“Hell, I don’t know nothing about philosophy. I just see the world with my own two eyes. For what it really is.”
“And what is the world, really?”
“Not nearly as good as it used to be for people like me.”
Decker decided to shift the discussion. “So, you maybe saw people around that house, yousaid?”
“I forget now.”
“Mr. Ross, if you know something you really need to tell me.”
“Why’s that, I wonder? ’Cause you’re a Fed? That supposed to be some magic word or something?”
“No, I’m a cop trying to find out the truth.”
Ross grinned maliciously. “That’s what they say on TV too. I didn’t believe it then, don’t believe it now.”
“Ifyou saw something and don’t tell us, the people who killed those men might come to the same realization. That you might have seen something. You could be in danger.”
In answer, Ross lifted the blanket covering his withered legs to reveal a sawed-off shotgun. He lifted the muzzle in Decker’s general direction.
“Had this baby a long time. Remington double ought Magnum load. Lockedand loaded. Anybody comes after me,they’rein danger. Including Feds. And I don’t fire no warning shots. Never saw the need.”
Decker took a step back. “Just so you know, threatening a federal officer is a crime. And if you fire that kind of load with a shortened barrel it’ll knock you and your wheelchair right through a wall with the recoil and dislodge any fillings you might have.And your chances for a second shot are nil because you’ll probably have a concussion.”
“Who gives a damn about a concussion if whatever I’m firing at looks like a piece of Swiss cheese?”
“And I’m pretty sure sawed-off shotguns are illegal in Pennsylvania. I could arrest you for possessing one.”
The old man leaned forward. “Maybe you’ll learn this, Amos, while you’rehere, and maybe you won’t.”
“What’s that?”
“There ain’t nothing really illegal in Baronville.”