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

She picked up her mug. It shuddered, coffee sloshing up its sides but not quite spilling over the brim. With the help of her other hand, she managed to bring the mug under control. As she took a drink of the coffee, she met Brace's eyes.
"You won't have to go alone," he told her. "Okay? If you want to follow through, I'll go with you. I'll do whatever I can to protect you."
She set down her mug, but didn't let go of it. "That'd help," she said.
Brace reached forward. He lowered his hand down onto Jane's left wrist, wrapped his fingers around it, and gently squeezed. His hand felt warm. It didn't tremble at all.
"That'd help a lot," she added. She could feel her tremors and chills subsiding.
Because he's touching me? she wondered. Or because he's coming with me?
"I wouldn't be able to _guarantee_ your safety," he said.
"So when do we ever get guarantees?"
"When we buy a wristwatch."
She smiled. "When we buy _anything_ from L.L. Bean."
Brace laughed softly. He squeezed her wrist again. "Feeling better?"
"A little bit."
"Anyway," he said, "we have no reason at all to believe that your mysterious Master of Games has any intention of harming you."
"I know, I know. But if it's not something like that, why is he doing it?"
"Could I have a look at the notes?" He let go of her wrist. It was warm where he'd been holding it, and now it felt bare and cool.
Jane turned aside. Her purse stood upright on the seat cushion, close to her hip. She reached into it and pulled out both the envelopes. She passed them to Brace. He studied the outsides of the envelopes. Then he plucked out the folded sheets of paper. He removed the fifty-dollar bill and the hundred-dollar bill, and handed them to Jane. "Why don't you go ahead and put these in your wallet?"
"Should I?"
"They're yours."
"Guess so."
While she searched her purse, found her wallet and slipped the money into its bill compartment, Brace unfolded the two notes and held them side by side.
Jane dropped the wallet back into her purse. "So, what do you think?'
"Same paper, same handwriting, same _mind_ behind the notes. On the surface, it all seems fairly straightforward. He calls himself Master of Games, and these notes are basically instructions to the player."
"Me."
"You. In the first note, he invites you to play the game with him. The fifty dollars is the hook, of course. With money like that coming to you out of the blue, you can't help but be intrigued. He's hoping it'll be enough to tempt you into giving his game a try. Your instruction is to 'look homeward, angel.' The clue is fairly ambiguous, but not at all difficult. He wanted to make things easy for you, I think. He wasn't trying to confuse you, just get you to play along."
Jane nodded. She liked Brace's interpretation of the note. It agreed with her own view of it.
"To encourage your participation, he writes 'You'll be glad you did.' That's a hint that there's more money waiting for you up ahead. The guy keeps his promises, doesn't he?"
"He came through with the money. I'm not sure how glad I am about it, though."
"Glad enough to continue playing."
"I guess so."
"Okay, the second note congratulates you. 'You've taken your first, minor step on the road to fun and riches. More is waiting.'"
"So there's a lot more money ahead."
"But to get it, you may need to take some _major_ steps."
"I can quit any time I want to, right?"
"That's sure how it looks."
She laughed softly, and without any humor. "It's crazy. Why's he doing it? And why me?"
"He doesn't say."
This time, she had humor in her laugh. "I know _that_, dingus."
"Why do _you_ think he's doing it?"
"Who knows?" she said. "He's probably just a harmless twit with nothing better to do."
"Might be."
"I guess just about anything is possible. But I'll never find out what's going on if I quit now. And I'll miss out on all those riches. You, too."
"The riches are for you," Brace said.
"I'll share." She smiled and shrugged. "I'd probably quit right now if I had to go it alone. How about this: whatever we find tonight at midnight, we'll split fifty-fifty?"
"The money doesn't matter to me."
"Really? What are you, already rich?"
"Oh, not hardly. It doesn't concern me, though."
"What does concern you?"
"You."
That one knocked most of Jane's breath out. Her face felt crimson. "What do you mean?" she asked. Her voice sounded strange to her, muted and husky.
A corner of Brace's mouth tilted upward. "I'd rather be your friend than your business associate."