Face of Fear Read Online Free PDF

silk lining—a hand-sewn light blue shirt, maroon tie, black alligator shoes. And bright pink socks—with green clocks on the sides. Like cockroaches on a wedding cake.
    For two reasons, Stevenson was a perfect business partner: he had money, and he did what he was told to do. Prine had great respect for the dollar. And he did not believe that anyone lived who had the experience, the intelligence or the right to tell him what to do.
    “Were there any calls for me on the private line?” Prine asked.
    “No calls.”
    “You’re certain?”
    “Of course.”
    “You were here all the time?”
    “Watching the show on that set,” Stevenson said.
    “I was expecting a call.”
    “I’m sorry. There wasn’t one.”
    Prine scowled.
    “Terrific show,” Stevenson said.
    “Just the first thirty minutes. Following Harris, the other guests looked duller than they were. Did we get viewer calls?”
    “Over a hundred, all favorable. Do you believe he really saw the killing take place?”
    “You heard the details he gave. The color of her eyes. Her name. He convinced me.”
    “Until the next victim’s found, you don’t know that his details were accurate.”
    “They were accurate,” Prine said. He finished his bourbon and refilled his glass. He could drink a great deal of whiskey without becoming drunk. Likewise, when he ate he gorged himself, yet he had never been overweight. He was constantly on the prowl for pretty young women, and when he paid for sex he usually went to bed with two call girls. He was not simply a middle-aged man desperately trying to prove his youth. He needed those fuels—whiskey, food and women—in large doses. For most of his life he had been fighting ennui, a deep and abiding boredom with the way the world was. Pacing energetically, sipping his bourbon, he said, “A green-eyed woman named Edna.... He’s right about that. We’ll be reading it in the papers tomorrow.”
    “You can’t know —”
    “If you’d been sitting there beside him, Paul, you’d have no doubts about it.”
    “But wasn’t it odd that he had his ‘vision’ just when you about had him nailed?”
    “Nailed for what?” Prine asked.
    “Well ... for taking money. For—”
    “If he’s ever been paid more than his expenses for that kind of work, I’ve no proof of it,” Prine said.
    Perplexed, Stevenson said, “Then why did you go after him?”
    “I wanted to break him. Reduce him to a babbling, defenseless fool.” Prine smiled.
    “But if he wasn’t guilty—”
    “He’s guilty of other things.”
    “Like what?”
    “You’ll know eventually.”
    Stevenson sighed. “You enjoy humiliating them right there on television.”
    “Of course.”
    “Why?”
    “Why not?”
    “Is it the sense of power?”
    “Not at all,” Prine said. “I enjoy exposing them as fools because they are fools. Most men are fools. Politicians, clergymen, poets, philosophers, businessmen, generals and admirals. Gradually, I’m exposing the leaders in every profession. I’m going to show the ignorant masses that their leaders are as dull-witted as they are.” He swallowed some bourbon. When he spoke again, his voice was hard. “Maybe someday all those fools will go at one another’s throats and leave the world to the few of us who can appreciate it.”
    “What are you saying?”
    “I spoke English, didn’t I?”
    “You sound so—bitter.”
    “I’ve got a right to.”
    “You? After your success?”
    “Aren’t you drinking, Paul?”
    “No. Tony, I don’t understand—”
    “I think you should have a drink.”
    Stevenson knew when he was expected to change the subject. “I really don’t want a drink.”
    “Have you ever gotten blind drunk?”
    “No. I’m not much of a drinker.”
    “Ever gone to bed with two girls at once?”
    “What’s that got to do with anything?”
    “You don’t reach out for life like you should,” Prine said. “You don’t experience. You don’t get loose enough often enough.