31
Taking an apron from a drawer, tying it on, Billy said, “Just publishing a book doesn’t give anyone credibility. Hitler published books.”
“He did?” Jackie asked.
“Yeah.”
“The Hitler?”
“Well, it wasn’t Bob Hitler.”
“You’re jerking my chain.”
“Look it up.”
“What did he write—like spy stories or something?”
“Something,” Billy said.
“This guy wrote science fiction.”
“Surprise.”
“Science fiction,” Jackie emphasized. “The program was really disturbing.” Picking up a small white dish from the work bar, he made a sound of impatience and disgust. “What—am I gonna have to start docking Steve for condiments?”
In the dish were fifteen to twenty maraschino-cherry stems. Each had been tied in a knot.
“The customers find him amusing,” Billy said.
“Because they’re half blitzed. Anyway, he pretends to be a funny type of guy, but he’s not.”
“Everyone has his own idea of what’s funny.”
“No, I mean, he pretends to be lighthearted, happy-go-lucky, but he’s not.”
“That’s the only way I’ve ever seen him,” Billy said.
“Ask Celia Reynolds.”
“Who’s she?”
“Lives next door to Steve.”
“Neighbors can have grudges,” Billy suggested. “Can’t always believe what they say.”
“Celia says he has rages in the backyard.”
“What’s that mean—rages?”
“He goes like nuts, she says. He chops up stuff.”
32
“What stuff?”
“Like a dining-room chair.”
“Whose?”
“His. He chopped it until there wasn’t anything but splinters.”
“Why?”
“He’s cursing and angry when he’s at it. He seems to be working off anger.”
“On a chair.”
“Yeah. And he does watermelons with an ax.”
“Maybe he likes watermelon,” Billy said.
“He doesn’t eat them. He just chops and chops till nothing’s left but mush.”
“Cursing all the time.”
“That’s right. Cursing, grunting, snarling like an animal. Whole watermelons. A couple of times he’s done dummies.”
“What dummies?”
“You know, like those store-window women.”
“Mannequins?”
“Yeah. He goes at them with an ax and a sledgehammer.”
“Where would he get mannequins?”
“Beats me.”
“This doesn’t sound right.”
“Talk to Celia. She’ll tell you.”
“Has she asked Steve why he does it?”
