Patricia HighsmithCHAPTER ONE
The First Meeting
The train rushed along angrily. Guy was thinking about Miriam. He saw her round pink face, her cruel mouth... he started to hate her.
'Perhaps Miriam doesn't want a divorce,' Guy thought unhappily. 'But she's pregnant and it's not my child, and she must want to marry the father. Why does she want to see me, though? She can get a divorce without that. Perhaps she doesn't want a divorce, only money.'
Miriam sometimes asked him for money and he always sent it because she was good at making trouble and Guy didn't want his mother to be unhappy. In Metcalf, Guy's home town, Miriam pretended that Guy lived in New York so he could succeed as an architect before he sent for her.
Guy thought about his girlfriend Anne and how much he loved her, and about the important job he had in Florida. He felt happy. 'Soon...' Guy said to himself. 'Soon...' He started to read his book.
After he had read half a page Guy looked up and saw a young man sitting opposite him. The young man was very tall and thin, and he smiled shyly at Guy as if he did not know whether to speak or not. Guy moved in his seat and accidentally touched the young man's foot.
'Sorry,' Guy said.
'That's all right,' the man said. 'Say, where are we? Do you know?'
'Texas.'
The young man took a small bottle of whisky from his pocket and offered it to Guy with a friendly smile. He had a very large head, his face did not look stupid or intelligent, or young or old. His eyes were red and tired, but his skin was as smooth as a girl's.
'No, thanks,' Guy said.
The young man drank some of the whisky, then he asked, very politely, 'Where are you going?'
'Metcalf.' Guy wanted to read his book.
'Nice town, Metcalf,' the young man said. 'Are you going on business?'
'Er, yes.' Guy turned the page of his book.
'What business?' the young man asked, like a child.
'I'm an architect.'
'That's interesting,' he said. He put his hand forward. 'My name's Bruno, Charles Anthony Bruno.'
Guy shook his hand. 'Guy Haines,' he said.