they’re almost all forgotten. No better remembered than a 20
cockroach who succumbs to a poison that you set down 21
under the pantry six months before.
22
“Did you kill the Kurds in Iraq? Was Roosevelt guilty of 23
the gassing of the Jews because he refused to bomb the 24
camps or the rails leading to them? What about God at 25
the River Jordan using Moses as his word?”
26
It was a good enough answer for me. Even leaning S 27
toward drunk, I didn’t want the details.
R 28
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Walter Mosley
1
“Yeah,” I said. “I guess we all have some blood on our 2
hands. If America does something, then the people do it 3
too. That’s why they call us Americans.”
4
It was a lame attempt to end what my question had 5
started. I believed every word that Anniston Bennet had 6
said, and I didn’t want to hear any more. He smiled, under-7
standing my discomfort.
8
“Could you bring me down some detergent?” he asked.
9
“I’d like to wash out my uniforms. They’re starting to 10
smell.”
11
I went up to the house and brought back a cupful of 12
soap flakes. I also brought a flatish and wide aluminum 13
bowl that slid neatly under the locked cage door. He 14
thanked me and I left quickly.
15
The moon was out that night, and I watched it for a 16
long time. Well, I didn’t watch as much as I looked. Be-17
cause my mind was not on the moon but back in the 18
basement, hearing things that were something like an-19
cient secrets that had been revealed coincidentally in my 20
presence.
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27 S
28 R
