doing?”
Alex turned around and joined in the conversation and, after a while, the fun. When she next turned back to the window, she was surprised to see people on the sixth floor observation deck of the tower. They were directly in her line of vision. Two figures, moving about. Dancing? Maybe they’d taken a tape player up there and were dancing under the stars. How romantic. Cold, even without the wind, but romantic.
She couldn’t see who the couple was. Too far away, and the lights on the deck weren’t that bright. They wouldn’t be looking at the stars. If they were going to do that, they’d have gone higher up, maybe even to the eighteenth floor, where the bigger telescope was…the one that had saved her life.
One of the figures moved away from the other, waving its arms. It didn’t seem that they were dancing anymore.
Alex peered through the glass, ignoring the laughter and loud conversation behind her. There was something about the taller of the two figures…something familiar. The height? The build? The way it moved around the deck? Something….
Suddenly the shorter figure began to back away, slowly at first, his or her head turning from side to side as if looking for something. Then he began running from one side of the stone wall to the other, while the taller one remained in place with his back to the door leading from the tower.
Blocking it, Alex thought all of a sudden. The door is being blocked so the shorter one can’t get to it.
Why?
It looks like the shorter person is trying to run away, Alex thought, and realized instantly that that was exactly what was happening. The figure dashing frantically about on the observation deck was running from the taller one, who was blocking the only escape route.
But there’s nowhere to go, she thought next, leaning closer against the window. Her forehead gently bumped the glass. It felt cool, refreshing in such a hot, stuffy room. Why does he need to get away? The other person isn’t doing a thing…just standing there. Nothing scary about that.
So why was the other person running frantically around on the observation deck like a rat caught in a maze?
The taller figure began to move…slowly…toward the shorter one, who was rapidly backing up against the waist-high wall. When his back had collided with the stone and he could no longer move, his hands moved up and out, in a defensive posture. As if he knew a fight was coming.
Alex stood up straighter. What was going on? They definitely weren’t dancing, and they weren’t being romantic…were they just fooling around?
Alex didn’t know what to do. Call security? What if it was just two people horsing around? She’d feel like an idiot. And the two people, whoever they were, not to mention the security guard, would think she had nothing better to do than stand at a window and spy on other people.
But what if they weren’t just horsing around?
The shorter person now stood with his back against the stone wall, hands raised, as the taller person approached. There was something very odd about the figure, something Alex couldn’t place…what was it?
He looks like he’s laughing, Alex thought, and felt an enormous sense of relief. If he was laughing, there couldn’t really be anything wrong, could there? She’d been right not to race to the phone and call security. They were playing.
And then, with Alex still watching, the approaching figure reached the wall. His arms reached out, made contact, and, for a moment, seemed to be toying with the other person’s shirt.
Alex heard Jill calling to her and she flushed in embarrassment. She felt like a Peeping Tom.
And then, just as she was about to turn away from the window in disgust with herself, the taller figure lifted the other one and threw him up and over the side of the observation deck.
Chapter 9
A LEX SCREAMED. THE SOUND went unheard in a room raucous with music and laughter.
The figure that had been thrown off the deck arched up, up,
Alex turned around and joined in the conversation and, after a while, the fun. When she next turned back to the window, she was surprised to see people on the sixth floor observation deck of the tower. They were directly in her line of vision. Two figures, moving about. Dancing? Maybe they’d taken a tape player up there and were dancing under the stars. How romantic. Cold, even without the wind, but romantic.
She couldn’t see who the couple was. Too far away, and the lights on the deck weren’t that bright. They wouldn’t be looking at the stars. If they were going to do that, they’d have gone higher up, maybe even to the eighteenth floor, where the bigger telescope was…the one that had saved her life.
One of the figures moved away from the other, waving its arms. It didn’t seem that they were dancing anymore.
Alex peered through the glass, ignoring the laughter and loud conversation behind her. There was something about the taller of the two figures…something familiar. The height? The build? The way it moved around the deck? Something….
Suddenly the shorter figure began to back away, slowly at first, his or her head turning from side to side as if looking for something. Then he began running from one side of the stone wall to the other, while the taller one remained in place with his back to the door leading from the tower.
Blocking it, Alex thought all of a sudden. The door is being blocked so the shorter one can’t get to it.
Why?
It looks like the shorter person is trying to run away, Alex thought, and realized instantly that that was exactly what was happening. The figure dashing frantically about on the observation deck was running from the taller one, who was blocking the only escape route.
But there’s nowhere to go, she thought next, leaning closer against the window. Her forehead gently bumped the glass. It felt cool, refreshing in such a hot, stuffy room. Why does he need to get away? The other person isn’t doing a thing…just standing there. Nothing scary about that.
So why was the other person running frantically around on the observation deck like a rat caught in a maze?
The taller figure began to move…slowly…toward the shorter one, who was rapidly backing up against the waist-high wall. When his back had collided with the stone and he could no longer move, his hands moved up and out, in a defensive posture. As if he knew a fight was coming.
Alex stood up straighter. What was going on? They definitely weren’t dancing, and they weren’t being romantic…were they just fooling around?
Alex didn’t know what to do. Call security? What if it was just two people horsing around? She’d feel like an idiot. And the two people, whoever they were, not to mention the security guard, would think she had nothing better to do than stand at a window and spy on other people.
But what if they weren’t just horsing around?
The shorter person now stood with his back against the stone wall, hands raised, as the taller person approached. There was something very odd about the figure, something Alex couldn’t place…what was it?
He looks like he’s laughing, Alex thought, and felt an enormous sense of relief. If he was laughing, there couldn’t really be anything wrong, could there? She’d been right not to race to the phone and call security. They were playing.
And then, with Alex still watching, the approaching figure reached the wall. His arms reached out, made contact, and, for a moment, seemed to be toying with the other person’s shirt.
Alex heard Jill calling to her and she flushed in embarrassment. She felt like a Peeping Tom.
And then, just as she was about to turn away from the window in disgust with herself, the taller figure lifted the other one and threw him up and over the side of the observation deck.
Chapter 9
A LEX SCREAMED. THE SOUND went unheard in a room raucous with music and laughter.
The figure that had been thrown off the deck arched up, up,
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