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Show •178 scraping arc along the boards; it tapped me above the ear, a gentle blow that set the room to spinning. Carlo would have escaped if Morgan and Jacob hadn't pushed past Alice and pounced on him. He was slippery and strong; he darted left and right like a hooked fish, trying to flip-flop himself out of our grasping hands and away from our anxious loving faces but we were too much for him and he went limp. Alice led him away towards Adam's bedroom-her bedroom now that she had made up her mind to live with us; I sat on the floor and watched them cross the room hand in hand. Carlo limped a little but he was still smiling. At the door he hung back and turned to me. "I'm really sorry, Buck. You understand, don't you?" "What on earth happened?" Morgan said. "A little family quarrel. Call it that." "You're bleeding." I touched the side of my head; she was right, but I didn't feel much except a distant throbbing. "Why don't you go and make a pot of coffee?" I said. "Jacob and I'll clean up this mess a little and then we'll join you." "That proves it," Jacob said sadly as soon as she was gone. Together we lifted the heavy shelves back up against the wall. "Proves what?" "You know: that he's crazy. He tried to hurt you. |