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"Call it a lark. Call it boredom. Call it anything you want." |
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The Caron woman stood up, both exquisite and elegant in her long, flowing velvet robe, and slowly traversed the room until she was standing by the row of candies burning on the mantle. She removed one from its holder and turned back around to face him. She held it so that the flickering flame cast a shimmering pale yellow light on the shadows concealing her features. |
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Charlie gasped. He realized that he was looking into the mutilated and haunted face of a dying Cappy Salem. |
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"Why did you do this to me, Charlie?" the young woman pleaded through her grotesquely twisted mouth. |
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"Was what I did so terrible that you had to do this to me?" she sobbed. |
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Charlie's hand flew to his face in an abortive effort to fend off the terrible sight of the young woman's agony. He recoiled because it looked as though the specter was coming toward him. Charlie turned away, choking on his own revulsion. Then, as if some dark and sinister force was compelling him to do so, he turned back to face her again. The terrible vision had vanished, and Jubell Caron was staring passively back at him. |
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