Read Online The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle - Free Book Online
Authors: Victor LaValle
Ads: Link
with Coffee, Pepper, and Scotch Tape already inside, there was no more room. From farther outside the alcove Miss Chris shouted, “What’s this foolishness?!”
Scotch Tape called out, “New admit attacked Coffee.”
Hearing it like that, from a staff member, made Pepper understand what he’d just done. Hadn’t he resolved to control himself? To make the best impression possible? But getting spat on had to count as a mitigating circumstance. Pepper wanted to explain.
“I needed to make a phone call,” he began.
Scotch Tape waved the words away. “I’m taking you back to your room now, and you’re going to stay in there for the rest of the day. You hear?”
Coffee rose to his feet now, pushing himself up with his back against the wall. He shook the receiver of the phone Pepper had hung up. “Now you owe me a quarter, Joe! An American quarter!”
Pepper said, “This guy was using both phones and I just …”
Scotch Tape stepped closer to Pepper. They were squared up just like Pepper and Coffee had been, but Scotch Tape wouldn’t have to spit on anyone to make his point. That was clear.
“Save that shit,” Scotch Tape said. “You can explain all this to Dr. Anand.”
The way Scotch Tape said it, the name sounded like “AndAnd.”
From outside the alcove Miss Chris added, “Oh-ho, it’s Charlie Big Potato causing the fuss? I already told him to be easy.”
In defiance, desperation, and drugged-out confusion, Pepper grabbed the phone on the left, lifting the receiver out of its cradle. He’d make his phone call.
But Scotch Tape wouldn’t let that happen. He pressed two fingersdown on the cradle, and the dial tone choked before Pepper even got the phone to his ear.
Then, another quick flash of temper, Pepper half-raised the receiver like he’d bring it down on Scotch Tape’s head. But he stopped himself from making a bad day terrible and put the phone back in the cradle.
Scotch Tape grinned.
“That’s smart, big boy. First smart move you’ve made since you got here.”
Oh, how Pepper would’ve loved to pick up Coffee and use him to bludgeon Scotch Tape to death. Would that count as black-on-black crime?
Scotch Tape misread Pepper’s contemplative look. He spoke with a mix of compassion and condescension. “You calm now? All right, then. Let’s go. You and me. Back to your room.”
As Pepper followed Scotch Tape out of the alcove, Coffee still clung to the pay phone like a man adrift, trying to stay afloat. The receiver was tucked against his ear.
The automated voice on the other end thanked him, once again, for calling.
“It’s
here
,” Coffee said quietly.
5
SCOTCH TAPE MOVED alongside Pepper, shaking his head as if he’d just seen a kid do something that would earn a powerfully strict punishment.
“I believe you,” Scotch Tape said as they walked.
A pair of old men, one small and one medium-sized, walked past Pepper and Scotch Tape, going in the opposite direction. They wore sport coats and walked in synchronicity. Scotch Tape nodded at them but they ignored him. The smaller one peeped Pepper.
“You believe me about what?” Pepper asked.
“What you said last night,” Scotch Tape continued. “That you don’t belong here. I believe you.”
Pepper stopped to reach for the handrail, put off balance by the residual effects of the medication or what Scotch Tape just said.
“Why do you believe me?” Pepper asked.
“You seen Dorry? Or Coffee? Most of the patients in here? Shit, I’ve seen crazy. And you’re not that. You can be an asshole, though.”
“Why don’t you unlock that big door for me then, so I can just go home.”
Scotch Tape shook his right arm and the red plastic cord slipped down below his wrist. It looked like a miniature Slinky. His keys dropped and he caught them with practiced cool.
“Today’s February 18. You got a seventy-two-hour watch and you’re not getting out any sooner than February 21. But if you keep acting stupid, you’re
Scotch Tape called out, “New admit attacked Coffee.”
Hearing it like that, from a staff member, made Pepper understand what he’d just done. Hadn’t he resolved to control himself? To make the best impression possible? But getting spat on had to count as a mitigating circumstance. Pepper wanted to explain.
“I needed to make a phone call,” he began.
Scotch Tape waved the words away. “I’m taking you back to your room now, and you’re going to stay in there for the rest of the day. You hear?”
Coffee rose to his feet now, pushing himself up with his back against the wall. He shook the receiver of the phone Pepper had hung up. “Now you owe me a quarter, Joe! An American quarter!”
Pepper said, “This guy was using both phones and I just …”
Scotch Tape stepped closer to Pepper. They were squared up just like Pepper and Coffee had been, but Scotch Tape wouldn’t have to spit on anyone to make his point. That was clear.
“Save that shit,” Scotch Tape said. “You can explain all this to Dr. Anand.”
The way Scotch Tape said it, the name sounded like “AndAnd.”
From outside the alcove Miss Chris added, “Oh-ho, it’s Charlie Big Potato causing the fuss? I already told him to be easy.”
In defiance, desperation, and drugged-out confusion, Pepper grabbed the phone on the left, lifting the receiver out of its cradle. He’d make his phone call.
But Scotch Tape wouldn’t let that happen. He pressed two fingersdown on the cradle, and the dial tone choked before Pepper even got the phone to his ear.
Then, another quick flash of temper, Pepper half-raised the receiver like he’d bring it down on Scotch Tape’s head. But he stopped himself from making a bad day terrible and put the phone back in the cradle.
Scotch Tape grinned.
“That’s smart, big boy. First smart move you’ve made since you got here.”
Oh, how Pepper would’ve loved to pick up Coffee and use him to bludgeon Scotch Tape to death. Would that count as black-on-black crime?
Scotch Tape misread Pepper’s contemplative look. He spoke with a mix of compassion and condescension. “You calm now? All right, then. Let’s go. You and me. Back to your room.”
As Pepper followed Scotch Tape out of the alcove, Coffee still clung to the pay phone like a man adrift, trying to stay afloat. The receiver was tucked against his ear.
The automated voice on the other end thanked him, once again, for calling.
“It’s
here
,” Coffee said quietly.
5
SCOTCH TAPE MOVED alongside Pepper, shaking his head as if he’d just seen a kid do something that would earn a powerfully strict punishment.
“I believe you,” Scotch Tape said as they walked.
A pair of old men, one small and one medium-sized, walked past Pepper and Scotch Tape, going in the opposite direction. They wore sport coats and walked in synchronicity. Scotch Tape nodded at them but they ignored him. The smaller one peeped Pepper.
“You believe me about what?” Pepper asked.
“What you said last night,” Scotch Tape continued. “That you don’t belong here. I believe you.”
Pepper stopped to reach for the handrail, put off balance by the residual effects of the medication or what Scotch Tape just said.
“Why do you believe me?” Pepper asked.
“You seen Dorry? Or Coffee? Most of the patients in here? Shit, I’ve seen crazy. And you’re not that. You can be an asshole, though.”
“Why don’t you unlock that big door for me then, so I can just go home.”
Scotch Tape shook his right arm and the red plastic cord slipped down below his wrist. It looked like a miniature Slinky. His keys dropped and he caught them with practiced cool.
“Today’s February 18. You got a seventy-two-hour watch and you’re not getting out any sooner than February 21. But if you keep acting stupid, you’re
Similar Books
