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the rest of your life in the jug?” I said.
    He shrugged.
    â€œHave you thought about it? Sixty, seventy years?”
    Shrug.
    â€œCan’t do the time,” he said, “don’t do the crime.”
    I was quiet for a moment.
    â€œYou don’t think it’ll happen,” I said.
    He shrugged.
    â€œYou don’t think you’re going away forever.”
    He shrugged again and smirked. What range.
    â€œEven though you confessed,” I said.
    Shrug, smirk.
    â€œYou know something I don’t know?” I said.
    He snickered. And shrugged. And closed with a smirk. Three for three. I had really broken through.
    We sat for a while longer.
    I stood up.
    â€œThis has been great,” I said.
    He stayed seated, looking at the middle of my chest.
    â€œNext time, you might want to extend your emotional range.”
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œWork on sneering,” I said.
    I went and knocked on the door to get out. Behind me, I heard Jared snicker.

11
    I T WAS DARK by the time Pearl and I got home. The rain had stopped, but the air was still heavy with its threat. The first thing I did when we got into my apartment was feed Pearl. It prevented her from crying and following me around, bumping my leg with her head. Then I made myself a tall scotch and soda and took it with me and stood in the front window and looked down at Marlboro Street. It was wet from the day’s rain, and the streetlights made it gleam. Up the street, a white Explorer pulled up, and a well-dressed woman got out and headed into one of the town houses on the city side of the street. Even in the dim light, I admired herbackside as she walked up the front steps. She rang the bell. I studied her backside. After a moment, someone opened the front door and a runtish Jack Russell terrier came out and barked at her, and then ran back in and she followed. The door closed. The white Explorer pulled away. I drank some scotch and looked at my watch. It was 8:35. Here and in North Carolina. We usually talked before she went to bed. I drank some more scotch. Pearl came and looked out the window with me for a moment and didn’t see anything to engage her. She turned away and went into the living room and got up on the couch.
    The excitement of the woman with the good-looking butt had passed. Marlboro Street was peaceful again. I thought about calling Susan. It was early. Eleven o’clock was the more-or-less scheduled time. She probably wouldn’t be there. Probably out to dinner with someone other than me. If I called and she wasn’t there, it would make me feel a little unhappy twinge in the pit of my stomach. Better to wait.
    I drank some scotch.
    I couldn’t think of any way I could possibly keep them from sending Jared Clark away for the rest of his life. He said he did it. He showed no remorse. And it was certainly hard to like him. Besides, he deserved to do some time for aggravated smirking. I had deposited the retainer, but I hadn’t spent it. I could give it back to Mrs. Ellsworth and tell her the kid was guilty as charged.
    My glass was empty. I went to my kitchen and added fresh ice and Dewar’s and a lot of soda.
    â€œKid’s a creep,” I said to Pearl.
    She opened her eyes on the couch and looked at mewithout raising her head. I sat on the living-room side of my kitchen counter.
    â€œI wonder if Mrs. Ellsworth knows that?”
    Pearl seemed disinterested.
    â€œShe must have some idea,” I said.
    I drank some scotch.
    â€œThere’s no one in there,” I said to Pearl. “Unless it’s all denial and bravado, and there’s a scared little kid in there.”
    Pearl had no reaction.
    â€œIt doesn’t feel like denial,” I said. “It feels like empty.”
    I liked the way the tall glass looked with the pale scotch and soda over the slick ice, and the hint of moisture glossing the outside of the glass. I liked the way the ice felt against my upper lip when