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The devil's right hand

the devil's right hand,

Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

DeWayne reached for the gun on the seat beside him.

He had tried to argue with the nurse about the wheelchair, even though he knew from the start it was a losing battle. “I know, I know,” she had cut him off when he tried to protest that he could walk. “You a big, strong man. But you fall down and break your leg leavin’ this hospital,” she said, “it ain’t your silly ass they’re going to blame. It’s me, and I got two years left ‘till my profit-sharing plan vests, so I ain’t losin’ my job over you, hear? Once you get to the front door, you can do anything you want. Right now, sit your butt down in that chair for Emma like a good boy, okay?” Keller sat. They made the elevator ride down in silence.

Angela stood up as they came off the elevator into the lobby. She stood there and looked at him as he stood up. He walked over to her.

“You all right?” she said.

“Yeah.”

She reached up and touched the bandage on his nose, lightly. “Does it hurt?”

“A little.”

“Damn it, Keller,” she said, her voice breaking, “you scared the shit out of me,” She threw her arms around him. He took her in his arms and hugged her tightly to him. After a few moments, she pulled away, wiping her eyes. Keller looked back at the nurse who was standing with the wheelchair. “Look like my ride’s here,” he said.

The nurse smiled. “I see that.” She looked at Angela. “This your man, honey?”

Angela looked at Keller. “No,” she said, a small smile playing over her lips. “I’m his boss.”

“Good for you,” the nurse said. “Get him trained right.”

Angela laughed out loud at that. “No, I mean he really does work for me.” Her smile turned a little sad. “We’re just friends.”

“Uh-huh,” the nurse said. She sounded unconvinced. “Well, y’all have a good day.” She backed into the elevator and closed the doors.

“Ready to go home?” she said.

“I need you to find out something for me first,” he said.

“What?”

As they walked to the parking lot, he told her about Wesson’s shooting. She listened in silence to the end. By that time, They were sitting in Angela’s car.

“So what do you want me to do?” she said. Her voice sounded strange to Keller.

“Internal Affairs will be investigating. They always do in a cop shooting. I need you to make a few calls to your friends in the department. Find out what’s going on, when the hearing is. I need to be there to tell what really happened.”

Angela shook her head. “Why are you doing this, Keller?”

He was getting angry. "I don’t know why I have to keep explaining this, especially to you. She didn’t do anything wrong. She’s getting screwed by her own department. And I can do something about it.”

Angela shook her head. She was silent for a few minutes. A couple of times she opened her mouth as if to say something, then shut it. She looked as if she was debating something with herself. Finally, she sighed. “Jack, this is why I won’t go out with you.”

He was baffled. “What does this have to do with you not wanting to go out with me?”

She turned and looked him in the eye. “For some reason, you think it’s your job to rescue the world. So now you’ve found yourself another damsel in distress.”

“Don’t tell me you’re getting jealous now. Jesus, your timing is worse than mine.”

“That’s not what this is about!” she snapped.

“Then what is it?” he demanded.

Angela looked away for a long minute. She took a deep breath. Finally, she said in a quiet voice: “That look in your eyes you get when you talk about her. I’ve seen that look. It’s the same way you look at me. You treat me like I’m someone who needs big, strong Jackson Keller to pull her out of the fire.” She turned back to him. “Well, Jack, I have news for you. I may have been beaten up, fucked over, and set on fire, but I don’t need help. I can rescue myself. And so can she.”

Keller threw up his hands. “I can’t figure you out, Angela. One minute, you’ve got your arms around me like you never want to let me go, the