Fright by Cornell Woolrich

Author:Cornell Woolrich
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Hard Case Crime
Published: 2014-05-08T22:00:00+00:00

13

On Friday, that was two days before, that was the 20th. Wise was leaving for the day, around five. He’d just gone past Marshall’s desk, without even an acknowledgment of departure. As though he didn’t even see him there at all. Then suddenly, with hand already to knob, with door already open, with face already out the door, he halted, he drew his face back into view, turned it, said as if by haphazard afterthought:

“Say, do you like rowing, Marshall?”

Why did he wait until he was nearly through the door to ask me that? Why didn’t he ask me sooner, when he passed my desk just a second ago? That was too premeditatedly unpremeditated. Too elaborately deferred, to be innocent. Why did he single me out to ask, why didn’t he ask any of the others?

“Hunh?”

“I said, do you like rowing?”

“Rowing?”

If I say yes? If I say no? More time.

Wise was pleasantly impatient by this time. “I’m only trying to find out if you’d like to get out in a boat and take turns at the oars.”

“Why do you ask?” Marshall parried.

“I’m looking for someone to go along with me Sunday.” No. Wants to get me alone. Say no.

“I don’t know about Sunday.” He shook his head pensively. “I don’t think so.” He shook his head again, finally attained the definitive refusal he’d set for himself. “No.” And then he stared at Wise searchingly and said: “What about some of the others?”

“Already asked them. Can’t get anyone.”

Too thin. If he did, I didn’t hear him.

Wise shrugged. “Okay, forget it. I’ll go alone, then.” The back of Wise’s head and the back of Wise’s heel disappeared from the door slit.

Will he, though? Will he really go alone?

Someone else passed, on his way out.

“ ’Night, Marsh.”

“Say, Horton, did Wise ask you to go rowing with him Sunday?”

“Not that I recall.”

Still someone else passed.

“See you Monday, Marsh.”

“Rogers, did Wise ask you to go rowing with him Sunday?”

“If he did, I didn’t hear him.”

Two out of two. I’ll try one more.

“Blaine, did Wise say anything to you about going rowing Sunday?”

“Yes.”

Marshall sighed deeply.

“What’d you tell him, no?”

The answer he got was catastrophic. “Oh, he wasn’t asking me. He knows I couldn’t anyway, May’s laid up with a bad ankle. What he said was, that he wondered if he could get tjou to go along with him.”

Me. That shows. Even speaking to someone else, it was me, and no one but me, he had on his mind for it. Will he go alone, though? Will he really go alone?

He may. And yet not be as alone as he seems . . .

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