kid was just jilted by her boyfriend and thinks the world is coming to an end. Or just discovered she was pregnant and decided she couldnt face her folks with the news. There must be hundreds of reasons, and Im sure youve heard most of them in your line of work.
What he said was true, but it didnt make Carol feel better.
If only Id been driving slower, she thought. If only Id been quicker to react, maybe that poor girl wouldnt be in the hospital now.
She might have been on drugs, too, Weatherby said. Too damned many kids fool around with dope these days. I swear, some of they'll swallow any pill theyre given. If it isnt something that can be swallowed, theyll sniff it or stick it in a vein. This kid you hit might have been so high she didnt even know where she was when she stepped in front of your car. Now, if thats the case, are you going to tell me its still somehow your fault?
Carol leaned back in the seat, closed her eyes, and let her breath out with a shudder. God, I dont know what to tell you. All I know is I feel wrung out.
Thats perfectly natural, after what youve just been through. But it isnt natural to feel guilty about this. It wasnt your fault, so dont dwell on it. Put it behind you and get on with your life.
She opened her eyes, looked at him, and smiled. You know, Officer Weatherby, I have a hunch youd make a pretty good psychotherapist.
He grinned. Or a terrific bartender.
Carol laughed.
Feeling better? he asked.
A little bit.
Promise me you wont lose any sleep over this.
Ill try not to, she said. But Im still concerned about the girl. Do you know which hospital theyve taken her to?
I can find out, he said.
Would you do that for me? Id like to go talk to the doctor whos handling her case. If he tells me shes going to be all right, Ill find it a whole lot easier to take your advice about getting on with my life.
Weatherby picked up the microphone and asked the police dispatcher to find out where the injured girl had been taken.
The television antenna!
Standing in the attic, staring up at the roof above his head, Paul laughed out loud when he realized what was causing the pounding noise. The sound wasnt coming out of the empty air in front of his face, which was what he had thought for one unsettling moment. It was coming from the roof, where the television antenna was anchored. They had subscribed to cable TV a year ago, but they hadnt removed the old antenna. It was a large, directional, remote-control model affixed to a heavy brace-plate; the plate was bolted through the shingles and attached directly to a roof beam. Apparently, a nut or some other fastener had loosened slightly, and the wind was tugging at the antenna, rocking the brace-plate up and down on one of its bolts, slamming it repeatedly against the roof. The solution to the big mystery was amusingly mundane.
Or was it?
Thunk thunk thunk
The sound was softer now than ever before, barely audible above the roar of the rain on the roof, and it was easy to believe that the antenna could be the cause of it. Gradually, however, as Paul considered this answer to the puzzle, he began to doubt if it was the correct answer. He thought about how loud and violent the pounding had been a few minutes ago when he had been in the kitchen: the entire house quivering, the oven door falling open, bottles rattling in the spice rack. Could a loose antenna really generate so much noise and vibration?
Thunk thunk
As he stared up at the ceiling, he tried to make himself believe unequivocally in the antenna theory. If it was striking a roof beam in precisely the right way, at a very special angle, so that the impact was transmitted through the entire frame of the house, perhaps a loose antenna could cause the pots and pans to clatter against one another in the kitchen and could make it seem as if the ceilings were about to
What he said was true, but it didnt make Carol feel better.
If only Id been driving slower, she thought. If only Id been quicker to react, maybe that poor girl wouldnt be in the hospital now.
She might have been on drugs, too, Weatherby said. Too damned many kids fool around with dope these days. I swear, some of they'll swallow any pill theyre given. If it isnt something that can be swallowed, theyll sniff it or stick it in a vein. This kid you hit might have been so high she didnt even know where she was when she stepped in front of your car. Now, if thats the case, are you going to tell me its still somehow your fault?
Carol leaned back in the seat, closed her eyes, and let her breath out with a shudder. God, I dont know what to tell you. All I know is I feel wrung out.
Thats perfectly natural, after what youve just been through. But it isnt natural to feel guilty about this. It wasnt your fault, so dont dwell on it. Put it behind you and get on with your life.
She opened her eyes, looked at him, and smiled. You know, Officer Weatherby, I have a hunch youd make a pretty good psychotherapist.
He grinned. Or a terrific bartender.
Carol laughed.
Feeling better? he asked.
A little bit.
Promise me you wont lose any sleep over this.
Ill try not to, she said. But Im still concerned about the girl. Do you know which hospital theyve taken her to?
I can find out, he said.
Would you do that for me? Id like to go talk to the doctor whos handling her case. If he tells me shes going to be all right, Ill find it a whole lot easier to take your advice about getting on with my life.
Weatherby picked up the microphone and asked the police dispatcher to find out where the injured girl had been taken.
The television antenna!
Standing in the attic, staring up at the roof above his head, Paul laughed out loud when he realized what was causing the pounding noise. The sound wasnt coming out of the empty air in front of his face, which was what he had thought for one unsettling moment. It was coming from the roof, where the television antenna was anchored. They had subscribed to cable TV a year ago, but they hadnt removed the old antenna. It was a large, directional, remote-control model affixed to a heavy brace-plate; the plate was bolted through the shingles and attached directly to a roof beam. Apparently, a nut or some other fastener had loosened slightly, and the wind was tugging at the antenna, rocking the brace-plate up and down on one of its bolts, slamming it repeatedly against the roof. The solution to the big mystery was amusingly mundane.
Or was it?
Thunk thunk thunk
The sound was softer now than ever before, barely audible above the roar of the rain on the roof, and it was easy to believe that the antenna could be the cause of it. Gradually, however, as Paul considered this answer to the puzzle, he began to doubt if it was the correct answer. He thought about how loud and violent the pounding had been a few minutes ago when he had been in the kitchen: the entire house quivering, the oven door falling open, bottles rattling in the spice rack. Could a loose antenna really generate so much noise and vibration?
Thunk thunk
As he stared up at the ceiling, he tried to make himself believe unequivocally in the antenna theory. If it was striking a roof beam in precisely the right way, at a very special angle, so that the impact was transmitted through the entire frame of the house, perhaps a loose antenna could cause the pots and pans to clatter against one another in the kitchen and could make it seem as if the ceilings were about to
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