Immediately he wanted violence. He wanted to open the door and rush downstairs and smash their laughter down their throats. His hand went up and found the cord that switched on the light, and he took a few steps toward the door. Then it occurred to him that they weren’t worth the trouble. Certainly they weren’t worth the risk of having the police come in on it, and then the handcuffs and after that the cell bars. He started to focus on the practical side of the matter and he knew it involved the issue of ten, or twenty, or maybe even thirty years in prison.
The laughter was still coming up from downstairs but now he didn’t hear it. He was moving toward the window. He opened the window very slowly and saw it had stopped raining. The air was warm and damp. He was leaning out and seeing the
