Read 1945 - Blonde's Requiem for Free Online

running down the back of my neck and under my arms seemed suddenly to go cold on me.
    A man was standing out of my sight and the moonlight had cast his shadow in such a way I could see it without seeing him.
    The shadow was a sinister caricature of the man. It made him seem tremendously tall with enormous shoulders. The slouch hat seemed absurdly small in comparison with the vast shoulders and his wide trousers looked like sails. He stood motionless, his hands sunk into his coat pockets and his head thrust forward.
    Very cautiously, I thumbed back the safety-catch on my gun. I watched the motionless shadow for several minutes, but it didn ’ t move. I guessed whoever it was round the corner knew I was waiting for him and he had made up his mind not to make the first move.
    The sound of Marian ’ s heels had died away. There was a hot, stifling stillness in the night that added to my spookiness. Then suddenly a woman laughed hysterically. The high-pitched, almost idiotic sound came from above my head. I took a step back and glanced quickly up.
    On the fourth floor of a nearby house one solitary window blazed light into the street. As I looked, a hot wind suddenly blew up and the dirty curtains hanging outside the window flapped convulsively like the flounderings of a dying fish.
    The woman laughed again and then the sound died away in a whimpering gurgle. A moment later she began to weep.
    I looked once more at the corner of the street and down at the brick pavement. The shadow had gone. No other sound came to me except the harsh, bitter sobbing from the woman and the flapping of the curtain in the wind.
    I drew my gun and edged towards the corner. Taking off my hat, I peered round the wall into the street beyond. There was no sign of the man who had been following us. The street was empty but for a stringy-looking cat that bolted into the shadows at the sight of me.
    I took out my handkerchief and wiped my face. Then I laughed softly. “ All right, ” I said to myself, “ that made you as jittery as hell. ” I tucked my handkerchief away, thinking that a few more nights like this and I ’ d be ready for the nut house.
    I looked up and down the street, made certain that there was no one around, then in spite of the heat, I ran after Marian. She was waiting for me at the next corner and when she saw me coining, she moved quickly towards me.
    “ Phew! ” she said, grasping my arm. “ I was scared something was going to happen. Did you see anyone? ”
    “ No, except a cat that looked like it could do with a meal, ” I returned, smiling at her. “ And you don ’ t have to be scared of cats. ”
    “ I was scared, ” she confessed. “ I must be getting nervy or something. But I was sure that man was following us. ”
    I spotted a cab crawling down the street and I waved. “ We ’ ll drive back and you can get yourself a good night ’ s rest. You ’ ll feel fine in the morning. ”
    When we had got into the cab, she said: “ You wouldn ’ t be lying, would you? ”
    I patted her hand. “ Not to you, ” I assured her. “ There just wasn ’ t anyone around. ”
    “ I don ’ t understand it, ” she returned. “ I don ’ t really. When. I saw that man duck out of sight, I felt my flesh creep. I ’ ve never felt that way before. ”
    Every few seconds as the cab whizzed past a street light I caught a fleeting glimpse of her face. She looked white and tired and her finely pencilled eyebrows were knitted in a frown.
    “ Forget it, ” I said. “ There wasn ’ t anyone there. You ’ re letting your imagination play you tricks. ”
    “ I wonder why you took me out tonight, ” she said unexpectedly.
    “ I told you. I was lonely, you were lonely, and Cranville ’ s pretty grim town. You ’ re not sorry, are you? ”
    “ Sorry? ” She shook her head. “ I ’ ve had one of the nicest evenings of my life. Only I wish I hadn ’ t been so silly just now. ” She sat up and swivelled round so that she was