JК
Bag of Bones :: Кинг Стивен
Страница: 168 из 425Mattie only stood there for a moment, as if dreaming with her eyes open, and then she felt something andlooked back at me. “Is something wrong?”
“No. Except who was this guy with his arrfi around my wife?”
She laughed a little uncertainly. “Well I doubt if he was her boyfriend, you know. He was quite a bit older. Fifty, at least.” So what? I thought. I myself was forty, but that didn’t mean I had missed the way Mattie moved inside her dress, or lifted her hair from the nape of her neck. “I mean… you’re kidding, right?”
“I don’t really know. There’s a lot of things I don’t know these days, it seems. But the lady’s dead in any case, so how can it matter?” Mattie was looking distressed. “If I put my foot in something, Mike, I’m sorry.”
“Who was the man? Do you know?” She shook her head. “I thought he was a summer person—there was that feeling about him, maybe just because he was wearing a jacket on a hot summer evening—but if he was, he wasn’t staying at Warrington’s. I knew most of them.”
“And they walked off together?”
“Yes.” Sounding reluctant. “Toward the parking lot?”
“Yes.” More reluctant still. And this time she was lying. I knew it with a queer certainty that went far beyond intuition; it was almost like mind-reading. I reached through the window and took her hand again. “You said if I could think of anything you could do to repay me, to just ask. I’m asking. Tell me the truth, Mattie.” She bit her lip, looking down at my hand lying over hers. Then she looked up at my face. “He was a burly guy. The old sportcoat made him look a little like a college professor, but he could have been a carpenter for all I know. His hair was black. He had a tan. They had a laugh together, a good one, and then she looked at me and the laugh went out of her face. After that he put an arm around her and they walked away.” She paused. “Not toward the parking lot, though. Toward The Street.”
The Street. From there they could have walked north along the edge of the lake until they came to Sara Laughs. And then? Who knew? “She never told me she came down here that summer,” I said. Mattie seemed to try several responses and find none of them to her liking. I gave her her hand back. It was time for me to go. In fact I had started to wish I’d left five minutes sooner. “Mike, I’m sure—”
“No,” I said. “You’re not.
Neither am I. But I loved her a lot and I’m going to try and let this go. It probably signifies nothing, and besides—what else can I do?
Thanks for dinner.”
“You’re welcome.
“No. Except who was this guy with his arrfi around my wife?”
She laughed a little uncertainly. “Well I doubt if he was her boyfriend, you know. He was quite a bit older. Fifty, at least.” So what? I thought. I myself was forty, but that didn’t mean I had missed the way Mattie moved inside her dress, or lifted her hair from the nape of her neck. “I mean… you’re kidding, right?”
“I don’t really know. There’s a lot of things I don’t know these days, it seems. But the lady’s dead in any case, so how can it matter?” Mattie was looking distressed. “If I put my foot in something, Mike, I’m sorry.”
“Who was the man? Do you know?” She shook her head. “I thought he was a summer person—there was that feeling about him, maybe just because he was wearing a jacket on a hot summer evening—but if he was, he wasn’t staying at Warrington’s. I knew most of them.”
“And they walked off together?”
“Yes.” Sounding reluctant. “Toward the parking lot?”
“Yes.” More reluctant still. And this time she was lying. I knew it with a queer certainty that went far beyond intuition; it was almost like mind-reading. I reached through the window and took her hand again. “You said if I could think of anything you could do to repay me, to just ask. I’m asking. Tell me the truth, Mattie.” She bit her lip, looking down at my hand lying over hers. Then she looked up at my face. “He was a burly guy. The old sportcoat made him look a little like a college professor, but he could have been a carpenter for all I know. His hair was black. He had a tan. They had a laugh together, a good one, and then she looked at me and the laugh went out of her face. After that he put an arm around her and they walked away.” She paused. “Not toward the parking lot, though. Toward The Street.”
The Street. From there they could have walked north along the edge of the lake until they came to Sara Laughs. And then? Who knew? “She never told me she came down here that summer,” I said. Mattie seemed to try several responses and find none of them to her liking. I gave her her hand back. It was time for me to go. In fact I had started to wish I’d left five minutes sooner. “Mike, I’m sure—”
“No,” I said. “You’re not.
Neither am I. But I loved her a lot and I’m going to try and let this go. It probably signifies nothing, and besides—what else can I do?
Thanks for dinner.”
“You’re welcome.