“Tell me!”
“And I got so furious. It was so unfair. You know we haven’t done anything! He was just determined to believe it. He can’t believe I just don’t want to see him anymore, that’s too hard on his damned pride. So he was just waiting for somebody to blame, and there you were. And I was so damn mad at him. It was hopeless, there was no talking to him. He was losing me because somebody else winning me, that’s the only way he could see it was. So I finally just shouted at him, ‘All right, have it your way, you big fool. Believe what you want to believe, I can’t stop you!’” She was interrupted by her own sobs.
“Marcie,” Laura said, making a huge effort to control herself. “Did you tell him that I…” She could hardly get the words out.
“… made love to you?”
“No! No, Laura!” Marcie cried.
“Did you tell him anything specific?”
“Absolutely not, I swear!”
Laura gave a sigh of relief. She began to cry again herself. After a moment she said softly, “Marcie, he’s on his way to the penthouse. He says he’s not going to let you spend another night in the same apartment with me. I’m infecting you.”
“Oh, Laura, honey. God!”
“So you’d better lock the door.”
“We don’t have a key!”
“Get one from the janitor.”
“I’m afraid of him. He’s down in the basement. It’s so dark down there and he always tries to make a pass at me.”
“I shouldn’t think that would bother you.” Laura couldn’t help the dig; it made her feel better.
“Laura, he’s nuts. He’s a meatball.”
“Well, damn it, do something!” Laura cried, exasperated. Then she forced herself to speak quietly. “All right, call the police,” she said. “Say your former husband is threatening you. Say you’re afraid of him, you think he wants to kill you. Say anything! Tell them he’s on his way over right now and you want protection.”
“Laura, I’ve never done such a thing in my life! Poor Burr! I’ve known him since I was a kid, I worshipped him.”
“You stopped worshipping him in a hurry when you had to live with him. Listen to me, there’s not much time. If you don’t want him to do something violent you’d better get some protection. I can’t fight him off for you. Unless you want to go with him tonight.”
“Go with him! That bastard! After what he did tonight? He can go to hell. Without me.”
“That’s where he’d like to see me,” Laura said. “I’d better not show up. I’ll stay down here for another hour or so. I’ll call you before I come home, to be sure the coast is clear.”
“Laura? I hate to call the police, Laur. It makes me sick.” She sounded miserable.
“Marcie, for God’s sake, you’re a taxpayer. You’re entitled to protection. Burr was in a fit when he left here.”
Marcie began to weep again. “Laura, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” she said softly over the phone.
Laura’s heart softened too. “Oh Marcie,” she moaned. “I guess it really isn’t anybody’s fault. Burr’s still in love with you. None of us realized how much. He had to be jealous of somebody, and he knew you weren’t dating anybody else. We’ve all been pretty stupid about the whole thing. I just hope to God it blows over.” All of a sudden she felt powerfully tired.
“It’s all my fault,” Marcie said. “Everything’s my fault. I’ll make it up to you, Laura, I promise.”
“Never mind, honey. Just keep out of trouble tonight. I’ll be home about ten. I’ll call you first.”
“Okay.” Marcie was still crying when she hung up.
For a long time Laura sat at her desk, staring into space. The windows were black, gold-spangled with the city night, and everything was still.
She got up, feeling weak and tired, and yet not desperate or frightened any more. Burr had no proof of anything. Marcie would deny everything. And if things went as it seemed they must, Burr would act like a crazy man and convince the police he was bent on violence. Marcie would be genuinely frightened and it would show. There ought not to be any difficulty about it. She got her things together and turned out the office light.
The hall to the elevator was bare and echoing as she walked down it. The elevator boy was silent, as if he too had been touched by the vast quiet of the night.
Laura walked out on the street. People hustled by, lights shone, cars honked. But it all seemed far away, not very real. Her senses registered only half of what they perceived.
Where shall I go? I’d better not try to go home for a while. Not till Burr leaves. Another hour, at least.
She looked at her watch: eight-thirty. She walked slowly, gazing ahead of her like a sleepwalker. I’ll go somewhere where I can sit down and read, she thought. She bought a magazine from a corner stand and sauntered on another couple of blocks until she saw the McAlton on the next corner.
She almost exclaimed aloud, as if the hotel had been sneaking up on her while she marked time on the sidewalk. She stopped in her tracks to stare at it and then looked self-consciously into a shop window. After a few minutes she moved on to the hotel.
If I just sit in a corner, as if I’m waiting for somebody, they can’t do anything. I’ll just read this thing till nine-thirty or so.
A tiny unworded excitement knotted itself around her heart and stuck there, prepared to stay for as long as Laura stayed in the lobby. She didn’t go over to the desk. She just sat down in an alcove on a leather-covered sofa next to a fat middle-aged woman. She read until nine-thirty.
Then she got up and walked halfway across the lobby to the phone booths, entered one, and dialed
