The Second Confesion

However, she tried, and her first wild rush got her in so close that she actually reached my face. Feeling the stinging little streak of one of her nails, I stiff-armed her out of range, and would merely have kept her off that way if it hadn't been for Jimmy, who had been at the other side of the room when I entered. Instead of dashing in to support Mom's attack, he was standing there by the table pointing a gun. At the sight of the gun, Saul, following me in, had stopped just inside the arch to think it over, and I didn't blame him, for Jimmy's right hand, which held the gun, was anything but steady, which meant there was no way of telling what might happen next.

I lunged at Mom, and before she knew it she was hugged tight against me. She couldn't even wriggle, though she tried. With my chin dug into her shoulder, I spoke to Jimmy.

“I can snap her in two, and don't think I won't. Do you want to hear her spine crack? Drop it. Just open your fingers and let it fall' “Run run run!” Mom was screeching as well as she could with me squeezing the breath out of her.

“Here we go,” I said. “It'll hurt but it won't last long.” Saul walked over and tapped Jimmy's wrist underneath, and the gun fell to the floor. Saul picked it up and backed off. Jimmy started for me. When the distance was right I threw his mother at him. Then she was in his arms instead of mine, and for the first time she saw Saul. The damn fool actually hadn't known I wasn't alone until then.

“Go look at your face,” Saul told me.

I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, and was sorry I had let her off so easy. It started just below my left eye and went straight down a good three inches. I dabbed cold water on it, looked for a styptic and found none, and took a damp towel back to the living-room with me. Jimmy and Mom were at bay over by the table, and Saul, with Jimmy's gun, was at ease near the arch.

I complained. “What for?” I demanded. “All I said was hello. Why the scratching and shooting?” “He didn't shoot,” Mrs Sperling said indignantly.

I waved it aside. “Well, you sure scratched. Now we've got a problem. We can search your son all right, that's easy, but how are we going to search you?” “Try searching me,” Jimmy said. His voice was mean and his face was mean. I had tagged him as the one member of the family who didn't count one way or another, but now I wasn't so sure.