Free We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier

interested in the joggers passing by. They were sitting on a bench in Cannon Park, across from the high school, basking in the September sun. Resting my bones, his grandfather called it. He had been a policeman for forty-five years, most of them standing on his dogs. He always called his feet dogs. He never drove a cruiser, always walked a beat. That’s what’s wrong with the world, he said, not enough cops on the sidewalks. Should take them out of the cruisers and put them on the sidewalks.
    “If I didn’t know any better, I would say it was an inside job,” his grandfather said now, stretching his legs before him, folding his hands over his small round belly and closing his eyes.
    The Avenger hoped he was about to take a nap, something his grandfather did at all hours of the day and night, slipping into sleep without any warning at all.
    “What do you mean, inside job?” He was sorry heasked the minute the words were out of his mouth because he had a good idea of what an
inside job
was.
    “Means somebody inside the place stole the piece,” his grandfather said. “Which is again impossible. I’m the only one living here.”
    “A visitor maybe?” The Avenger said, grimacing. Why couldn’t he keep his mouth shut?
    “Not likely,” he said, voice faint. He seemed to be drifting off, into his nap maybe. “I only got four rooms. The piece was hidden away in the closet. Bullets in a separate box. No way a visitor could sneak
two
boxes out. Unless …”
    His voice grew even fainter and a moment later a soft snore came from his mouth, fluttering the ends of his mustache. The Avenger sighed “Whew …” softly, glad that the conversation was over. But he frowned as he stretched his own legs in front of him, although they barely touched the ground.
    “Of course, my memory isn’t what it used to be,” his grandfather said, startling The Avenger, who thought he was sound asleep. His grandfather spoke without opening his eyes, his hands folded on his round stomach. “Maybe I
did
leave the door unlocked by mistake. Maybe somebody
did
get into the place.” Silence for a while. “Can’t trust anybody these days. Anybody …” His eyes were still closed.
    Anybody.
    The word echoed in his mind, the way
inside job
had echoed earlier.
    He tried to finish the sentence that began with that word: Anybody … anybody in the world. Anybody … even you!
    The Avenger leaped with alarm, as if his grandfather had actually said the words, had flung the accusation athim. But the old man was still napping, eyes closed, breath rattling through his partly opened mouth.
    The Avenger closed his own eyes and made himself sit still on the bench, even though his nose immediately began to itch. He did not scratch it. He did not move at all, not even his eyelids. He sat there thinking
anybody
until his grandfather woke up, snorting and coughing. They walked out of the park in silence.
    The silence lasted all the way home and was worse even than that word
anybody.
His grandfather did not tousle his hair and pat his head as he usually did when he said good-bye to The Avenger at the corner of Spruce and Elm.
    The telephone rang as Buddy came into the house from school. Dumping his books on the couch in the family room, he picked up the receiver. Then was sorry he’d answered. Harry was on the line.
    “Want some fun tonight, Buddee?”
    That cool insinuating voice, this time a French accent.
    “Not tonight,” Buddy answered, clearing his throat first to make his voice steady. Feeling guilty about the house they vandalized, he had promised himself that he wouldn’t take part in any more of Harry’s adventures. Drinking was one thing, the exploits were another.
    “Busee? Beeg plans? Too beeg for your friends?” Maybe he was trying a Mexican accent.
    “No, it’s not that,” Buddy said, mind racing to find an excuse and coming up blank. Except for: “I’ve got a lot of homework tonight.” Frowning, knowing how lame this