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situation and the size of the barrels of the gun glaring up at me, it was worth a try. If the Widow Austin squeezed that trigger, it was all overand at the moment it looked like the old girl could go either way. |
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''Why the hell didn't you answer the door?'' I blurted out. |
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Glenna Austin didn't answer. On the other hand, she didn't shoot, either. She rocked back and forth, her wretched old face mercifully hidden by the room's shadows. The latter, of course, meant there was no eye contact, and if you take Elliott Grant Wages's eye contact away from him, you've partially disarmed him. |
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"Maybe I should be the one askin' questions," the old woman growled. |
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At this point I figured I had already won round one. If she hadn't pulled the trigger by now, the odds were at least 50-50 that she wasn't going to. Pulling the trigger on another human being when they're breaking into your home is an impulse thing, and once the impulse passes, you've won the first round. |
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"What 'cha want here?" she groused. |
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The mere fact that she was talking instead of shooting was another hopeful sign. I felt my jaw relax, and the lump in my throat started to go away. |
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"It's the sarcophagus, ain't it? That's what you came for, ain't it?" |
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It was time to come up with a response |
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