turns off the lights, and the aquarium glows blue.
Molly hears the sounds of professional wrestling. Claude is watching television in his bedroom across the hall. The faux violence is rendered in astonishing digital clarity on the flat-screen television hanging on the wall like a painting. That room is in the dark too, and when Tobias and Molly step in to say hello, Claude swivels his head and squints angrily at the light coming through the door. Tobias introduces Molly. Claude doesnât mute the wrestling and has nothing to say, so after the introduction, Tobias takes Molly back to the piranha room. He has seen Claudeâs weirdness before. Molly is silent.
Tobias asks her if she wants to see something cool. She says yeah. He says to wait here. He goes down to the kitchen and opens the refrigerator. He removes a half-eaten rotisserie-cooked chicken, flaky and dull golden and cold, the bones protruding. He brings it back upstairs and tells Molly to watch this. He drops the chicken into the tank and presses the timer button on his digital watch.
One: the fish rip at the flesh, and there is no blood, but the organic matter is shredded, and some rises to the surface as the fish dart at the main body.
Two: hunks of the meat seemingly disappear, and Molly starts as one of the fish rams the chicken corpse violently into the glass.
Three: the meat is gone, and the bones float around the tank trailing bits of vestigial chicken flesh.
âCool, huh?â
âYeah, uh, wow.â
Molly says she has to leave. Tobias says come to the big open house in two days, for New Yearâs Eve. Molly has no plans for New Yearâs Eve. She has never been to an open house. She says she will come, thinking she can get out of it anytime. She realizes that the whole time she has been with Tobias, she hasnât really said anything. On her way out, she does say hi to Chris, whose peach-fuzzed jaw drops when he sees her in his house.
Chapter Thirty-Two
THE FORENSIC TESTS have identified the blood on Hunterâs clothing. It is Nanaâs.
In the holding cell, Hunter is playing Friday night over and over in his head. He is trying to remember an alibi, some proof of where he was. The receipt for his doughnuts has the time printed on it, but it was hours too late. But what kind of a murderer goes and buys jelly doughnuts four hours after he kills? Probably all of them , thinks Hunter. None of that matters.
There was that one thing last night, though. Hunter remembers the old con man. Some old guy with crooked teeth and a ragged suit. He was tall, actually, huge, four or five inches taller than Hunter. And he leaned down right into Hunterâs face and said something about a hospital and his friend and coffee and could Hunter give him just a couple dollars right now. Hunter asked if the money was for a cab to the hospital, and it was then that the man started crying. This giant, crazy old man with a scruffy face and crooked teeth started crying and repeating Two dollars, two dollars, two dollars ,sometimes speaking English and sometimes some other language. More crying. It reminded Hunter of his father.
Chapter Thirty-Three
EVERYONE SAID White Mike looked handsome in the dark suit he wore to his motherâs funeral. He didnât care. There was a wig on his motherâs corpse, which made him angry. Wigs werenât real, and he wanted real. He would have rather seen her for the last time with her head bald.
Chapter Thirty-Four
CHRIS IS ANNOYED at having to come downstairs and sign for everything when the UPS truck arrives. He was watching TV. The delivery guys have about ten boxes, and he tells them to put them in the wrapping room, down the hall from the front door and to the left. He misses the look they give him when he says wrapping room . It is there that Chrisâs mother keeps gifts, and the necessary tape and ribbons and paper.
When the delivery guys are gone, Chris takes a steak knife from the kitchen
Molly hears the sounds of professional wrestling. Claude is watching television in his bedroom across the hall. The faux violence is rendered in astonishing digital clarity on the flat-screen television hanging on the wall like a painting. That room is in the dark too, and when Tobias and Molly step in to say hello, Claude swivels his head and squints angrily at the light coming through the door. Tobias introduces Molly. Claude doesnât mute the wrestling and has nothing to say, so after the introduction, Tobias takes Molly back to the piranha room. He has seen Claudeâs weirdness before. Molly is silent.
Tobias asks her if she wants to see something cool. She says yeah. He says to wait here. He goes down to the kitchen and opens the refrigerator. He removes a half-eaten rotisserie-cooked chicken, flaky and dull golden and cold, the bones protruding. He brings it back upstairs and tells Molly to watch this. He drops the chicken into the tank and presses the timer button on his digital watch.
One: the fish rip at the flesh, and there is no blood, but the organic matter is shredded, and some rises to the surface as the fish dart at the main body.
Two: hunks of the meat seemingly disappear, and Molly starts as one of the fish rams the chicken corpse violently into the glass.
Three: the meat is gone, and the bones float around the tank trailing bits of vestigial chicken flesh.
âCool, huh?â
âYeah, uh, wow.â
Molly says she has to leave. Tobias says come to the big open house in two days, for New Yearâs Eve. Molly has no plans for New Yearâs Eve. She has never been to an open house. She says she will come, thinking she can get out of it anytime. She realizes that the whole time she has been with Tobias, she hasnât really said anything. On her way out, she does say hi to Chris, whose peach-fuzzed jaw drops when he sees her in his house.
Chapter Thirty-Two
THE FORENSIC TESTS have identified the blood on Hunterâs clothing. It is Nanaâs.
In the holding cell, Hunter is playing Friday night over and over in his head. He is trying to remember an alibi, some proof of where he was. The receipt for his doughnuts has the time printed on it, but it was hours too late. But what kind of a murderer goes and buys jelly doughnuts four hours after he kills? Probably all of them , thinks Hunter. None of that matters.
There was that one thing last night, though. Hunter remembers the old con man. Some old guy with crooked teeth and a ragged suit. He was tall, actually, huge, four or five inches taller than Hunter. And he leaned down right into Hunterâs face and said something about a hospital and his friend and coffee and could Hunter give him just a couple dollars right now. Hunter asked if the money was for a cab to the hospital, and it was then that the man started crying. This giant, crazy old man with a scruffy face and crooked teeth started crying and repeating Two dollars, two dollars, two dollars ,sometimes speaking English and sometimes some other language. More crying. It reminded Hunter of his father.
Chapter Thirty-Three
EVERYONE SAID White Mike looked handsome in the dark suit he wore to his motherâs funeral. He didnât care. There was a wig on his motherâs corpse, which made him angry. Wigs werenât real, and he wanted real. He would have rather seen her for the last time with her head bald.
Chapter Thirty-Four
CHRIS IS ANNOYED at having to come downstairs and sign for everything when the UPS truck arrives. He was watching TV. The delivery guys have about ten boxes, and he tells them to put them in the wrapping room, down the hall from the front door and to the left. He misses the look they give him when he says wrapping room . It is there that Chrisâs mother keeps gifts, and the necessary tape and ribbons and paper.
When the delivery guys are gone, Chris takes a steak knife from the kitchen
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