other。〃

〃Tell　me　again　how　Coffey　looked　when　Wharton　grabbed　him。〃

〃Janice；　this　isn't　getting　us　anywhere。〃

〃Maybe　it　isn't　and　maybe　it　is。　Tell　me　again　how　he　looked。〃

I　sighed。　〃I　guess　you'd　have　to　say　shocked。　He　gasped。　Like　you　would　if　you　were　sunning　at　the　beach　and　I　snuck　up　and　trickled　a　little　cold　water　down　your　back。　Or　like　he'd　been　slapped。〃

〃Well；　sure；〃　she　said。　〃Being　grabbed　out　of　nowhere　like　that　startled　him；　woke　him　up　for　a　second。〃

〃Yes；〃　I　said。　And　then；　〃No。〃

〃Well　which　is　it？　Yes　or　no？〃

〃No。　It　wasn't　being　startled。　It　was　like　when　he　wanted　me　to　e　into　his　cell　so　he　could　cure　my　infection。　Or　when　he　wanted　me　to　hand　him　the　mouse。　It　was　being　surprised；　but　not　by　being　touched　。。。　not　exactly；　anyway　。。。　oh　Christ；　Jan；　I　don't　know。〃

〃All　right；　we'll　leave　it；〃　she　said。　〃I　just　can't　imagine　why　John　did　it；　that's　all。　It's　not　as　if　he's　violent　by　nature。　Which　leads　to　another　question；　Paul：　how　can　you　execute　him　if　you're　right　about　those　girls？　How　can　you　possibly　put　him　in　the　electric　chair　if　someone　else

I　jerked　in　my　chair。　My　elbow　struck　my　bowl　and　knocked　it　off　onto　the　floor；　where　it　broke。　An　idea　had　e　to　me。　It　was　more　intuition　than　logic　at　that　point；　but　it　had　a　certain　black　elegance。

〃Paul？〃　Janice　asked；　alarmed。　〃What's　wrong？〃

〃I　don't　know；〃　I　said。　〃I　don't　know　anything　for　sure；　but　I'm　going　to　find　out　if　I　can。〃

4。

The　aftermath　of　the　shooting　was　a　three…ring　circus　with　the　governor　in　one　ring；　the　prison　in　another；　and　poor　brain…blasted　Percy　Wetmore　in　the　third。　And　the　ringmaster？　Well；　the　various　gentlemen　of　the　press　took　turns　at　that　job。　They　weren't　as