The Confrontation with Ed Deepneau

Ralph's escalating conflict with his neighbor, from road rage to domestic violence to a planned mass murder.

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Road Rage at the Airport

The First Sign of Madness A Chance Encounter While walking on the Harris Avenue Extension, Ralph witnesses Ed Deepneau's car speeding out of the airport service gate. Ed nearly hits a pickup truck, then leaps out and begins screaming obscenities at the driver, accusing him of hauling dead babies. Ralph is shocked – the Ed he knows is a kind, gentle research chemist. He intervenes, calming Ed down, but the incident leaves him deeply unsettled. The Scarf and the Symbols Ralph notices Ed is wearing a white silk scarf with red Japanese characters. Later, he draws the symbol in the condensation on Trigger Vachon's windshield. Trigger's brother, a Pacific War veteran, identifies it as the word "kamikaze" – divine wind. The scarf is a harbinger of Ed's eventual suicide mission. A Glimpse of the Abyss Ed's eyes during the incident are those of a fighting cock – wide, unblinking, full of murderous rage. Ralph realizes that the man he thought he knew has been replaced by something dangerous. He files the memory away, but it will return with terrible significance.

Ed Beats Helen

The Violence Erupts A Bloody Arrival Ralph is shopping at the Red Apple when Helen Deepneau staggers in, her face beaten bloody, carrying baby Natalie on one hip. She has been attacked by Ed because she signed a petition to bring Susan Day to Derry. Ralph calls 911 despite Helen's pleas, and Ed is arrested for domestic assault. Confronting the Madman Ralph marches up the street to confront Ed, who is sitting on his lawn listening to Jefferson Airplane, blood on his knuckles. Ed rambles about the Crimson King, Centurions, and fetuses being trucked out of town. He is charming one moment, terrifying the next. Ralph sees the madness clearly now – the same madness he glimpsed at the airport a year ago. The Arrest Detective John Leydecker arrives and arrests Ed, but the charges are only a misdemeanor. Ed is released on bail with a no-contact order. Ralph is left with a sense of dread, knowing that Ed's madness is only beginning.

Ed's Final Plan

The Kamikaze Plot A Deadly Obsession After being fired from Hawking Laboratories, Ed Deepneau becomes the de facto leader of a radical anti-abortion splinter group. He plans to crash a plane into the Civic Center during Susan Day's speech, killing thousands. Ralph and Lois learn of this from Clotho and Lachesis, who reveal that Ed's life-cord has been cut by Atropos, making him a tool of the Random. The Final Confrontation Ralph teleports into Ed's Cherokee as it approaches Derry. He finds Ed wearing the kamikaze scarf, a photo of Helen and Natalie taped to the instrument panel. Ed is singing Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" – the same song he played on the day he beat Helen. Ralph tears the detonator wires from the bomb, but Ed fights him desperately. The Crash Ralph manages to turn the plane away from the Civic Center, but it crashes into the parking lot. The explosion kills Ed and causes panic, but the building is spared. Ralph escapes at the last moment with Lois's help, but the cost is high – Ed is dead, and the deathbag that hung over the Civic Center is gone.

July 1992, a year before Carolyn's death

August 1993, after Helen signs a petition

October 1993, leading up to the Civic Center speech