The Night Awakens (2000) A Mystery Writers of America Anthology by Mary Higgins Clark

Author:Mary Higgins Clark [Clark, Mary Higgins]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Sibling Rivalry

Brendan DuBois

In my parked and stolen car, I sat in the front seat, looking up at the lights in the third-floor apartment building, right in the middle of a run-down section of one of Boston’s far-flung suburbs. It had been a long night, and my job wasn’t complete yet, not by a long shot. As it stood, I was just fifty percent there, and I wasn’t going to be happy until I reached a full one hundred percent. As I waited, I listened to the radio, listened to the night sounds of talk shows that went on and on about relationships, about families, about problems. I only half listened to the electronic noise, concentrating on my own problems at hand.

Well, not at hand. Under the seat, wrapped in the day’s Boston Herald was a 9mm Smith & Wesson, complete with attached tube silencer. That was one problem, because I wasn’t sure what I’d do if a local cop came by and rousted me. While I did have a good excuse for being on this deserted street at one A.M., I’m sure it wasn’t an excuse a cop would want to hear.

My other problem was the third floor of the apartment building. A living-room light was still burning brightly, along with a kitchen light, meaning that the occupant of that apartment—one Adam Cruishank was still awake. I had seen some movement not fifteen minutes ago, and I didn’t want him to be awake much longer.

I sighed and tapped my fingers on the steering wheel. Car lights appeared from the end of the street, and I lay down in the front seat of the car, hiding myself. The interior lit up as the car went by, showing me the crumpled coffee cups, fast-food wrappers, and other trash that the previous and legitimate owner had piled up. Maybe if I had time tonight, I’d clean everything up before returning the car to its condo parking lot, next town over, to show my appreciation. If I had the time, if I had the luck.

Luck. I got up from the seat and looked out the window, and both the Jiving-room light and the kitchen light on the third floor were off. The only illumination showing was that ghastly blue light that comes from a television set being left on. I took a couple of deep breaths, tapped on the steering wheel again, and continued listening to the radio. When the top-of-the-hour news came on, about a half hour had passed since the dimming of the lights upstairs, and that was enough time for me.

I reached under the seat, pulled out the newspaper and pistol, and stepped outside. The May night air felt good, and I walked quickly across the street and into the apartment building’s lobby. Most nice apartment buildings, you need a key to get into the lobby door. This wasn’t a nice building. I went in and then went upstairs, dodging trash cans, kids’ toys, and a bicycle that had been torn apart, leaving nothing but a blue and rusty frame.

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