"Thomas F. Monteleone - Tales of Terror and Madness" - читать интересную книгу автора (Monteleone Thomas F)

"The heart of what matter?"

"Your face and why I need you to give it to me."

Everything inside was whispering Get the hell away from this loony.
Okay, he knew my first name, no real mystery there-I was a regular and
all the staff called me by name, he probably heard the waitress talking
to me, case closed. How he knew Peter Cushing was my favorite actor was
another matter; I have no real friends with whom I would have shared
that. And as to how he was an exact double of Cushing...

I prefer my weirdness in small, bite-sized doses, preferably in movies
or books. I was still rattled by Sandy's story and in no mood for games.
Your face and why I need you to give it to me. Uh-huh. I suddenly didn't
care how he knew what he knew and why he looked as he did; it was time
to go.

I grabbed the check and started to make a clean getaway when he said:
"Please tell me you're not going to make me have to follow you."

I turned. "Is that a threat?"

"Not at all. But I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to you
and the health of your loved ones that you sit down and talk to me."

8

My chest went cold with anger. "What the fuck do you mean, the health of
my loved ones?"

He sighed, then pulled a gold pocket watch from his vest and looked at
the time. "In about ninety seconds your cell phone is going to beep. The
number displayed will be that of a pay phone in the lobby of Cedar Hill
Memorial Hospital. It will be your sister, Amy. Look up at the
television over the front counter."

I did. It showed a viewing room inside Criss Brothers Funeral Home.
Several people were gathered around a small casket. From the back, one
of them looked like Dad-why would anyone else wear that jacket? He stood
there until Mom-who I clearly recognized-came over, put her arm around
him, and pulled him away. As they stepped to the right of the casket I
saw who was lying inside and it slammed closed every window in my soul.

"She'll be calling," said Listen, "to tell you that your eight-year-old
nephew Tommy has just been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. What
she doesn't know yet is that it's been found too late. Tommy will be
dead before his birthday in October."

No one-I mean no one-else in the family but me knew about the follow-up