An Evil Guest by Gene Wolfe Read Free Book Online Page B

Gideon explained.
    “Go on,” Cassie said.
    “I will.” He watched the waitress’s departing back. “Now then. I told Sharon I’d be happy to give her an interview on one condition. It was that she call me if you called her, and report what you’d said. To her credit she told me that she would not do so if she had agreed to keep your call confidential.”
    “She didn’t. I never asked her to.”
    “I’m glad to hear it. What do you think of the blueberry pancakes?”
    “They’re dotty. She called you and told you I was meeting her here for lunch. Except it’s breakfast for me.”
    “As for me,” Gideon said. “You’re correct of course. She told me you’d called and that you seemed different. Her word was
spacey
. She said you’d described me as weird and sexy.”
    “That’s better than spacey.”
    “I suppose, although I’d guess that I am both. She said you’d slept long, and that you had difficulty deciding which of your experiences had been mere dreams.”
    “I didn’t say that. Or not exactly.”
    “Newspapers are not notorious for their painstaking accuracy.”
    Sharon came in, and after a moment Gideon waved. In a whisper he added, “Follow my leads and I’ll follow yours. For your life, don’t mention those pictures or the man in them.”
    Cassie nodded almost imperceptibly as Sharon perched on the edge of a chair.
    When they had put down their menus, Sharon looked from one to the other. “It seems like you two are an item.”
    Gideon nodded. “We are.”
    Cassie said, “Get real, Sharon. Just because I meet a man for breakfast . . .”
    “Gee, it seems like only yesterday you were calling me to get a line on him. You’re a fast worker.”
    Cassie smiled.
    “That is
beautiful
! Wow! Can you smile like that for a picture?”
    “I’ll try.” Cassie smiled again.
    “Great! Put your hands under the table, both of you, like you’re holding hands.” Sharon’s purse had yielded a small camcorder. “Move your chair closer, Dr. Chase. That’s it!”
    The camcorder lit.
    “Let me move over just a trifle. Keep the smile.”
    Sharon dropped to one knee.
    Gideon raised his free hand in protest. “That’s enough, surely.”
    “One more shot . . .”
    After more footage taken from a new angle, Sharon sat again. “This is s-o-o-o great! I’ve got the lead already. Now where did you two go?”
    The waitress reappeared. “Anybody want to order?”
    When she had gone, Gideon said, “We went on a drive. I kept Miss Casey up most of the night, I’m afraid.”
    “A drive where?”
    Cassie said, “You wouldn’t know the place, Sharon, and it’s quite a ways from here anyway. It’s a sort of—of a scenic overlook.”
    “I won’t pry.” Sharon grinned.
    “But you’ll speculate.”
    “Sure I will, I can’t help it.” The grin intensified. “This is going to be so big—”
    The waitress who had just left returned. “She’s a star, isn’t she?”
    Gideon said, “Correct.”
    “I knew it! I told the other girls, and they’re taking peeks. Nobody can think of her name.”
    “Neither can I,” Gideon told the waitress firmly, “but I believe I can recall the name of the manager here. Isn’t it Ben Janas? I seem to remember that.”
    The waitress backed away.
    Cassie whispered, “I thought you didn’t lie.”
    “Of course I do.” Gideon’s tone was normal. “I’ve been mistaken for various things at various times, but never for a saint. Though I suppose they must lie, too, now and then. What I meant to say, and should have said, was that I could not think of you without feeling a trifle dizzy. You are, after all, the most desirable woman in the world. And I was, after all, holding hands with you just a moment ago.”
    “Aren’t you going to turn on that tape recorder gadget you wear?” Cassie asked Sharon.
    “She did,” Gideon said. “She turned it on as she came into the room. That’s how I knew she was Sharon. Did you drive here, by the way?”
    Cassie