The Woman In the Window by Cathryn Grant

Author:Cathryn Grant [Grant, Cathryn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Suspense, American Suspense, psychological thriller, sociopath, killer, Vigilante
Published: 2017-02-23T05:00:00+00:00

39

As Lorraine moved out of the doorway, her face appeared frozen. She wore a smile that said she was pleased to see me, but beneath it, was something brittle that looked about to shatter. She nodded at Frank, but said nothing to him.

The lightly falling mist faded into cool, damp air.

Lorraine descended the stairs as if she was making an entrance into a ballroom. “Such a nice man,” she said.

I nodded, still trying to sort out what he’d said.

She grasped the lapels of her blue wool coat with her gloved hands. The leather was so thin and soft, it looked like a second skin, not bunching under her knuckles like most leather, but molding smoothly with the curve of her fingers. She pulled the coat up so the collar framed her jaw, hiding the tendons and thin, papery skin of her neck. “A real gentleman.”

“He is.”

“What was he going on about?” She smiled.

“Nothing much.”

“Oh, come now.” She smirked. “He was very keyed up.”

There was no harm in telling her. He hadn’t asked me to keep it to myself or suggested it was a secret. But the fact that she’d been watching us bothered me. She seemed to think she had some right of access to my life, or his. Maybe both. “Just chatting.”

She smiled more gently. “So secretive. Or, just your usual gracious self. It’s almost as if you come from another era.”

“That’s what I think about Frank. And you.”

“Somehow I don’t believe that’s a compliment. It means you think we’re old.”

“I didn’t say that at all.”

“It’s what you meant.”

“Don’t tell me what I meant.” I softened my tone. “It’s a way of being that has nothing to do with how many years you’ve been alive.”

Her eyelids fluttered slightly. Her eyes were glassy, whether it was from the chilled air or something else, I couldn’t be sure. “Very kind of you,” she said.

“It’s the truth.”

“I came out to invite you to dinner.” She smiled, the same brittle look that was more angry than friendly. “I know you don’t have plans because you’ve been sitting here all day long. So cold outside. You’re a very persistent woman.”

“I have to…”

“I’d really like you to join me. I’ll be devastated if you say no. Such an insult, to pretend another engagement.”

Nothing to do all day did not at all suggest I had no plans for the evening, but she’d woven the two things together in her mind. I didn’t have plans, but I had the feeling that accepting her invitation indicated something I didn’t intend to communicate. She wanted something from me. Maybe all three of them did. The building was indeed filled with people from another era, thirsty for a connection to modern life and they’d all fixated on me as their means for entering a new world.

“Who owns the other apartment in your building?” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“There’s the lobby and four floors.” I held up my hand and raised one finger after the other. “There’s the woman on the second floor, you, Frank, and…?”

She let go of her coat lapels and let it fall back into place.

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