12
13
Breakfast for the prisoner was shredded wheat and skim C 14
milk with no sugar and no fruit. I went in having resolved 15
to deliver the food and leave.
16
I put the tray down and he said, “So what are we going 17
to talk about today, Warden?”
18
“Is Anniston Bennet your real name?” I asked without 19
thinking. But as soon as I asked, I was happy. It was only 20
one question. I had to ask three before having to answer 21
one of his.
22
I was so intent on the silly rules of the game that I al-23
most missed Bennet’s reaction. His head twisted to the 24
right an inch or so and the skin around his eyes momen-25
tarily tightened into a network of fine wrinkles.
26
“Yes,” he said.
S 27
But I knew better. The problem was that I had to ask R 28
another question to dig the truth out.
3rd Pass Pages
ManInMyBasemnt_HCtext3P.qxd 10/24/03 8:16 PM Page 194
Walter Mosley
1
“Was it your birth name?”
2
“No.”
3
“What was that name?”
4
“Tamal Knosos.” He stared blue comets at me. No fur-5
ther information was forthcoming.
6
“It’s your turn,” I said.
7
“I’m thinking,” he responded lamely.
8
“If you don’t have anything to ask, then you forfeit and 9
it’s my turn again.”
10
“Are you a child?” He sneered and frowned. I might 11
have felt victorious at causing him to lash out like that, 12
but there was a force behind his condemnation that un-13
settled me.
14
“No,” I said. “And that was a question. So now you tell 15
