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"Billy, I’"
"I’m scared about my eyes I still can’t see"
"I want to ask you some questions"
"Questions? Are you crazy?"
"I half feel like it," Billy adh beca He wasn’t faking any of it
Billy waited
When Zillis could speak, his voice was hoarse, and it shook: "You’re scaring the shit out of me, Billy"
"Good Noant you to tell un?"
"The one you shot him with"
"Shot him? Shot who? I didn’t shoot anybody Jesus, Billy"
"You shot him in the forehead"
"No No way Not me, man" His eyes sith tears induced by the Mace, so they could not be read for deception He blinked and blinked, trying to see "Man, if this is some half-assed joke--"
"You’re the joker," Billy said "Not me You’re the performer"
Zillis didn’t react to the word
Billy went to the nightstand and opened the drawer
"What’re you doing?" Zillis asked
"Looking for the gun"
"There isn’t ‘the a gun"
"There wasn’t one earlier, when you weren’t here, but there will be now You’ll keep it close to you"
"You were here earlier?"
"Youin every kind of filth, don’t you, Steve? I wanted to shower in boiling water after I left"
Billy opened the door on the botto to do if you don’t find a gun?"
"Maybe I’ll nail your hand to the floor and cut your fingers off one by one"
Zillis sounded as if he was about to start crying for real "Oh, man, don’t say crazy shit like that What did I do to you? I didn’t do anything to you"
Sliding open the closet door, Billy said, "When you were at roan escaped Zillis, and he began to shake his head: no, no, no, no The closet shelf over the hanging clothes lay just above eye level As Billy felt along the shelf for the gun, he said, "And what else did you hide in my place? What did you cut off the redhead? An ear? A breast?"
"This doesn’t compute," Zillis said shakily
"Doesn’t it?"
"You’re Billy Wiles, for God’s sake"
Returning to the bed, searching for the gun, Billy felt between the s, which he wouldn’t have had the stoloves
"You’re Billy Wiles," Zillis repeated
"Which means what--that you didn’t think I’d kno to take care ofaround to the other side of the bed, Billy said, "Well, I kno to take care ofthe bell on the zinghis oords, Zillis said, "I didn’tby that You think that was an insult? I didn’t mean it that way"
Billy searched between s, Billy You kno I a You know me Hell, Billy, I’, half the ti to ain "Can you see me better, Stevie?"
"Not much, no I need some Kleenex"
"Use the bed sheet"
With his free hand, Zillis pawed loose the thin blanket tucked into the foot of the bed He freed a corner of the sheet, mopped his face with it, blew his nose
Billy said, "Do you have an ax?"
"Oh, God"
"Do you own an ax, Stevie?"
"No"
"Be truthful with me, Stevie"
"Billy, don’t"
"Do you own an ax?"
"Don’t do this"
"Do you own an ax, Stevie?"
"Yes," Zillis admitted, and a sob of dread escaped him
"You’re either one hell of an actor or you’re really just poor dumb Steve Zillis," Billy said, and it was the latter possibility that had begun to worry hi the mannequins in the backyard," Billy asked, "do you dream that they’re real women?"
"They’re just mannequins"
"Do you like to chop watermelons because they’re red inside? Do you like to see the red meat explode, Stevie?"
Zillis seemed astonished "What? She told you about that? What’d she tell you?"
"Who is ‘she,’ Stevie?"
"The old bitch next door Celia Reynolds"
"You’re in no position to call anyone an old bitch," Billy said "You’re in no position at all"
Zillis looked chastened He nodded in eager agreeht I’m sorry She’s just lonely I know But Billy, she’s a nosy old lady She just can’tfroo out in the yard, she isn’t watching you"
"And there’s a lot of things you do that you can’t afford for people to see, aren’t there, Stevie?"
"No I don’t do anything I just want soave her a shoith the ax Played crazy Just to spook her off"
"Spook her off"
"Just to make her mind her own business I only did it three times, and the third time I let her knoas a show, let her know I could see her watching"
"How did you let her know?"
"I’m not proud of this now"
"I’ave her the finger," Zillis said "The third time, I chopped abut what they are--and I walked over to the fence, and I gave her the finger big time"
"You chopped up a chair once"
"Yeah I chopped up a chair So what?"
"The one I’ on is the only chair you have"
"I used to have two I only needed one It was just a chair"
"You like to see wo hurt," Billy said
"No"
"Did you just this evening find the porno under the bed? Did soremlin put it there, Stevie? Should we call Orkin and have theremlin exterminator?"
"Those aren’t real women"
"They’re nothurt They’re acting"
"But you like to watch"
Zillis said nothing He hung his head