Are You Afraid Of The Dark Part 23

'Oh, all right. I'll call you tomorrow.'

He called the next day. 'Kelly, if I've offended you in any way- And Kelly had to steel herself to say, 'I'm sorry, Mark. I've- I've fallen in love with someone.' She waited. The long silence was unbearable.

'Oh.' Mark's voice was shaky. 'I understand. I-I should have realized that we- Con- congratulations. I really hope you'll be happy, Kelly. Please say good-bye to Angel for me.'

Mark hung up. Kelly stood there, holding the dead phone in her hand, feeling miserable. He'll forget me soon, Kelly thought, and find someone who can give him the happiness he deserves.

Kelly worked every day, smiling her way across runways and hearing the applause of the crowds, but inside she was saddened. Life was not the same without her friend. She was constantly tempted to call him, but she resisted. I can't. I've hurt him enough.

Several weeks went by, and Kelly did not hear from Mark. He's out of my life. He's probably found someone else by now. I'm glad. And she tried to mean it.

On a sat.u.r.day afternoon, Kelly was working a fas.h.i.+on show in an elegant room crowded with the elite of Paris. She walked out onto the runway, and as soon as she appeared, there was the usual acclaim. Kelly was following a model wearing an afternoon suit and carrying a pair of gloves. One of the gloves slipped out of her hand and dropped onto the runway. When Kelly saw it, it was too late. She tripped on it and plummeted to the floor, falling on her face. There was a gasp from the audience. Kelly lay there, humiliated. Steeling herself not to cry, she took a deep, shuddering breath, raised herself up, and fled from the catwalk.

When Kelly reached the dressing room, the wardrobe mistress said, 'I have the evening gown ready for you. You had better-'

Kelly was sobbing. 'No. I-I can't go out there in front of those people. They'll laugh at me.' She was becoming hysterical. 'I'm through. I'm never going to go out there again. Never!'

'Of course you are.'

Kelly spun around. Mark was standing in the doorway. 'Mark! What-what are you doing here?'

'Oh, I-I've kind of been hanging around lately.'

'You-you saw-what happened out there?'

Mark smiled. 'It was wonderful. I'm glad it happened.'

Kelly was staring at him. 'Wh-what?'

He stepped close to her and took out a handkerchief to dry her tears. 'Kelly, before you walked out there, the audience thought you were just a beautiful, untouchable dream, a fantasy, out of reach. When you tripped and fell, it showed them that you're human, and they adored you for it. Now you Go back out there and make them happy.'

She looked into Mark's compa.s.sionate eyes, and that was the moment Kelly realized she was in love with him.

The wardrobe woman was putting the evening gown back on a clothes rack.

'Give me that,' Kelly said. She looked at Mark and smiled through her tears.

Five minutes later, when Kelly confidently walked out on the runway, there was a wave of thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the audience. Kelly stood there facing them, overwhelmed by emotion.

It was so wonderful to have Mark in her life again. She remembered how nervous she had been in the beginning. ...

Kelly had been tense, waiting for Mark to make a pa.s.s at her, but he was always the perfect gentleman. His shyness made her feel more confident. It was Kelly who began most of the conversations, and no matter what the subject was, she found that Mark was knowledgeable and amusing.

One evening, Kelly said, 'Mark, there's a great symphony orchestra opening tomorrow night. Do you like cla.s.sical music?'

He nodded. 'I grew up with it.'

'Good. We'll go.'

The concert was brilliant, and the audience enthusiastic.

On the way back to Kelly's apartment, Mark said, 'Kelly, I-I lied to you.'

I should have known, Kelly thought. He's just like the rest of them. It's over. She steeled herself for his answer. 'Did you?'

'Yes. I-I don't really like cla.s.sical music.'

Kelly bit her lip to keep from bursting out laughing.

On their next date, Kelly said, 'I want to thank you for Angel. She's great company.' And so are you, Kelly thought. Mark had the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen, and an endearing, crooked, little smile. She enjoyed his company tremendously and . . .

The water was getting cold. Kelly turned off the shower, towelled herself off, put on the hotel's terry cloth robe, and went into the bedroom.

'It's all yours.'

'Thanks.'

Diane got up and stepped into the bathroom. It looked like a storm had struck. Water had spilled onto the floor, and towels were strewn all over the floor.

Angrily, Diane walked back into the bedroom. 'The bathroom is a mess. Are you used to having people pick up after you?'

Kelly smiled sweetly. 'Yes, Mrs. Stevens. As a matter of fact, I grew up with a lot of maids taking care of me.'

'Well, I'm not one of them.'

You wouldn't be qualified for the job, thought Kelly angrily.

Diane took a deep breath. 'I think it would be better if we-'

'There's no 'we,' Mrs. Stevens. There's you and there's me.'

They stared at each other for a long moment. Then, without another word, Diane turned and went back into the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, when she emerged, Kelly was in bed. Diane reached for the switch to turn off the overhead light.

'No, don't touch that!' It was a scream.

Diane looked at Kelly, startled. 'What?'

'Leave the lights on.'

Diane asked scornfully, 'Are you afraid of the dark?'

'Yes. I'm-I'm afraid of the dark.'

Diane said patronizingly, 'Why? Did your parents tell you scary bogeyman stories when you were a little girl?'

There was a long silence. 'That's it.'

Diane went to her own bed. She lay there for a minute, then closed her eyes.

Richard, darling, I never believed that someone could die of a broken heart. I believe it now. I need you so much. I need you to guide me. I need your warmth and your love. You're here somewhere, I know you are. I can feel you. You 're a gift that G.o.d loaned me, but not for long enough. Good night, my guardian angel. Please don't ever leave me. Please.

In her bed, Kelly could hear Diane quietly sobbing. Kelly's lips tightened. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. And tears began to roll down her cheeks.

CHAPTER 27.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 singsdelicious 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 cas.h.i.+er's desk. The cas.h.i.+er 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, Kelly thought. '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, pus.h.i.+ng 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.