Small Felonies - Fifty Mystery Short Stories by Bill Pronzini Read Free Book Online Page A

receiver.
    "Hello?"
    At first there was silence. Carmody frowned and opened his mouth to say hello again. And that was when the ticking started.
    . . . tick . . . tick . . . tick . . .
    He said, "Who is this? What's the idea?" But there was only the steady rhythm of what sounded like a clock.
    . . . tick . . . tick . . . tick . . .
    A chill moved along Carmody's neck. He dropped the receiver into its cradle, stood moistening his lips. One of those crank calls everybody gets now and then? He didn't think so, not after what had happened in Barstow yesterday with Russ Halpern.
    A clock ticking. Well, you didn't have to be any brighter than Halpern to figure out the connection. Halpern had it in his head that Carmody was responsible for Angela's death, that he had used an alarm-clock timing device to trigger a bomb; so . . . tick, tick, tick . But what was he trying to prove? Trying to scare Carmody into an admission of guilt? No, that didn't make sense. Putting the finger of guilt on him, then, telling him he knew what had happened? But he'd already done that in Barstow, in front of witnesses . . .
    Forget it , Carmody decided. Let Halpern play his foolish games . If he made any direct threats, he would find himself in a hell of a lot of trouble, grieving brother or not.
    Carmody went into the kitchen to see if the coffee was ready.
     
    T he second call came at ten-forty.
    Carmody was in the den, going through his and Angela's papers and drinking his second cup of coffee. The hair prickled on his neck when he heard the bell; then he shrugged and moved over to the phone on the desk.
    "Yes?"
    . . . tick . . . tick . . . tick . . .
    The sound of the clock was louder than it had been before. The muscles in Carmody's neck tightened; his lips pulled into a thin line. He listened to the ticking, trying to make out the sound of breathing behind it, but there was nothing else to hear. At length he said, "All right, Halpern, I know it's you. What do you think this nonsense is going to get you?"
    . . . tick . . . tick . . . tick . . .
    Carmody hung up.
     
    T he third call came at eleven-fifteen.
    He had gone into the garage, gotten several cardboard boxes, and begun to pack away some of Angela's things—clothes, cosmetics, other personal items. He was taking down the hatboxes from the shelf in her closet when the telephone began its jangling summons.
    Startled, he lost his grip on one of the boxes and the others came tumbling down all around him. The phone kept on ringing; the bell seemed unnaturally loud in the stillness of the big house. Carmody kicked one of the hatboxes out of his way, stalked to the nightstand and caught up the receiver on the bedroom extension. Put it to his ear without speaking into the mouthpiece.
    . . . tick . . . tick . . . tick . . .
    "All right, Halpern, that's it," he said angrily, "that's all I'm going to take. If you call again I'll report you to the police. This is a trying enough time for me without having to put up with you and your psychotic tricks. Have a little respect for your sister's memory!"
    . . . tick . . . tick . . . tick . . .
    Carmody slammed the receiver down.
    When he looked at his hand he saw that it was trembling slightly. He shouldn't let this upset him, but there was something unnerving about the calls and that damned ticking. Well, Halpern had better heed his last warning. Carmody would report him to the police if he kept it up.
    He went to where the hatboxes lay strewn across the carpet and began to gather them up.
     
    T he fourth call came just before noon.
    The shrillness of the bell brought Carmody out of the recliner in a convulsive jump. He had been too nervous to continue with the packing, had made himself a drink and sat down here in the den to try to relax. He listened to the phone ringing, ringing. Why the hell hadn't he taken it off the hook? But then if he had, Halpern would only have called back later. And if he didn't answer it now, Halpern would just keep the line open