Are You Afraid Of The Dark   ::   Sheldon Sidney

"What is not understandable is that when the police responded to your 911 call, they went into the cabin, and not only was no one there, Mrs. Stevens, but they could find no sign that anyone had been there, let alone been murdered there." "I can't help that. I-" "You're an artist, aren't you?" She was taken aback by the question. "Yes, I-" "Are you successful?" "I suppose so, but what does-?" It was time to yank the hook.

"A little extra publicity never hurts, does it? The whole country watches you on the nightly news report on television, and on the front pages of-" Diane looked at him, furious. "I didn't do this for publicity. I would never send an innocent man to-" "The key word is innocent, Mrs. Stevens. And I will prove to you and the ladies and gentlemen of the jury that Mr. Altieri is innocent. Thank you. You're finished." Diane Stevens ignored the double entendre. When she stepped down to return to her seat, she was seething. She whispered to the prosecuting attorney, "Am I free to go?" "Yes. I'll send someone with you." "That won't be necessary. Thank you." She headed for the door and walked out to the parking garage, the words of the defense attorney ringing in her ears.

You're an artist, aren't you?… A little extra publicity never hurts, does it? It was degrading. Still, all in all, she was satisfied with the way her testimony had gone. She had told the jury exactly what she had seen, and they had no reason to doubt her. Anthony Altieri was going to be convicted and sent to prison for the rest of his life. Yet Diane could not help thinking of the venomous looks he had given her, and she felt a little shiver.

She handed the parking attendant her ticket and he went to get her car.

Two minutes later, Diane was driving onto the street, heading north, on her way home.

* * *



THERE WAS A stop sign at the corner. As Diane braked to a halt, a well-dressed young man standing at the curb approached the car. "Excuse me. I'm lost. Could you-?" Diane lowered her window.

"Could you tell me how to get to the Holland Tunnel?" He spoke with an Italian accent.

"Yes. It's very simple. Go down to the first-" The man raised his arm, and there was a gun with a silencer in his hand. "Out of the car, lady. Fast!" Diane turned pale. "All right. Please don't-" As she started to open the door, the man stepped back, and Diane slammed her foot down on the accelerator and the car sped away. She heard the rear window smash as a bullet went through it, and then a crack as another bullet hit the back of the car.

Her heart was pounding so hard that it was difficult to breathe.

Diane Stevens had read about carjackings, but they had always been remote, something that happened to other people. And the man had tried to kill her. Did carjackers do that?

Diane reached for her cell phone and dialed 911. It took almost two minutes before an operator answered.

"Nine one one. What is your emergency?" Even as Diane was explaining what had happened, she knew it was hopeless. The man would be long gone by now.

"I'll send an officer to the location. May I have your name, address, and phone number?" Diane gave them to her. Useless, she thought. She glanced back at the shattered window and shuddered. She desperately wanted to call Richard at work and tell him what had happened, but she knew he was working on an urgent project. If she called him and told him what had just occurred, he would get upset and rush to her side-and she did not want him to miss his deadline. She would tell him what happened when he got back to the apartment.

Suddenly a chilling thought occurred to her. Had the man been waiting for her, or was this just a coincidence? She remembered the conversation she had had with Richard when the trial began:

I don't think you should testify, Diane. It could be dangerous.

Don't worry, darling. Altieri will be convicted. They'll lock him away forever.

But he has friends andRichard, if I didn't do this, I couldn't live with myself.

What just happened had to be a coincidence, Diane decided. Altieri wouldn 't be crazy enough to do anything to me, especially now, during his trial.

Diane turned off the highway and drove west until she reached her apartment building on East Seventy-fifth Street. Before she pulled into the underground garage, she took a last careful look in the rearview mirror. Everything seemed normal.

* * *



THE APARTMENT WAS an airy, ground-floor duplex, with a spacious living room, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a large, marble fireplace. There were upholstered floral sofas, armchairs, a built-in bookcase, and a large television screen. The walls were rainbowed with colorful paintings. There was a Childe Hassam, a Jules Pascin, a Thomas Birch, a George Hitchcock, and, in one area, a group of Diane's paintings.

On the next floor were a master bedroom and bathroom, a second guest bedroom, and a sunny atelier, where Diane painted. Several of her paintings were hanging on the walls. On an easel in the center of the room was a half-finished portrait.

The first thing Diane did when she arrived home was to hurry into the atelier.

She removed the half-finished portrait on the easel and replaced it with a blank canvas. She began to sketch the face of the man who had tried to kill her, but her hands were trembling so hard that she had to stop.

* * *



DRIVING TO DIANE STEVEN'S apartment, Detective Earl Greenburg complained, "This is the part of the job I hate most." Robert Praegitzer said, "It's better that we tell them than have them hear about it on the evening news." He looked at Greenburg. "You going to tell her?" Earl Greenburg nodded unhappily. He found himself remembering the story of the detective who had gone to inform a Mrs. Adams, the wife of a patrolman, that her husband had been killed.

She's very sensitive, the chief had cautioned the detective. You'll have to break the news carefully.

Don't worry. I can handle it.

The detective had knocked on the door of the Adams home, and when it was opened by Adams's wife, the" detective had asked, Are you the widow Adams?

* * *



DIANE WAS STARTLED by the sound of the doorbell. She went to the intercom. "Who is it?" "Detective Earl Greenburg. I'd like to speak to you, Mrs. Stevens." It's about the carjacking, Diane thought. The police got here fast.

She pressed the buzzer and Greenburg entered the hallway and walked to her door.

"Hello."

"Mrs. Stevens?" "Yes. Thank you for coming so quickly. I started to draw a sketch of the man, but I…" She took a deep breath. "He was swarthy, with deep-set light brown eyes and a little mole on his cheek.