Only the Strong (40 page)

“I'm telling you they don't know each other,” Sharps insisted. “That's bullshit!”

“Shh,” Guts said. “I think I hear him now.” He could feel the hilt of Nifty's sword at the edge of his fingertips.

“Stop!”

Sharps turned and saw Charlotte in the doorway, aiming a pistol at his head. Still on his back, Guts gripped the sword, raised it.

Sharps smiled again. To Charlotte, his leer looked reptilian. She could almost see the venom dripping off his fangs as he rose slowly to his feet.

“Say, Little Bit,” he said. “Put that down before you hurt yourself.”

Charlotte squeezed the trigger, just as Mr. Pippen had taught her. The gun's report was louder than she'd heard in the restrained confines of the Pippens' shed; it rang in her ears like a hammer dropped on a tin roof. Sharps ducked, and then slipped in Guts's blood. Losing his balance, he fell belly-first onto the sword. Calling forth all the vigor he had left, Guts ran him through, finishing the job. He exhaled.
Problem solved
.

He shoved Sharps away, then pushed him even farther with his 14 EEE.

Detective Grimes entered the front door. In the library he found bloodstained walls, overturned furniture, signs of a struggle. He squatted down and picked up an object with his black-gloved fingers, turned it in the lamp's faint glow. He saw that it was a tooth. PeeWee rose to a sitting position, moaning. Grimes punched him, putting him back under. He saw the bloody trail leading to the stairs. Following it to the second floor, he checked to see who was living and who was not. He scooped up any inconvenient evidence before using his radio to report a burglary gone terribly wrong. He waited for the lab techs and ambulances to cart away the broken and the dead.

But all that came after.

Before all that, Charlotte put the gun down. “Too much,” she said. “Too much.” She started to cry.

“Hush,” Guts said, his breathing labored. “You did good. Gonna be fine.”

Dizzy, she staggered over to Guts, lowered herself to the bloody floor and curled up against his torso. He wrapped her in his one good arm.

THE STRONG

A
NANIAS
G
OODE SAT
beside the bed of his unconscious wife. The machines beeped and whirred.

Mr. Logan sat on his front porch in his favorite chair. His lawn was freshly mowed. Crickets were singing and the sun felt good on his skin.

A few blocks away, Playfair loaded his deuce-and-a-quarter in preparation for the day's action. Gladys helped him.

Dr. Artinces Noel, bearing the scars of her recent struggle, sat at the kitchen table in her new house. She sipped tea while Charlotte talked. And talked.

At Fairgrounds Park, Mrs. Tichenor and Mrs. Means, co-founders of the Gateway City Horticultural Study Club, tended the Abram Higgins Memorial Garden.

Across the vast expanse of green, near the edge of the pond, Pearl Tolliver used one hand to toss breadcrumbs to the ducks. With the other, she held on to her husband, Lorenzo. He looked slimmer than he'd been in years and his arm was in a sling and encased in plaster. But he was feeling no pain.

The men of the Black Swan sat in bleachers alongside Softball Diamond No. 2. They drank from cold cans of Stag and Pepsi while Reuben Jones's youngest boy occupied his usual spot at the end of the bench.

The Little League infielders buzzed with chatter. The pitcher tossed warm-ups to the plate.

Lucius Monday, formerly hooked on cheap rotgut whiskey, had learned to get high on lemon meringue. He touched Reuben's shoulder to get his attention. Both men watched as Rip Crenshaw moved toward the dugout, riding a roar of recognition. Sunlight reflected off his World Series ring.

The All-Star spoke briefly with the coach, who gestured to Reuben's son. In the on-deck circle, Crenshaw helped him don his batting helmet, whispering in his ear all the while.

To a chorus of murmurs, 10-year-old Crispus Jones entered the batter's box. He relaxed as he'd been taught, his fingers cradling the bat. He watched the ball as it floated toward him in slow motion, big as the world.

The End

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I
WOULD FIRST LIKE TO THANK MY ANCESTORS
. In addition, many friends and relatives helped me complete this book, including my parents, Joyce and Irving Smith; my dear friend Fred McKissack, Jr.; my cousin Sal Martinez; and Doug Seibold of Agate; Joy Harris and Adam Reed of the Joy Harris Literary Agency; Linda Reisman, Paula Penn-Nabrit, and the late, dearly missed Charles Nabrit; and my colleagues at Emerson College.

Most of all, I am indebted to my wife, Liana, and our wonderful brood: Joseph & Sysseden, G'Ra, Indigo, Jelani, Gyasi, Genzya, and Amandla.