The Case of the Lady in Apartment 308 Read Online Free PDF Page B

mind being eaten by her. He smiled and licked his lips. But he was discreet.
    He wasn’t thinking of cannibalism.
    He regarded her. All he could see was that paintflecked hat and the too-big overalls that were stiff with paint splashes, streaks and smears. Did she ever wash them?
    He lifted his nose a little and tested the air. Since the fan was behind him, he moved casually to the other, downwind side. She didn’t stink. He smiled.
    Then he licked his lips and bit down on his lower lip. He was testing to see if she bathed? Think of that! Just because her clothes were paint smeared didn’t mean she didn’t wash them. She just didn’t soak them in turpentine first.
    With her clothes paint splattered that way, she appeared to be a real pro. But the clothing was too big for her.
    Now that was interesting. Was she deliberately in large clothing? Or was she wearing someone else’s clothes? Ed found the immediate response to the question was that his body would love to have her inside his clothes.
    How strange it was for him to be drawn to an indifferent woman. Why her?
    It was probably because no woman had hustled him since he’d lost his job. He was lonely. He’d dated, hewas in groups with a date, he didn’t have any trouble finding a woman willing to go out with him. But they were no longer anxious to trap him.
    Every single one asked first if he had another job…yet. It was getting to be a nuisance. And he considered that Marcia had never asked him if he was employed…
    Of course. She thought he was…by the owner of the apartment house. She thought he had the job of being a rent collector.
    He asked Marcia, “Would you like to eat over in your place? Or would you like to go down to the basement?”
    “The basement.”
    “We could eat at the table in your apartment.”
    “The basement.”
    Ed left in time to go back and set out their lunch. He’d set the table in the basement.
    Walking down the stairs, yet again, he thought: Why didn’t she find another job? Then he considered his own position. He, too, was doing something other than what he had been doing. And he wondered if Marcia had been in middle management and was another released discard.
    So they had lunch together. She came into the basement, sat down and began to eat. She hadn’t wiggled or smiled or even greeted him.
    He said, “Hello.”
    She looked up at him with some puzzlement. “We just saw each other upstairs.”
    “Are you hungry?” He smiled his killer smile.
    “It’s noon.” She discarded that as a conversation subject.
    So he asked, “Did you read about the new congressional bill this morning?”
    She didn’t bother to look at him. “I’ll see it in the evening paper.”
    Ed settled a little and smiled. “Well, they—”
    “Don’t spoil my reading about it.”
    “I just thought you might like to know.”
    “I will, tonight.”
    So they ate in silence. She blotted her lips with the paper napkin. She did that as if it was fine linen. She laid it casually beside her plate as she would a linen napkin. Then she said with courtesy, “Thank you. That was very nice.”
    With that, she got up and went off, out of the basement.
    She had used him.
    Actually, she’d been courteous and shared his lunch at his invitation. She just wasn’t interested in him.
    Ed’s view of himself slumped.
    However, two days later, he invited her again to eat with him in the basement. He had pork chops with rice, canned tomatoes and peas with the pork drippings enhanced with Worcestershire sauce, cooked onions and some water.
    His mother had made the meal. She’d given him two pork chops for his lunch, but he had shared the food with Marcia.
    She ate it with some savor. “This is clever.”
    And when she’d finished, she commented, “With an elegant name like Hollingsworth, how did your parents name you—Edgar?”
    She didn’t like his name. He said, “My friends call me Ed.”
    She spooned the lime sherbet silently.
    He said, “I’m really