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file:///E|/Funny%20&%20Weird%20Shit/75%20-%20Stephen%20King%20Books/Stephen%20King%20-%20Pet%20Sematary.htmthe underside of the vault onto the floor of the grave (it had been a wet week in Chicagoland) when thecrane just tipped over and went kerplunk into the grave. The crane operator crashed into the windshieldand broke his nose. That day’s festivities cost Cook County roughly $3,000—$2,100 over the usualprice of such gay goings-on. The real point of the story for Uncle Carl was that the crane operator hadbeen elected president of the Chicago local of the Teamsters six years later.Grave liners were simpler matters. Such a liner was no more than a humble concrete box, open at thetop. It was set into thegrave on the morning of a funeral. Following the services, the coffin was lowered into it. The sextonsthen brought on the top, which was usually in two segments. These segments were lowered verticallyinto the ends of the grave, where they stood up like bookends. Iron rings were embedded into theconcrete at the ends of each segment. The sextons would run lengths of chain through them and lowerthem gently onto the top of the grave liner. Each section would weigh sixty, perhaps seventy pounds—eighty, tops. And no sealer was used.It was easy enough for a man to open a grave liner; that’s what Jud was implying.Easy enough for a man to disinter the body of his son and bmy it someplace else.Shhhhh. . . shhhh. We will not speak of such things. These are secret things.“Yes, I guess I knew the difference between a sealing vault and a grave liner,” Louis said. “But I wasn’tthinking aboutabout what you think I was thinking about.”“Louis—”“It’s late,” Louis said. “It’s late, I’m drunk, and my heart aches. If you feel like you have to tell me thisstory, then tell me and let’s get it over with.” Maybe I should have started with martinis, he thought.Then I could have been safely passed out when he came knocking.“All right, Louis. Thank you.”“Just go on.”Jud paused a moment, thinking, then began to speak.file:///E|/Funny%20&%20Weird%20Shit/75%20-%20St...20Books/Stephen%20King%20-%20Pet%20Sematary.htm (209 of 333)7/28/2005 9:21:49 PM