Herbert Horatio "Poppy" Blackwell was once a daring aviator, illustrious movie producer, and brilliant businessman. A Howard Hughes-like mogul, Poppy has become a recluse with paralyzing fears of infection. Cloistered in the penthouse high above his desert gambling empire, Poppy's maids and footm...
They could only conjecture from the warmth of its waters that the aquifer lay deep underground, near the hearth of the Earth. Jacob sounded out for Bloom the hiss and groan he would hear when the vapors rose and expanded into the pipes of their new home. He spoke of flowering gardens and bulky ve...
INTRUDERS When I roll Poppy onto his back, the “Requiem” comes to a close and the doors to his chambers open. The dull sound of a breeze enters from the corridors leading from the bathrooms and from the western wing; it whispers over the discarded newspapers, legal pads, and Kleenex. The wind eve...