He glanced past Pin, then swiftly walked away. She looked over to see a policeman heading in their direction and took off after Larry.

“Maybe they’ll open later,” she said when she caught up with him. “Captain Cabell back there just said they already have someone in custody.”

Larry stopped to stare at her in disbelief. “You know who that suspect is?”

“No.”

“Clyde. What the hell did you tell them?”

“Clyde?” Her stomach turned as she recalled last night in the station house, Clyde’s booming voice demanding to see a lawyer. “Tell who?”

“The cops! You were the first one they questioned, they went and dragged him out of his house!”

“Clyde? They arrested Clyde?”

“Of course they did!” Larry looked like he wanted to punch her. “He was the only colored man working there except me, and everyone saw me selling tickets. I thought you and him were friends. What the hell did you say to them?”

“Nothing! Just, I went to tell Clyde about what I saw.”

“The body.”

She nodded. “But Clyde didn’t believe me. Johnny was the one who did. And Clyde couldn’t have done it, he was working the ride. Everyone knows that.”

“Everyone knows, but no one can prove it. He was wearing a rubber mask and a costume. No one could swear it was him in there.”

“But someone must’ve seen something!” Pin’s voice rose in desperation. “Or seen Clyde and recognized him. They could testify.”

Larry gave a derisive laugh. “Testify? You read too many stories, kid. That only happens if it goes to trial. And if it goes to trial, they’ll send him to the gallows.”

“But they couldn’t! He didn’t kill her!”

“You think that matters? Little white girl’s dead, Negro man’s within a mile, they’ll kill him for it. And maybe now I’m out of a job. And don’t you tell me I should go looking at the Sunny South. You ever see any colored folks watching that show? They make the Negro singers wear blackface.”

“I never seen it.”

“Well, you should go sometime, maybe you’d learn something. Tell you this, when I graduate I’m going to practice law.”

Something in Larry’s expression shifted as he gazed at her, and for a terrifying instant she feared he saw through her disguise.

“Wake up, boy,” he said. “You’re not Clyde’s friend. Doesn’t matter what you did or didn’t do. Clyde’s hired a good attorney, he’s trying to find some witnesses. I don’t know what you saw in there, but you better think hard before you start talking about it, you hear?”