Mason by Thomas Pendleton Page A

That’s like a dollar fifty. She’s scamming you.”
    Mason listened to her words as if she were presenting him with a complicated math problem. His eyes clouded with thought. Then his face fell, and Mason nodded his head. He shoved the ten-dollar bill into his pocket and stomped away.
    â€œI’m sorry,” Rene called after him. He didn’t even slow down. She turned her attention to Fanny and said, “Such a bitch.”
    The ticket taker puffed out her chest and opened her mouth to express outrage, but Rene was already walking away. She wanted to make sure Mason was all right.
    Crap, what a night .
    Rene found him sitting on a hill, not far from the petting zoo. He had his big arms draped over his knees. His head was down as if he might be crying.
    You can’t protect him , Rene told herself. Maybe you can help a little, but you can’t always be there. He’s going to be a victim his whole life. It isn’t right. It isn’t fair. But it’s the way the world works.
    She took a step onto the grass toward him, wondering what she could say to make Mason feel better. Not much, she knew, but it seemed like they both could use a friend right now. The grass squished under her shoe, soft and gentle.
    Then the ticket taker screamed.
    Â 
    The shriek sliced through all of the other carnival sounds, shrill and pained as if the woman were being burned alive. Rene checked on Mason, but he seemed too depressed to care about the noise. He sat on the hill with his head down, oblivious to the happenings around him. Rene raced back toward the scream,where a crowd of people had gathered. She pushed to get close enough to see, but was shoved back and forth. The screams kept coming.
    Finally, Rene worked her way close enough to the front of the crowd so that she could see. Fanny had her hands out in front of her. Her ugly, skull-thin face was wrinkled up around a screaming mouth and bulging eyes. Parents pulled their children close, held them tightly.
    â€œKeep it away,” the woman cried. “Help me. God, help me. Keep it away.”
    Rene looked at the space in front of the woman, but nothing stood on the walk or the grass except the curious carnival goers. Whatever terrible thing was coming for her did so only in her mind.
    In the petting zoo, the goats and the pony danced nervously. The rabbits huddled in the corners of their pens.
    â€œKeep it away!”
    A man moved out of the crowd. He had his hands up in front of him. “Calm down,” he said with a cool, quiet voice. “Nobody is going to hurt you.”
    Fanny’s last screech was so high and weak it sounded like the dying whistle of a teakettle taken from the stove. Her eyes rolled back, turned white. She gasped once and then toppled over on the grass in a dead faint.
    Rene pushed back, even as the rest of the crowdmoved forward. They gasped themselves. They mumbled questions and concerns. One woman even giggled nervously. Rene worked backward out of the bustling onlookers. They could deal with the crazy thief. She’d had enough for one night. It was time to go home.

8
Shades of Black
    Gene Avrett walked into Dusty Smith’s house without knocking. The idiot had left the door unlocked, which worked out well, because Gene didn’t want to be seen lingering on the man’s porch.
    After a quick glance around, he stepped into a dismal room, closed the door behind him, and then locked it. A thrash-metal song blared from the sound system. The floor was covered in litter—fast-food wrappers, old issues of Maxim and Penthouse , discarded beer and soda cans. A tattered purple sofa was backed up against a filthy wall, stained with dirt and moisture. Gene covered his nose with a hand. The place stank of yeast, sweat, and garbage. All the scents stewed in the warm moist air, creating a sickening perfume.
    Disgusting , he thought.
    He should have sent Hunter to handle this mess.Normally, he would have, but Gene