Read Shooting in the Dark for Free Online Page B

How is he supposed to read that?
    There is someone following her, watching her. Someone unknown. And now her sister has gone missing.
    Could be a madman, someone burning with passion. The flames of his rage fed by a storehouse of frustrated love.
     
    She was trying to figure out how to program her new mobile when he came back from his tour of the house and garden. He looked over her shoulder, listening to the digital voice that explained which buttons to push for redial, how to store numbers. ‘This specially designed for the blind?’
    ‘Yes. It’s new. I think my other one must’ve been stolen.’
    ‘From the house?’
    She shook her head. ‘I was jostled in the street,’ she said. ‘The day before yesterday. The man must’ve taken it out of my bag. Anyway, it’s gone.’
    ‘Is this an occupational hazard?’
    ‘Quite the opposite,’ she said. ‘Most people are over-solicitous.’
    He was quiet for a moment. ‘You work out?’ he asked. ‘I keep fit,’ she told him. ‘I don’t use a gym.’
    ‘You go walking? Jogging?’
    ‘Why do you ask?’
    ‘I’m interested,’ he said. ‘Your calf muscles are hard, well developed, and your neck is strong. Most of the time you’re working in an office, you sit in front of a computer, s0 I wonder how you keep yourself trim.’
    ‘Trim,’ she said, feeling the word’s contours, letting it spill from the tip of her tongue. She gave it back to him. ‘Trim?’
    ‘Something wrong with that?’
    ‘Am I under observation?’
    ‘Hell, no,’ he said. ‘I was just looking, I didn’t mean...’
    ‘It’s all right,’ she told him. ‘I’m not offended. Suddenly we’re talking about my body. I was... surprised.’
    He blew a long stream of breath between his teeth. ‘Really,’ she said. ‘I’m not offended. I’ve got the pool. I use a public baths to swim lengths; I ride a horse and a bicycle. I’ve got an aerobics step and a small trampoline upstairs. I do all those things, and I’ve got a sauna.’
    He didn’t respond immediately. She listened to the silence between them, his shallow breathing.
    ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘That explains it, why you’re so trim.’ There it was again.
    ‘And you?’ she said. ‘When did you stop smoking?’
    ‘Some years back,’ he said. He didn’t ask her how she knew he’d been a smoker, if she’d heard it in his breathing, the damage to his vocal cords. ‘I would’ve thought riding a bike was dangerous if you can’t see where you’re going.’
    ‘I don’t ride in traffic,’ she said. ‘And I need a sighted guide. But it’s good fun, one of my favourite things.’
    ‘You mean like a tandem?’ he asked.
    No, I’ve got my own bike. I need to put my hand on a S1 ghted rider’s shoulder. It’s like walking, only faster, and there’s more of a thrill to it.’
    ‘I’ve got a bike,’ he said.
    She waited, but he didn’t take it further.
    Is that an offer?’ she asked.
    ‘Yeah, some time. Whenever you want.’
    ‘Thanks. I’ll bear it in mind.’
    ‘Is there anything you don’t do? You don’t drive a fast car, anything like that?’
    There was humour in his voice. Restrained, but it was there. ‘Roller skating,’ she said. ‘I like that, but it’s not really a fast car.’
    ‘Skiing?’
    ‘I’ve tried it,’ she said. ‘In Italy, but I never got off the beginners’ slopes.’
    ‘Sounds better than me,’ he said. ‘I never got off my ass.’
    She laughed with him.
    ‘What else is there?’ he said. ‘Ice skating?’
    A tremor went through her.
    ‘I’ve done it again,’ he said. ‘What’d I say?’
    She fought to control her breathing, mastered it quickly, but could only speak in short sentences. ‘Nothing. It’s all right.’
    ‘C’mon. What’d I say?’
    ‘Ice skating,’ she said quietly. ‘It’s the one thing I can’t face.’
    ‘No big deal,’ he said. ‘You do the things you like, the rest you leave to the other guys.’
    She went inside herself. She didn’t