“Your door was unlocked,” Brian began, “so I thought-”

“Of course it’s unlocked,” the tall man said. “I decided to open for a little while this afternoon as a kind of… of preview. And you are my very first customer. Come in, my friend. Enter freely, and leave some of the happiness you bring!”

He smiled and stuck out his hand. The smile was infectious.

Brian felt an instant liking for the proprietor of Needful Things.

He had to step over the threshold and into the shop to clasp the tall man’s hand, and he did so without a single qualm. The door swung shut behind him and latched of its own accord. Brian did not notice.

He was too busy noticing that the tall man’s eyes were dark blue-exactly the same shade as Miss Sally Ratcliffe’s eyes.

They could have been father and daughter.

The tall man’s grip was strong and sure, but not painful. All the same, there was something unpleasant about it. Something… smooth. Too hard, somehow.

“I’m pleased to meet you,” Brian said.

Those dark-blue eyes fastened on his face like hooded railroad lanterns.

“I am equally pleased to make your acquaintance,” the tall man said, and that was how Brian Rusk met the proprietor of Needful Things before anyone else in Castle Rock.

4

“My name is Leland Gaunt,” the tall man said, “and you are-?”

“Brian. Brian Rusk.”

“Very good, Mr. Rusk. And since you are my first customer, I think I can offer you a very special price on any item that catches your fancy.”

“Well, thank you,” Brian said, “but I don’t really think I could buy anything in a place like this. I don’t get my allowance until Friday, and-” He looked doubtfully at the glass display cases again.