The head was from an older man, not one of his. Pauley knew an air pump was connected to it so the larynx would function. How Edgerton maintained them otherwise he had no idea and didn ' t want one. ' How ya doing ' he nodded.

' Visitor! Visitor! '

' No mood to talk, eh Is your boss in '

' Visitor! Visitor! ' the head maintained its litany.

Pauley ignored the tables brimming with used merchandise; he was there to sell, not buy. Most of the wares were worthless anyway; Edgerton made his money by marketing body parts, not pawned goods. Still he wondered how Edgerton managed to run a business without armed security during evening hours. In this city, at night, everything was fair game. It was merely one of many subjects Edgerton refused to discuss.

The head maintained its mindless alarm while Pauley made his way to the counter. He was relieved the sentry hadn ' t come from him as it was always unpleasant when the watchman Edgerton selected turned out to be one he had provided; the recriminations could go on endlessly. Pauley pounded on the bell four or five times before he was rewarded by muttered curses. Then the curtain to the back rooms opened and Edgerton entered.

Edgerton was a roly-poly sort, a good six inches shorter than Pauley, with greasy black hair and eyes and voice. He was dressed in a bloodied lab coat, the rubber gloves he wore were still damp. ' What do you want Oh, good evening, Pauley. Anything for me '

' Depends. ' Pauley placed the cooler he was carrying on the counter and removed the top. ' Liver, two kidneys, eyes, ' he pointed to each in turn. ' Fresh within the last half hour. Quality stock. '

' Let me think. ' Edgerton scratched his chin. ' Can ' t use the eyes; wrong color. Easier to grow my own. I can always use a liver. Kidneys, I don ' t know. What type '

' Like I have time to do a tissue match '

He shook his head. ' Rush, rush, rush. Is that what our world is coming to I ' ll stick with the liver. ' He reached under the counter and retrieved a similar cooler, then placed the body part carefully inside. ' No lungs, heart Head '

' Damaged during retrieval. '

He nodded, then opened his cash register and counted out $5,000, then paused. ' This is a good liver, right No cirrhosis, not from some street drunk '

' You know me better than that. The man was driving a BMW. '

' Good. ' The money exchanged hands. ' Let me know if you get any lungs. Running short. '

' No problem. See ya. '