— Grandpa. . said James, laughing.
He came out from his hiding spot. His grandfather lifted him up and gave him a great big hug.
— What is it you like, young sir? asked James's grandfather.
— Gladiators, said James. And tigers. And falcons.
James's grandmother could be heard then, calling from the house.
— I think supper's ready, said James's grandfather. Shall we go in?
day the fourth
James went to the window. He could see that two police cars had made their way up the main drive. They parked blocking the driveway; policemen got out.
From out of the house came two men, Graham and one other. Who was it? He looked like a doctor. Probably Sermon.
Graham and Sermon spoke with the policemen for some time. They made gestures with their hands. To these the policemen responded with nods. These nods were in turn responded to with nods and further gestures.
After a little while, the policemen got back into their cars.
— What's going on? called Grieve from the bed.
— Nothing, said James. Some police came.
She stood up and hopped over. She had sewn herself into a bag the night before. She said she and James didn't know each other well enough to sleep in the same bed otherwise, but that certainly there was no other bed that she intended to sleep in that night but his, and he had better get used to it. He had said nothing but had watched with a great deal of astonishment as she had honestly and truly sewn herself inside a bag.
Now she was standing next to him.
— Sweetheart, she said. Hold me up, will you?
She leaned against him, and he put his arms around her. He could feel the warmness of her skin through the thin layer of cotton.
He thought then of how he had seen her in the diner and had immediately liked her. He'd liked her so much that he'd decided against her for his own good.
— You know, she said. They came for you.
— What? asked James.
— It's not the first time, she said. They came yesterday too. Of course, they know that you killed Mayne. They think it was for the drugs. Apparently there wasn't much money in the house. Anyway, his wife and kid have testified that you threw him out the window. So. .
She paused, slid around in his arms and kissed him hard on the mouth.
— Father sent the police away when they came here looking for you. I guess you left the mask at the house with the package I sent it in, and they traced that here. So, they thought maybe you came here.
She turned back to the window. The police cars were now making their way along the road in the distance.
— Don't worry, she said. They'll never come to get you here. Father will see to it. And if we want to go someplace else, like Provence, or Andalusia, well, he'll see to that, too. Don't you like having me around? she asked.
James said that he had not killed Mayne, not at all. Mayne had jumped, he maintained. There was no reason for him to kill Mayne. It made no sense at all.
— But why were you in the apartment in the first place? she asked. That's what no one understands. Not that we need to. No one would ever ask you about it. It's your business, of course.
In fact, don't answer. Don't feel that you need to. Anyway, come back to bed. It's cold here by the window.
She hopped back over to the bed, flopped onto it, and crawled under the covers.
James continued looking out the window. It was Wednesday, he thought. Wednesday. Three days till Saturday. He wished he could speak to McHale again, and judge if the man was mad or not.
He turned. Grieve was up on one elbow, looking at him. Her bare shoulder and arm were out of the sewn bag. What fine skin.
Grieve cocked her head, and made a noise like a crow.
— That's the noise, she said, that crows make to warn the other crows when something that isn't a crow is coming through the woods.
The Garden
In the center of the house there was a garden. James stood by it and watched a man with scissors. First the scissors were sharpened for a very long time. The noise was somehow cruel.
Never, thought James, would I want to hear such noise through a window, to hear such a noise and not know why it had come.
The shears trimmed the plants held by the man. So sharp were they that they did not seem to touch that which they cut. The man did not look at James. All his great attention was spread throughout the garden. He was broad of face and feature, broad of limb and leg. He moved with a slow precision. Nothing seemed to escape him. His effect on the garden was noticeable. As he moved it seemed to order itself around him.
James was sure that it was Samedi. Never had he felt so lessened by the presence of another. Like a child, James turned in his own hand. Like a window he shut.
He stepped back, stepped back again, and found himself at the door. He stepped back through it, shut it, and leaned against the other side.
— What do I know? asked James. What do I give myself to know?
And he knew then that the task before him was too large, that a man like Samedi could entertain him like a passing notion, but would never be persuaded by his speech or swayed by his actions.
A gravity then, as of a sickroom bound to the passing of its few.
James went along the hallways, went upon the stairs. What he would do he did not know, but at times he heard the ringing of bells; at times he froze. Yet none came to him, and there were no words in his head but those he himself spoke in indecision.
Today he said, I will explore the house. I will learn what I can, and then make my escape.
Upon the porch he passed McHale, dressed as though returning from town. James made as if to speak, but McHale scowled and passed, shaking his head.
Good lord, thought James. I forgot the rule. He looked at the bell in his hand.
James had breakfast on the porch. It was brought to him by the maid, Grieve, but he pretended that he did not know her. He supposed she would have been fired if it was found out that she was helping him. So, he gave her the cold shoulder. This seemed correct; she did the same to him.
The omelet was quite good. He ate it with satisfaction. Peppery, he thought. And the toast had been buttered while still hot. Perfect.
On the grass, children were playing. Where could they have come from? thought James.
And then he realized that there were children everywhere. Children on the porch, children on the lawn, children behind him in the house. Never had he seen so many children in one place.
— Why so many children? James asked the man seated next to him.