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CHAPTER 067

Lynn saton the edge of the tub and used the washcloth gently to clean the gash behind his ear. “Dave,” Lynn said. “Tell me what happened.” She could see the cut was deep, but he wasn’t complaining.

“They came after us, Mom!” Jamie was excited, moving his arms. He was covered in dust and had bruises on his stomach and shoulders, but was otherwise not badly hurt. “We didn’t do anything! Sixth-graders! Evil dudes!”

“Jamie,” she said, “let Dave tell me. How did you get this cut?”

“Billy swung the board at him,” Jamie said. “We didn’t do anything!”

“You didn’t do anything?” she said, raising an eyebrow. “You mean this happened for no reason at all?”

“Yes, Mom! I swear! We were just walking home! They came after us!”

“Mrs. Lester called,” Lynn said quietly. “Her son came home covered in excrement.”

“No, it was poo,” Jamie said.

“How did that-”

“Dave threw it! He was great! They were beatin’ us and he threw it and they ran away! He never missed!”

Lynn continued to clean the cut gently. “Is that true, Dave?”

“They hurted Jamie. They beated him and kicked him.”

“So you threw…poo at them?”

“They hurted Jamie,” he said again, as if it explained everything.

“No kidding,”Henry said, when he came home later. “He threw feces? That’s classic chimp behavior.”

“Maybe, but it’s a problem,” Lynn said. “They say he’s disruptive in class. He’s getting into scrapes on the playground. He’s bitten other children. Now he’s thrown feces…” She shook her head. “I don’t know how to be a parent to a chimpanzee.”

“Half-chimp.”

“Even quarter-chimp, Henry. I can’t make him understand that he can’t behave this way.”

“But they pick on him, right?” Henry said. “And these older kids, they were sixth-graders? Skateboarders? Those kids are in and out of reform school. And what’re six-graders doing bothering with second-graders, anyway?”

“Jamie says the kids make fun of Dave. They call him Monkeyboy.”

“You think Dave picked this fight?”

“I don’t know. He’s aggressive.”

“This happened at the playground. I bet there’s a security camera there.”

“Henry,” she said, “you’re not understanding what I am telling you.”

“Yes, I am. You believe Dave started this. And I have the feeling some bullying dumb-ass kid-”

That was when they heard the gunshot in the backyard.