d silence him as well by killing
him?

He'd forgotten to watch, and was surprised to find his feet on the
steps of the apartment building. He jerked back, and bumped into
someone.

"Sorry." The words came from behind him, automatically, and he turned
to see the slim young man stepping aside. For a second, their eyes met
squarely. A row of teeth flashed in a brief smile as the man started
around him. "Guess I was thinking. Should have watched where I was
going."

The man went on down the street, and turned in at the restaurant
entrance.

* * * * *

Hawkes lifted a foot that weighed a ton and slowly closed his mouth.
He'd been facing away from the street light--and his face might have
been hard to see. Yet....

It didn't fit. The young man must have known him!

He blanked it from his mind. He couldn't believe that it was anything
but lack of recognition. It was hard to see here, where the other was
facing the light, and he was in the shadow.

But it still meant that they were waiting, nearby.

He dashed up the stairs, expecting a rush at both landings. The normal
sounds of the apartment house went on. He listened at his door, but he
could hear nothing except the same drip he had heard before. Slowly,
he inserted the key and went in. The small bulb was still on. He crept
along, trying to move silently on floors that insisted on creaking.
The living room was as he had left it, and he caught sight of Ellen on
the bed.

He spotted a mirror over one of the dressers, and used that to study
more of the bedroom. It seemed as empty as before.

Finally, he stepped inside. There was no one there but Ellen, and she
seemed to be asleep, doubled up in a position that might have made the
unkind cords easier to stand. She moaned slightly as he untied her
gently, but didn't awaken. Her breathing was regular, and her breath
had the odd muskiness of someone who has slept for several hours.

He found a bottle of liquor on the shelf where she had put it, and
rinsed out a couple of glasses. It was good liquor--good enough to
take without mixers, as they'd have to do.

She came awake when he called her, rubbing her eyes and then her
wrists, where the cords had left a mark. But she was smiling. "Hi,
Will. I knew you'd come back. Hey, not on an empty stomach."

"You need it--and so do I," he told her. "Bottoms up!"

They were big glasses. She gasped over it, but she downed it, then
reached for t