Oliver Benjamin
first-degree burns about the head and arms. I’m more worried about
his mental state, to be honest. What was all that stuff about
mermaids?”
“He’ll have plenty of time for therapy in prison,” the nurse said.
“Didn’t you hear what the police said? That’s the jerk that killed the
secretary from Biddenbrooks. The lady who fingered the bombers. I
hope they lock him up for good.”
She was not alone in her sentiments. In the short time since her
television appearance, Leona had become a hero to secretaries,
nurses, assistants and other underlings all over the city. She
demonstrated how the meek could change the system entirely.
Outside the door of Izzy’s room, a police guard sat reading a
newspaper. There were so many important news stories that the
front page seemed more like a mass of headlines than actual news.
Sprout sat down on the chair at the table beside him and asked to see
the paper. He grumbled “No,” but then looked up at her face and
said, “All right.” Sprout reviewed the photos and the headlines and
the names of her friends and the other weird occurrences and
decided that there were still some things left for her to do before she
closed this chapter.
Engaging the officer in cordial banter, she found him to be kind
and intelligent. He opened up to her about his family life, his dreams,
his time on the force. Sprout did her best to appear interested, as she
always did. He found her intoxicating, found his world grow light and
airy. Her beauty subsumed him and transformed him. It could have
been her beauty. Or, it could have been the tranquilizers she
pocketed earlier and put in his coffee. It was probably a little of both,
a synergistic effect.
Fitting Yak’s enormous white clothing over Izzy’s tiny frame
proved to be more of a challenge. She had to fold over the legs and
sleeves so many times that as he shuffled out he looked as if he was
smuggling hula-hoops. But no one seemed to notice. The white
bandages on his head seemed part of the strange outfit. At least one
bystander believed him to be some obscure variety of Muslim.
“Salaam aleikum,” said a black janitor. He had joined the Nation
of Islam as a youth but quit when he found out that premarital sex
and alcohol were prohibited. Thou shalt not spill.
Izzy nodded and put his hands together in front of him. Sprout
did the same.
“Aleikum salaam,” they both said and exited the building.
369
 |
 |
 |
 |