Fuzz полностью

"You went to see your girl friend," Meyer said. "What time was that, Alan?"

"I went up there around nine-thirty. Her mother goes to work at nine. So I went up around nine-thirty."

"You unemployed?" Willis snapped.

"Yes, sir," Parry said.

"When's the last time you worked?"

"Well, you see …"

"Answer the question!"

"Give him a chance, Hal!"

"He's stalling!"

"He's trying to answer you!" Gently, Meyer said, "What happened, Alan?"

"I had this job, and I dropped the eggs."

"What?"

"At the grocery store on Eightieth. I was working in the back and one day we got all these crates of eggs, and I was taking them to the refrigerator, and I dropped two crates. So I got fired."

"How long did you work there?"

"From when I got out of high school."

"When was that?" Willis asked.

"Last June."

"Did you graduate?"

"Yes, sir, I have a diploma," Parry said.

"So what have you been doing since you lost the job at the grocery?"

Parry shrugged. "Nothing," he said.

"How old are you?" Willis asked.

"I'll be nineteen … what's today?"

"Today's the ninth."

"I'll be nineteen next week. The fifteenth of March."

"You're liable to be spending your birthday in jail," Willis said.

"Now cut it out," Meyer said, "I won't have you threatening this man. What happened when you left your girl friend's house, Alan?"

"I met this guy."

"Where?"

"Outside the Corona."

"The what?"

"The Corona. You know the movie house that's all boarded up about three blocks from here, you know the one?"

"We know it," Willis said.

"Well, there."

"What was he doing there?"

"Just standing. Like as if he was waiting for somebody."

"So what happened?"

"He stopped me and said was I busy? So I said it depended. So he said would I like to make five bucks? So I asked him doing what? He said there was a lunch pail in the park, and if I picked it up for him, he'd give me five bucks. So I asked him why he couldn't go for it himself, and he said he was waiting there for somebody, and he was afraid if he left the guy might show up and think he'd gone. So he said I should get the lunch pail for him and bring it back to him there outside the theater so he wouldn't miss his friend. He was supposed to meet him outside the Corona, you see. You know the place? A cop got shot outside there once."

"I told you we know it," Willis said.

"So I asked him what was in the lunch pail, and he said just his lunch, so I said he could buy some lunch for five bucks, but he said he also had a few other things in there with his sandwiches, so I asked him like what and he said do you want this five bucks or not? So I took the five and went to get the pail for him."

"He gave you the five dollars?"

"Yeah."

"Before you went for the pail?"

"Yeah."

"Go on."

"He's lying," Willis said.

"This is the truth, I swear to God."

"What'd you think was in that pail?"

Parry shrugged. "Lunch. And some other little things. Like he said."

"Come on," Willis said, "do you expect us to buy that?"

"Kid, what'd you really think was in that pail?" Meyer asked gently.

"Well … look … you can't do nothing to me for what I thought was in there, right?"

"That's right," Meyer said. "If you could lock up a man for what he's thinking, we'd all be in jail, right?"

"Right," Parry said, and laughed.

Meyer laughed with him. The Greek chorus laughed too. Everybody laughed except Willis, who kept staring stone-faced at Parry. "So what'd you think was in the pail?" Meyer said.

"Junk," Parry said.

"You a junkie?" Willis asked.

"No, sir, never touch the stuff."

"Roll up your sleeve."

"I'm not a junkie, sir."

"Let's see your arm."

Parry rolled up his sleeve.

"I told you," parry said.

"Okay, you told us. What'd you plan to do with that lunch pail?"

"What do you mean?"

"The Corona is three blocks east of here. You picked up that pail and started heading west. What were you planning?"

"Nothing."

"Then why were you heading away from where the deaf man was waiting?"

"I wasn't heading anyplace."

"You were heading west."

"No, I musta got mixed up."

"You got so mixed up you forgot how you came into the park, right? You forgot that the entrance was behind you, right?"

"No, I didn't forget where the entrance was."

"Then why'd you head deeper into the park?"

"I told you. I musta got mixed up."

"He's a lying little bastard," Willis said. "I'm going to book him, Meyer, no matter what you say."

"Now hold it, just hold it a minute," Meyer said. "You know you're in pretty serious trouble if there's junk in that pail, don't you, Alan?" Meyer said.

"Why? Even if there is junk in there, it ain't mine."

"Well, I know that, Alan, I believe you, but the law is pretty specific about possession of narcotics. I'm sure you must realize that every pusher we pick up claims somebody must have planted the stuff on him, he doesn't know how it got there, it isn't his, and so on. They all give the same excuses, even when we've got them dead to rights."

"Yeah, I guess they must," Parry said.

"So you see, I won't be able to help you much if there really is junk in that pail."

"Yeah, I see," Parry said.