Part 21 (1/2)
When it rain five days an' de skies turned dark as night When it rain five days an' de skies turned dark as night Then trouble taken place in the lowland that night
”Don't you even knohy he locked you up?” Mantle asked
Dulcy reach over and turned the player down
”Nohat'd you say?” she asked
”Johnny had you padlocked in this rooo to come over and let you out That's how coe for hian to sob quietly to herself ”Child, what's happening?” she asked ”What happened here last night to send hi happened no more than usual,” Dulcy said sullenly Then after a moment she added, ”You know that knife?”
”Knife? What knife?” Mantle looked blank
”The knife what killed Val,” Dulcy whispered Thunder rolled and Mantle gave a start Rain slashed at the s
”chink Charlie gave me a knife just like it,” Dulcy said
Mamie held her breath while Dulcy told her about the two knives, one of which chink had given to her and the other he'd kept for hihed so profoundly with relief it sounded as though she were ain
”Thank God then we knoas chink who done it,” she said
”That's what I've been saying all along,” Dulcy said ”But ain't nobody wanted to listen to me”
”But you can prove it, child,” Mantle said ”All you got to do is show the police your knife and then they'll knoas his that killed hiot mine no more,” Dulcy said ”That's what I'erie drawer and then about teeks ago it co And I been scared to ask anybody about it”
Mantle's coray, and her face shrank until the skin was stretched tight against the bones Her eyes looked sick and haggard
”It just don't have to be Johnny what took it, does it?” she asked piteously
”No, it don't have to be for sure,” Dulcy said ”But there ain't nobody else who could have took it but Alamena I don't knohy she'd have taken it unless just to keep Johnny fro to hold over me”
”You has a woman to come in here to clean,” Mamie said
”Yes, she could have taken it too,” Dulcy admitted
”It don't sound like Meeny,” Mantle said ”So it must have been her You tell et it out of her”
They looked at ont another through frightened, whitecircled eyes
”We just kidding ourselves, Aunt Mantle,” Dulcy said ”Ain't nobody took that knife but Johnny”
Mantle looked at her and the tears rolled down her old ashy-black cheeks
”Child, did Johnny know any reason to kill Val?” she asked
”What reason could he have had?” Dulcy countered
”I didn't ask what reason he could have had,” Mantle said ”I asked what reason he ht have known about”
Dulcy slid down into the bed until only her eyes were showing above the covers, but still she couldn't aze She looked away
”He didn't know of none,” she said ”He liked Val”
”Tell me truth, child,” Mantle insisted
”If he did,” Dulcy whispered ”He didn't learn it from ain
”Did you ask Johnny to give you ten thousand dollars to get rid of Val?” Mantle asked
”Jesus Christ no!” Dulcy flared ”That whore's just lying about that!”
”You're not holding anything back on ht ask you the sa,” Dulcy said
”About what, child?”
”How could Johnny have found out, if he did find' out, if you didn't tell hi Joe didn't tell him because he'd just found out himself and he up and died before he had a chance to tell anybody”
”Somebody must have told him,” Dulcy said
”Then maybe it was chink,” Mamie said
”It wasn't chink 'cause he don't know,” Dulcy said ”All chink knows about is the knife and he's trying to blacket it for hi hysterically ”As if that'd make any difference if Johnny knows about the other”
”Stop that laughing,” Mantle said sharply and reached over and slapped her