Are You Afraid of the Dark?

WHEN DIANE AWAKENED in the morning, Kelly was sitting in a chair, facing a wall.



"Morning," Diane said. "Did you get some sleep?" There was no response.



"We have to figure out what our next move is. We can't stay here forever." No response.



Exasperated, Diane said loudly, "Kelly, can you hear me?" Kelly spun around in her chair. "Do you mind? I'm in the middle of a mantra." "Oh, sorry. I didn't-" "Forget it." Kelly rose. "Did anyone ever tell you you snore?" Diane felt a small shock. She could hear Richard's voice saying, on the first night they had slept together, Darling, did you know you snore? Let me put it another way. It's not really a snore. Your nose sings delicious little melodies through the night like the music of angels. And he had taken her in his arms and"Well, you do," Kelly said. She walked over to the television set and turned it on. "Let's see what's happening in the world." She began to channel surf and suddenly stopped. A news show was on the air, and the host was Ben Roberts. "It's Ben!" Kelly exclaimed.



"Who's Ben?" Diane asked indifferently.



"Ben Roberts. He does the news and interview shows. He's the only interviewer I really enjoy. He and Mark became great friends. One day-" She suddenly stopped.



Ben Roberts was saying:



"?and in a bulletin just in, Anthony Altieri, the purported Mafia head who was recently acquitted in his murder trial, died this morning, of cancer. He was.." Kelly turned to Diane. "Did you hear that? Altieri's dead." Diane felt nothing. It was news from another world, another time.



Diane looked at Kelly and said, "I think it would be better if you and I split up. The two of us together are too easy to spot." "Right," Kelly said dryly. "We're the same height." "I meant-" "I know what you meant. But I could put on whiteface and-" Diane was looking at her, puzzled.



"What?" "Just kidding," Kelly said. "Splitting up is a great idea. It's almost a plan, isn't it?" "Kelly-" "It's certainly been interesting knowing you, Mrs. Stevens." Diane said curtly,



"Let's check out of here."



* * *



THE LOBBY was crowded with a convention of women checking in and half a dozen guests checking out. Kelly and Diane waited in line.



Out on the street, looking into the lobby, Harry Flint saw them and moved out of sight. He picked up his cellular phone. "They just came down to the lobby." "Good. Did Carballo get there, Mr. Flint?" "Yes." "Do exactly as I told you. Cover the entrance to the hotel from both corners, so that no matter which way they go, they're trapped. I want them to disappear without a trace."



* * *



KELLY AND DIANE had finally reached the cashier's desk. The cashier smiled. "I hope you've had a pleasant stay here." "Very pleasant, thank you," Diane said. We're still alive.



* * *



AS THEY WALKED to the lobby door, Kelly asked, "Do you know where you're going now, Mrs. Stevens?" "No. I just want to get away from Manhattan. What about you?" I just want to get away from you. "Back to Paris." The two of them stepped outside and carefully looked around. There was the usual pedestrian traffic and everything seemed normal.



"Good-bye, Mrs. Stevens," Kelly said, a note of relief in her voice.



"Good-bye, Kelly." Kelly turned to the left and started walking toward the corner. Diane looked after her a moment, then turned to the right and began walking in the other direction. They had taken no more than half a dozen steps when Harry Flint and Vince Carballo suddenly appeared at opposite ends of the block. The expression on Carballo's face was vicious. Flint's lips were turned up in a half-smile.



The two men began closing in on the women, pushing their way through the pedestrians. Diane and Kelly turned to look at each other, panicky. They had been ambushed. They both hurried back toward the entrance of the hotel, but the doorway was so crowded that there was no way for them to get back inside. There was nowhere to go. The two men were getting closer.



Kelly turned to Diane, and as she watched, stunned, Diane smiled and waved cheerily at Flint and then at Carballo.



"Have you gone crazy?" Kelly whispered.



Diane, still smiling, took out her cell phone and spoke into it rapidly. "We're in front of the hotel now?Oh, good. You're around the corner?" She grinned and gave a victory sign to Kelly.



"They'll be here in a minute," she said loudly. She looked at Flint and Carballo and said into the phone, "No, there are only two of them." Diane listened and then laughed. "Right?They're here? Okay." As Kelly and the two men looked on, Diane stepped off the curb into the street, scanning the oncoming cars. Diane started signaling to an approaching car in the distance and excitedly waved it over. Flint and Carballo had stopped, puzzled by what was happening.



Diane pointed to the two men. "Over here," she shouted into the oncoming traffic, waving wildly.



"Over here." Flint and Carballo looked at each other and made a quick decision. They turned back to where they had come from and disappeared around the corners.



Kelly was staring at Diane, her heart pounding wildly. "They're gone," she said.



"Who-who were you talking to?" Diane took a deep breath to steady herself. "Nobody. My battery is dead."