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started foolin' around with that."
    "Is that the first time you saw the gun, son?"
    "No, no." He turned to look me full in the face. "Perry sent it home a long time ago. Before he was killed, even. One of his buddies brought it to us."
    "Uh-huh. Go on, son."
    "Well, then we found the bullets in the box..."
    "You didn't know the bullets were there before this?"
    "No." Again, Jeffrey stared at me. "No, we just found them today."
    "Did you know where the gun was?"
    "Well ... yes."
    "You said you found it, though. You didn't mean that, did you, son?"
    "Well, I knew it was in the attic someplace because that's where Mom put it. I didn't know just where until I found it today."
    "Oh, I see. Go on, please."
    Ed looked at me curiously, and then turned his interest back to the boy.
    "We found the bullets, and I took a cartridge from one of the magazines, just to fool around. I stuck it in the gun and then all at once the gun went off ... and ... and ... Ronnie ... Ronnie..."
    The kid turned his face away, then threw himself onto the pillow.
    "I didn't mean to do it," he said. "Honest, honest. The gun just went off. It just did. I loved my brother. I loved my brother. Now there's just me and Mom, just the two of us. I didn't want it to happen. I didn't."
    "Sure, son," I said. I walked to the bed and sat down beside him. "You liked your brother a lot. I know. I have a brother, too."
    Ed gave me another curious look, but I continued to pat the kid's shoulder.
    "Yes," Jeffrey said, "I did like him. I liked Perry, too, and he was killed. And now ... now this. Now there's just me and Mom. They're all gone. Dad, and Perry, and ... and ... Ronnie. Now we're all alone." He started bawling again. "It's my fault," he said. "If I hadn't wanted to play with that old gun..."
    "It's not your fault," I said. "Accidents happen. They happen all the time. No one could possibly blame you for it."
    His tears ebbed slowly, and he finally sat up again. "You know it's not my fault, don't you?" he asked solemnly.
    "Yes," I said. "We know."
    He tried to smile, but failed. "It was just an accident," he said again.
    "Sure," I said. I picked myself off the bed and said, "Let's go, Ed. Nothing more for us here."
    At the door, I turned to look at Jeffrey once more. He seemed immensely relieved, and he smiled when I winked at him. The smile was still on his mouth and in his eyes when we left him.

    It was cold in the Merc, even with the heater going.
    We drove in silence for a long time, and finally Ed asked, "All right, what was all that business about?"
    "What business?"
    "First of all, that brother routine. You know damn well you're a lousy, spoiled, only child."
    "Sure," I said. "I just wanted to hear the kid tell me how much he loved his brothers."
    "That's another thing. Why the hell did you cross-examine the kid? Jesus, he had enough trouble without your..."
    "I was just wondering about a few things," I said. "That's all."
    "What kind of things?"
    "Well, the newspaper clipping about the little boy who accidentally killed that girl, for one. Now why do you suppose any kid would save a clipping like that?"
    "Hell," Ed said, "you know how kids are. It probably caught his fancy, that's all."
    "Probably. Maybe the Luger magazine caught his fancy, too."
    "What do you mean?"
    "The kid said he found those magazines for the first time today. He said he took a cartridge from one of the clips and stuck it into the gun. Tell me how he managed to handle a dust-covered magazine without smearing any of the dust."
    Ed looked at me.
    "He didn't, Ed, that's the answer. He took that bullet from the clip a long time ago. Long enough ago for the box and the magazine to acquire a new coat of dust. This was no spur-of-the-moment job. No, sir, not at all."
    "What the hell are you trying to say?" Ed asked. "You mean the kid did this on purpose? You mean he actually
killed
his brother?
Murdered
him?"
    "Just him and Mom now, Ed. Just the two of them. No more Dad, no more big brother,