Jury Double [antikvár]

Five years ago April 15, tax day "We're into countdown, boys and girls." Walter Egan, a red-faced man with curly brown hair and an oddly sweet voice, slapped three white plastic belts down onto the kitchen table. Scottie Egan, the greatest five-year-old who ever tumbled out of a crab-apple tree and laughed at his skinned shins, made a face. "Why are they so lumpy?" Walter patted the boy's copper-blond head. "Because they won't work without the lumps." Maria Egan lifted up Scottie's blue-striped polo shirt. "Now just hold still a minute, Mr. Flibbertigibbet." She placed the smallest beit around his little tummy and fastened the Velcro-tipped ends together. "Ouch!" he groáned. "Too tight!" "It has to be tight, honey, or it won't stay up." Maria picked up the middle-size beit. "Look the other way, guys."