It's just me, Mosley said not when I asked him, but I've always taken Mouse to be a side of Rawlins' character, a violent loss of control when sufficiently provoked. That's certainly how I read that "Why'd you leave him with me?" line. You can't control the outcome when you lose control. Ditto the scene done so effectively in the Devil in a Blue Dress movie, where a very drunken Mouse nearly shoots an equally impaired Easy at the kitchen table. Nothing much to do but wait for the impulse to pass.
As I said, it's just my take, but it's one that adds a lot of depth to the character, I think. Rawlins aspires to middle class status and stability, but loss of self control, though sometimes realizing short term gains, usually costs him in the long run. Maybe you don't need to see them as two sides of the same personality to value that. Still, control is what fiction and writing fiction is about, more or less. But that comment may be getting too postmodern.
Best,
Kerry
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