They were all there, in the big empty room like a gymnasium in the
police station, the guys and debs from both gangs, all milling around
and confused. And the cops were taking all the kids out one at a time
and questioning them.
When the cop pointed at her and said, "Okay. You next," Judy almost
broke into tears.
This wasn't like anything she knew or anything she could have expected.
This wasn't like after the rumble, with the guys wisecracking the cops,
and nothing to worry about but a chewing-out from Mom. This was scary.
They were taking people out one at a time to question them. And nobody
was coming back into the room, and who knew what happened to you when
it was your turn?
"Come on," said the cop. "Step along."
She stepped along, numb and miserable.
There were four men in the room to which she was led. They were sitting
behind a long table, with notebooks and pencils and ashtrays on the
table. In front of them was a straight-backed armless chair. The cop
sat her down in the chair, and left the room.
One of the men said, "Your name is Judy Canzanetti, is that right?"
"Yes, sir." It came out a whisper. She cleared her throat and tried
again. "Yes, sir."
"You don't have to be frightened, Judy," said the man. "You aren't
going to be accused of anything. My name is Marshall, Stephen Marshall.
This gentleman on my right is Stewart Lang. We're with the FBI. That
gentleman there is Mr. Stevenson, and he's a detective from Brooklyn.
And that there is Mr. Roberts, and he's a reporter. And we all simply
want to ask you one or two questions. All right?"
The man was obviously trying to calm her down, make her relax. And he
succeeded to some extent. Judy said, "Yes, sir," in a small voice and
nodded, no longer quite so frightened.
None of the four men were particularly frightening in appearance. The
two FBI men were long and lean, with bleak bony faces like cowboys. The
detective was a short worried-looking man with a paunch and thinning
black hair. And the reporter was a cheerful round-faced man in a loud
sport coat and a bow tie.
"Now," said Marshall, "you were present at the time of the gang fight
on Hallowe'en, is that right?"
"Yes, sir. Well, no, sir. Not exactly. I was down at the corner."
Mister Marshall smiled briefly. "On lookout?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"I see. And do you remember seeing anyone present at all aside from the
boys in the two gangs and the police?"
* * * * *
"No, sir. That is, not except a bunch of little kids. They came along
just before the co--the police."
"A bunch of little kids?"
The detective named Stevenson said urgently, "Did you recognize any of
them?"
"No, sir. They weren't from around the neighborhood."
Marshall said, "You'd never seen them before?"
"No, sir. They were just a bunch of little kids. Grade school kids.
They were out with costumes on and everything, playing trick-or-treat."
"Did they go near the schoolyard at all?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account