Night Freight (33 page)

The last of the flowers suddenly trembled and broke apart. The earth seemed to tremble, too, as if there were stirrings within. It was only a draft caused by the wind, she knew it could be nothing else, yet it was as if they had caused it. As if they were beseeching and mocking her, saying quite clearly: "You can't leave us, Miranda. Who will tend to us once you're gone? Who will bring flowers and keep the weeds from growing up around us?

"
We
need you, Miranda. You know that, don't you?"

She did not argue; it never did any good to argue. She sighed and got slowly to her feet. "After all," she said, "I think I will not hang myself today."

She lowered the hinged section, thinking that she must buy fresh flowers to replace the withered ones because it was autumn and there were none left in the garden. But before she called the florist, she would ring up Mrs. Boyer and tell her she would be able to babysit tonight after all.

"Stacked Deck." Copyright © 1987 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
The New Black Mask #8
.

"Angel of Mercy." Copyright © 1996 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
Diagnosis: Terminal
.

"Night Freight." Copyright © 1967 by Renown Publications, Inc. Revised version copyright © 1991 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine
.

"Liar's Dice." Copyright © 1992 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
.

"Out Behind the Shed." Copyright © 1991 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
Final Shadows
.

"Souls Burning." Copyright © 1991 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
New Crimes 3
.

"Strangers in the Fog." Copyright © 1978 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
.

"Peekaboo." Copyright © 1979 by Charles L. Grant. First published in
Nightmares
.

"Thirst." Copyright © 1973 by Mercury Press, Inc. Revised version copyright © 1988 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
.

"Wishful Thinking?" Copyright © 1999 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust. First published in
Irreconcilable Differences
.

"Ancient Evil." Copyright © 1993 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
The Ultimate Werewolf
.

"The Monster." Copyright © 1996 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
.

"His Name Was Legion." Copyright © 1978 by Renown Publications, Inc. First Published in
Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine
.

"Out of the Depths." Copyright © 1994 by Bill Pronzini.
First published in
Ellery Queen's
Mystery Magazine
.

"The Pattern." Copyright © 1971 by H. S. D. Publications, Inc. First published in
Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
.

"The Rec Field." Copyright © 1979 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
Chrysalis 6
.

"Deathwatch." Copyright © 1987 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
The Mystery Scene Reader
.

"Home." Copyright © 2000 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust.

"Tom." Copyright © 1992 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
Cat Crimes II
.

"A Taste of Paradise." Copyright © 1994 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
.

"Sweet Fever." Copyright © 1976 by Bill Pronzini. First published in
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
.

"Deathlove." Copyright © 1978 by Charles L. Grant. Revised version copyright © 2000 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust. First published in
Shadows
.

"Black Wind." Copyright © 1979 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Ellery Queen 's Mystery Magazine.

"The Coffin Trimmer." Copyright © 1993 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Touch Wood.

"Funeral Day." Copyright © 1989 by Bill Pronzini. First published in New Crimes.

"I Think I Will Not Hang Myself Today." Copyright © 2000 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust. First published in Ellery Queen s Mystery Magazine.