"Laymon, Richard - InTheDark" - читать интересную книгу автора (Laymon Richard)

"People are often mistaken that way."
The waitress arrived with their food and drinks. When she was gone, Brace lifted his glass of root beer toward Jane. "Here's lookin' atcha, Madame Librarian."
She raised her Pepsi and winked at him.
And wondered if she had ever before in her life winked at anyone.
For the next few minutes, she sipped her drink and forked chili-cheese fries into her mouth and watched Brace devour his burger and fries. He didn't say anything, just ate and looked at her and sometimes smiled. From the expressions on his face and his occasional moans, he seemed to be relishing every moment.
Done, he wiped his mouth with a napkin. He sighed. "Good eatin'."
"Would you like to polish off my fries?" She had plenty left. She pushed the container toward him, but he shook his head.
"Gotta watch my figure," he said.
Jane blushed. She couldn't help it. Brace was slim and trim and looked as if he didn't need to lose an ounce. Jane was the one who should be watching her figure, who'd been neglecting it for way too long. She hadn't allowed herself to grow _fat_, but the extra weight and lack of exercise had thickened her, softened her.
Enough so that Brace's mention of "figures" had triggered the rush of heat. With her fair complexion, a blush never failed to turn her face bright red. Brace couldn't help but notice it.
"So," he said, "what do you want to do about your mysterious friend?"
"I'm not sure," she said, surprised that he'd made no comment on the blush. You _are_ a good guy, she thought. "I guess I'm pretty curious. Who is he? Why is he doing it?"
"He or she," Brace said.
"It _might_ be a woman."
"Of course, he doesn't call himself 'Mistress of Games.'"
Jane nodded. "So it probably is a man."
"A man with money to spare."
"Yeah. Jeez. Fifty bucks. I mean, I'm not exactly rich. To me, that's a lot of money. It's a pair of decent shoes, or a week's worth of groceries. It'd pay my telephone bill for a couple of months."
"He gave you a _hundred_ and fifty."
"I _know_. Fifty in the first envelope, a hundred in the second. Which means he _doubled_ the amount the second time around. What if I find the third envelope, and he's doubled things again? There might be _two_ hundred in it. Or even three, if he doubles the whole amount instead of just the previous installment."
"Or there might be nothing," Brace said.
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe there isn't a third envelope. Maybe you'll figure out where it's supposed to be, go there looking for it, and he's waiting for you."
"Yeah." Though she was aware of that possibility, she didn't like hearing it spoken. The words, especially coming from Brace, seemed to give the idea more weight. "If he wanted to jump me," she said, "he could've done it in the library."
"I was there. And you left with me."
Jane suddenly smiled. "Ah! But at the time he left the message telling me to 'horse around' at midnight, he couldn't have known I'd be leaving with you. Which means he never intended to attack me in the library."
Brace nodded.
The waitress came to their table. "Will there be anything else, folks?"
"I'd like a cup of coffee," Brace told her. "How about you, Jane?"
"Sure."
As the waitress walked away, Jane shivered slightly though the restaurant was warm. She was nervous, but excited. She had goosebumps. She pressed her thighs together. She wanted to rub her arms, but that might draw Brace's attention.
The waitress returned quickly with two mugs of coffee, and set them down in front of Jane and Brace.
Brace raised his mug. He blew a soft breath at its top. "So you're fairly sure you want to go ahead with this?" he asked.
Jane shrugged. Her shoulders trembled slightly. Her shivers didn't seem ready to go away. _Just don't get any worse, or Brace'll notice_.
"Is that a maybe?"
"More of an 'I think so.'" She gritted her teeth to stop her jaw from shaking. She hadn't attempted to drink her coffee yet. She didn't dare lift the mug. Not while she felt like this.
Brace took a few sips from his. He watched her closely, concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Just a little nervous. _Very_ nervous, as a matter of fact."
"I know a great way to get over it."
"How's that?"
"Choose not to play the game. Keep the money you've gotten so far, and forget about going after any more."
_You're probably half-right. There'd still be the problem of you._
I could follow the same advice with Brace, she told herself. Choose not to play. This thing with him doesn't have to go anywhere. It can end right here.
A corner of Jane's mouth twitched. "Quitters never prosper," she said.
"You want to go ahead with it?"
"I have to, don't I?"
"You do _not_ have to," Brace said. "All it would take is a decision against acting on the second note."
"But then I'll never know what might've happened."
"Do you think it's worth the risk?"
She grimaced and rubbed her chin. Her fingers felt like ice. "I guess so. Up to a point. You know what they say: nothing ventured, nothing gained. I wouldn't want to get hurt, though. You know? I don't want to get myself . . . attacked by some lunatic. It wouldn't be worth it, not for a couple of hundred bucks. But maybe this guy _isn't_ a lunatic."