Chapter 87

A piercing wail shattered the quiet of the room. Everyone's head snapped toward the sound.

Halston was crouched on the floor, face in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Clifford stood calmly beside him, still examining the toy gun as if the boy's cries were nothing but ambient noise. He might as well have had a sign that read, "Yes, I shot him."

Latisha's hands clenched at her sides, her heart beginning to pound.

Yolanda and Reuben were the first to rush over. Yolanda swept Halston into her arms, frantically checking his face for injury.

"Halston, what's wrong?"

The boy was crying too hard to speak. A red welt was already forming at the corner of his eye. His skin was so delicate that the whole area was flushed, making the mark from the pellet stand out starkly.

The sight sent a surge of fury through Yolanda. She glared at Clifford. "What do you think you're doing?"