Bone by George C. Chesbro

Author:George C. Chesbro
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Mystery & Detective, General, Psychological, Thrillers, Fiction, Espionage
ISBN: 9781930253094
Publisher: Apache Beach Publications
Published: 2011-07-24T23:49:13+00:00

(ii)

Later, he would take a bus to visit his sister across the river, in Rockland County, where he would stay for a week. But for now

Zulu was at his usual post in front of St. Thomas Church, preparing his mind, meditating, searching for the stories he would tell the crowds he expected to see on the streets this morning of what promised to be a fine, sunny Sunday.

The church service inside St. Thomas would be over in a few minutes, and then the worshippers would stream out and join the other people strolling up and down Fifth Avenue. Not a few would stop to listen to him.

His stories on this day, he thought, would be devoted to the pleasures of spring and summer in New York City—concerts and Shakespeare and opera in Central Park, strolling along the boardwalk at the South Street Seaport, warmth, street festivals, a time when even the homeless could be relatively comfortable. His stories this day would be about happiness and satisfaction; cruelty and misery in the city were things he could talk about any day, and usually did.

Suddenly, the seven-foot street performer had the distinct sensation that he was being watched. Unwilling to come out of his trance just as a new story was forming, he tried to ignore the sensation, which was growing increasingly stronger. After all, he thought, he was being watched all the time; a seven-foot-tall black man dressed in flowing ceremonial robes and carrying a seven-foot staff made for a rather imposing sight, even in New York City. Indeed, he depended on his presence to initially gather audiences which he would then captivate with the sound of his voice and the content of his stories. So it was only normal that people should be staring at him, and he hoped they could continue to stare until he was ready to rap his staff on the sidewalk and begin . . .

But this was somehow different; someone was staring at him, a single pair of eyes, from a distance . . .

And then the story that had been forming in his mind was lost in confusion and distraction.

Still without moving his body, Zulu slowly let his eyes come back into focus. Already, a crowd—including many "regulars" who knew that his Sunday morning stories were often his best—was gathering around him, staring up at him with anticipation.

But these were not the eyes he had felt.

Without moving his head, Zulu looked to his left and his right. As expected, people crossing the street, moving up and down the block from both directions, usually fixed their gaze on him while they were still a distance away.

But these were not the eyes he had felt.

Then Zulu looked across the street, and was mildly startled to see a slender but solidly built man about six feet tall standing at the very edge of the sidewalk, staring intently at him. A moving wall of pedestrians flowed behind the man, often jostling him, but the man remained still, staring .

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