"I loaded mem this morning/" Max replied, his answer an apparent non sequitur.
"What?" asked Harry.
"1 said-"
"I heard what you said," Harry interrupted. "What do you mean, you loaded mem?"
Max extended the pistol with his right hand, pointing it at Harry"s heart. "I loaded them for use," he said. "Now will you kindly sit down?"
"You can"t be serious about this," Harry protested. But neither he nor I had any doubt regarding Max"s seriousness.
Which was proven as Max extended his arm all me way, me dark eye of the barrel quite dose to Harry"s chest now.
With a swallow dry enough for me to hear across me room. Harry sat down in the chair, placing his hat and at- tache case back on me table.
"Do you really want your father here?" he asked, his tone weak.
"Oh, yes, definitely," Max replied. "I want him to hear it all. I only hope to G.o.d that, somewhere in his brain, he"s capable of understanding and appreciating what I"m doing."
Oh, Sonny, Sonny, yes I am. My brain the only part of me mat really functioned then-
64 Richard Matheson
""Look, I don"t know what the h.e.l.l you are doing here,"
said Harry nervously, "but lefs not be impulsive. Lefs talk about this. I think you need help, pal."
"The kind of help I got in Chicago?" Max asked softly.
Harry"s face went blank.
"The kind of help I got in Des Moines?" asked Max. "In New Orleans? hi Tampa?"
"What are you-"
"It took a little research on the last three," Max cut him off. "But Chicago dropped right on me in the middle of an afternoon this May. A phone call from a Mr. Charlie Haines-"
"Wait a second," Harry said.
"-inquiring why you"d turned down his generous offer;
was I sick or something?" Max was glaring at Harry now, the pistol aimed at his head. This is true? I thought.
"Max/ put that down," said Harry, trying in vain to sound authoritative.
"Is that the kind of help I need?" asked Max.
"Max, I only did it to help," Harry said. My G.o.d, it is true, I thought
"Curious help-pal/" responded Max. "Rejecting four well-paying engagements without consulting me,"
"All right, I was wrong-"
His voice broke into a gasp of horror as Max abruptly jammed the barrel against his forehead. "Yes, indeed you were," said Max. "The question is, old friend... why?"
Harry tried to take in breath. He wasn"t too successful at it, and his voice wheezed as he replied, "Is the answer worth killing me for?"
Max said/ "Absolutely."
With ha left hand, he drew back the pistol hammer.
Harry hissed, completely terrified, and closed his eyes, his face a mask ent.i.tled Total Dread.
When nothing happened, he opened his eyes and peered
Now You See It. 65
up at my son, who towered over him, looking down with G.o.dlike disdain.
Words tumbled from Harry"s mouth as he said, "I thought it would make you realize sooner that you needed help, real help. I wasn"t trying to hurt you""
He positively whined as Max pressed the barrel end tighter against his forehead. Good, I thought.
"Is that why you let that man look through my devices while I was on stage that night in Philadelphia?" Max asked.
"What?" asked Harry. What? asked my mind.
Harry groaned as Max pushed the pistol even harder against his skull.
"All right, all right," said Harry, his voice thin and shak- ing. "I was trying to get you some money."
"By letting that man steal my magic?" said Max. Oh, blow his G.o.ddam brains out. Sonny! I thought.
Harry"s Ups were trembling. Swallowing again, he managed, "Nothing happened; Max."
"Nothing happened because it"s not that easy to steal Delacorte magic." (I"d seen to that.) His voice grew hard.
"But you were going to take a crack at it, weren"t you?"
His finger tightened on the trigger. Harry whimpered, his eyes shutting once again. "Dear G.o.d," he whispered.
Well, maybe this is not too good an idea after all, I thought.
Nothing happened.
Harry opened his eyes a crack to peer up at Max- He reacted. I reacted.
Max was smiling.
"How tempting," he said, "to pull the trigger and ob- serve your brains go flying- Every black, dismal shred of them."