days we went to the ball game.”
“Baseball?” The nurse looked interested. “Do you like it?”
“I never really cared that much about the game, but I liked the hot dogs and soda. There used to be a vendor there who’d put sauerkraut on your wienie if you asked for it.”
“Sauerkraut commonly symbolizes pubic hair,” the nurse remarked pensively. “And the phallic symbolism is almost too obvious.”
“Shut up!” Candy snapped. “I wasn’t talking dirty. I got a kid here.” She picked up Little Ozzie and seated him on the reception desk. “This is Sergeant Proudy’s little son, my nephew Oswald.”
“It’s vital that children learn to recognize their own psycho-sexual urges.”
“Listen,” Candy leaned across the desk, her face redder than it had been on the steps. “I’ve had it up to here with you. Are you going to let me in to see my brother?”
The nurse shook her head. “Your inappropriate rage probably indicates orgasmic repression. You should see a therapist. How long has it been since you’ve had a satisfactory sexual relationship? One with a male who did not recall your father?”
“You dumb bitch, you think you ought to talk like that with a little kid around? You two-bit hunk of tail!” Candy reached across the desk and grabbed the nurse by her starched lapels. Like many fat people, Candy was stronger than she looked, and she shook the nurse until her arms were pinioned behind her.
“Thank you, Parker,” the nurse said.
“Right-o,” drawled a voice behind Candy. Then, “Ow! He kick me! That li’l boy kick me!”
He kicked him again, and again and again, the square-toed black shoes flying, tears streaming down small cheeks. Candy squirmed in the orderly’s grip, mouthing words no child should hear.
Citizens Of The Street
“In a wall,” Stubb muttered to himself. Swiftly yet methodically, he inspected every wall, striking matches to peer at those the sunlight failed to reach, finding and lighting Free’s candle, grinning bitterly at the footprints Barnes and the witch had left in the snow, smashing plaster occasionally with a hammer he discovered in a broom closet. He found no ticket, no treasure, no wall safe or hiding place.
Wearily, he walked to the house on the other side of Mrs. Baker’s and knocked. A thin young woman in a soiled housedress came to the door, carrying a baby that squalled fretfully, like a toilet with a leaky valve.
“I’m sorry,” Stubb said. “I hope I didn’t wake him up.”
“She hasn’t been to sleep yet. Don’t worry about it.”
“Oh, it’s a girl.” Stubb tickled the baby’s chin. “Isn’t she cute!”
“Her name’s Melissa.”
“How about that! Listen, Melissa, I’m a detective, and I need to ask your mommy a few questions about a certain car. Can I come in?”
The young woman’s jaw dropped. “Wait a minute. Are you really a cop?”
Stubb took a badge case from his pocket, flipped it open, and closed it again. “You and your family aren’t in any trouble,” he said. “I just want to ask you about some people who came to the house next door last night.”
“Okay.” The young woman stepped back. “Haven’t I seen you around the neighborhood?”
“Sure,” Stubb told her. “I was in and out of the place two doors down a couple dozen times before they demolished it.”
The young woman nodded wisely. Her house was less clean than Mrs. Baker’s and Free’s had been, and it smelled of excrement.
Stubb sat on a green plastic chair at the dinette table. “I want you to think about the house next door. That way. Got it? An old lady lives there.”
“I think so. I see her shopping sometimes. I don’t know what her name is. Is she all right?”
“Sure, she’s fine—I just talked to her. Last night there was a four-door sedan, dark color, parked in front of her house. It must have been there from about six to at least eight. Think back. Did you see it?”
The young woman shook her head.
“Were you outside anytime yesterday evening?”
The young woman nodded. “That’s the trouble. We went over to my mom’s and left Melissa, then we went to a movie. Ed got off at five, and we left just after that.”
“You don’t work?”
“Not since Melissa came. We decided I’d take at least a year off.”
“What time did you get back from the show?”
“Ten, maybe. See, we had to go over to Mom’s, and then we ate with her, and then we went back to the show, and then we sat around for a while and told her about the picture. It was
“It’s good you get out once in a while. I know how it is, staying inside all the time looking after a little baby. You like the show?”
The young woman smiled. “I guess so. It scared me silly. I hung onto Ed all night.”
