He felt his father stiffen against him. “The porch step, then.” Danny pulled away. Suddenly he had it. It had flashed into his mind all at once, the way things sometimes did, the way it had about the woman wanting to be in that gray man’s pants. He stared at his father with widening eyes. “You know I’m telling the truth,” he whispered, shocked. “Danny—” Jack’s face, tightening. “You know because you saw—” The sound of Jack’s open palm striking Danny’s face was flat, not dramatic at all. The boy’s head rocked back, the palm print reddening on his cheek like a brand. Wendy made a moaning noise.
