The blaring of the television almost completely disguised the noise at first. It was impossible for the nearly sleeping old man, whose head nodded like a misshapen apple on a twisted branch, to distinguish the slamming of a door down the hall, from the sound of TV detectives shooting it out with the criminals of the week just a few feet away.
The first notice Will Raynard had of someone else being in the house came when the intruder walked into the living room and said, “Hello, Will. It’s been a long time.”
As he jumped back from the edge of sleep, Will’s hand automatically tightened around the cell phone that lie in his lap, partially hidden by the warm wool shawl that covered his frail body. He clutched the phone closer to his stomach, letting the shawl cover his hand completely.
He looked toward the sound of the voice; it was a voice he knew. Irately, he asked, “Why did you come here? How did you get in?” He knew he had locked his front door, and it was a long time since tonight’s visitor had enjoyed free access.
The gatecrasher held up a small silver object, and said, “I still have my key, Will. I’d never have used it, if you’d returned my calls. It really wasn’t nice of you to ignore me.”
Will’s body may have been frail, but there was nothing wrong with his mind. Pursing his shriveled lips, he said, “Even though you said you’d gotten rid of it, I always wondered if you were lying.”
Speculation like that would have caused a man freer with a buck than he was, to change the locks, but not Will--he was tighter than the skin on a potato.
Annoyed, but lacking fear, for he considered his unwanted guest to be harmless, he nonetheless chose to be economical with the truth, saying, “I’m expecting someone to stop by. Tell me what you want, and then get out of here.”
The trespasser recognized the lie, and felt the hot bite of anger. With an almost maniacal loathing for the old man suddenly appearing in the interloper’s familiar eyes, the words, “Money’s been tight for me lately…I think you owe me something more,” were spit into the stale air of the room.
The ailing widower felt the first fingers of fear squeeze around his heart, but he met the disquieting gaze evenly. “We settled the old score years ago,” he said. His shaky, shrill voice a far cry from the strong, forceful voice of his youth, he added, “I’ve nothing left to give you.”
The trespasser contradicted him, saying, “I think you do…and remember, Will, we share more than one secret.”