John Katzenbach - The Wrong Man

“What I am capable of, what you are capable of-those are real questions, are they not, Mrs. Frazier?”

Catherine drew a deep breath and squinted as if taking aim. O’Connell moved about the room, continuing to familiarize himself with the layout, apparently unconcerned.

“Intriguing questions, Mr. O’Connell. But now it is time for you to leave. While you are still alive. Leave and never return. And mainly, leave Ashley alone.”

O’Connell wore a smile, but Catherine could see his eyes moving about the room. She could see that behind his grin there was something far blacker, far more turbulent, than she had ever imagined.

When he spoke, his voice was low. “She’s close, isn’t she? I can tell. She’s very close.”

Catherine didn’t speak.

“I don’t think you understand something, Mrs. Frazier.”

“What is that?”

“I love Ashley. She and I are meant to be together.”

“You are mistaken, Mr. O’Connell.”

“We are a pair. A set. A matched set, Mrs. Frazier.”

“I don’t think so, Mr. O’Connell.”

“I will do whatever it takes, Mrs. Frazier.”

“I believe you will. Others might say the same.”

This was the bravest thing she could muster, right at that moment.

He paused, eyeing her. She imagined that he was strong, muscled, and athletic-quick. He would be as fast as Hope, she thought, and probably far stronger. There was little between them that might slow him down, if he made a move for her. She was seated, vulnerable, only the ancient shotgun in her arms preventing him from whatever he was going to do. She suddenly felt desperately old, as if her eyesight were fading, her hearing diminished, her reactions dulled. It seemed to her that he had all the advantages, save one. And she had no idea whether he had a weapon with him, beneath his jacket, in his pocket. Gun? Knife? She breathed in hard.

“I don’t think you understand, Mrs. Frazier. I will always love Ashley. And the idea that you or her parents or anyone can keep me from her side is really pretty laughable.”

“Well, not this night. Not in my house. Tonight, you’re going to turn around and walk out. Or else you’re going to get carried out minus your head, thanks to my shotgun here.”

He paused again, still smiling. “An old bird gun. It fires small-caliber shot that’s barely more painful than a BB.”

“You’d like to test that?”

“No,” he said slowly. “I don’t think I would.”

She was quiet while O’Connell seemed to think hard about something.

“Tell me something, Mrs. Frazier, while we’re having this friendly conversation, why is it that you think I’m not right for Ashley? Am I not handsome enough? Smart enough? Good enough? Why is it that I shouldn’t be allowed to love her? What do you really know about me? Who do you think might love her more than I do? Isn’t it possible that I might be the best thing that ever happened to her?”

“I doubt it, Mr. O’Connell.”

“Don’t you believe in love at first sight, Mrs. Frazier? Why is one sort of love acceptable, but another all wrong?”

This hit a nerve within her, but she kept her mouth closed.

O’Connell paused, then stiffened.

“Ashley!” O’Connell shouted. “Ashley! I know you can hear me! I love you! I will always love you! I will always be there for you!”

His words echoed through the house.

O’Connell turned back to Catherine. “Did you call the police, Mrs. Frazier?”

She didn’t reply.

“I think you did,” he said quietly. “But what law have I broken here tonight? I can tell you: none.”

He gestured at the shotgun. “Of course, the same is not true for you.”

She tightened her grip on the stock of the rifle and pressed her finger against the trigger. Don’t hesitate, she told herself. Don’t panic. It was as if the familiar world of her own home, her own living room, surrounded by her own pictures and mementos, was suddenly alien. She wanted to say something that might remind her of normalcy. Shoot him! A voice shouted out deep within her. Shoot him before he kills all of you!

In that second of indecision, O’Connell whispered, “It’s not easy to kill someone, is it? It’s one thing to say, ‘Take another step and I’ll shoot,’ and another altogether to actually do it. You might think about that. Good night, Mrs. Frazier. I will see you again. I will be back.”

Shoot him! Shoot him! Kill him now! As she tried to understand the voice within her head, O’Connell turned, and with surprising speed abruptly disappeared from her sight. She gasped. Ghostlike. One second he was there in front of her, the next he was gone. She could hear his footsteps on the planks of the wooden floor in the hallway, then the thudding of the front door opening and slamming shut.

Catherine exhaled slowly and sat back hard. Her fingers around the shotgun seemed frozen, and it took some force of will to peel them from the weapon. She lowered it into her lap. She suddenly felt exhausted, tired in a way that she had not experienced in years. Her hands shook, her eyes filled with tears, and she had trouble stealing breath from the air around her. She remembered a similar moment in the hospital ward years earlier, when her husband’s hand had slipped from hers, and just like that, he was gone. The same sensation of helplessness that had filled her then.

She wanted to call out for Ashley, but she could not. She wanted to rise up and lock the front door, but she was frozen. We have no chance.

Catherine remained in her chair for several minutes. She had no idea how many. She only stirred, regaining some grip on her circumstances, when the flashing blue and red lights of a police cruiser suddenly filled the room around her.

Thoughts raced like power surges through Ashley.

She had remained huddled, behind the locked bedroom door, aware that Catherine and O’Connell were speaking, but unable to make out the words, except those that Michael O’Connell had shouted out, each of which had speared her with fear. When she’d heard the front door slam, she remained frozen in position on the floor, behind the bed, a pillow clutched to her chest, her head facedown in the center, as if she were trying to prevent herself from hearing, seeing, and even breathing. The pillowcase was damp where she had gripped it with her teeth to prevent herself from crying out. She could feel tears racing down her cheeks, and she was terrified. And terrified of being terrified. She was ashamed that she had left Catherine alone to confront Michael O’Connell, despite the older woman’s insistence. She was well past the why can’t he leave me alone stage and knew that she was lost on a much larger sea than she’d ever imagined.

“Ashley!” Catherine’s voice penetrated the walls and her fears.

“Yes…” She gulped out her reply.

“The police are here. You can come down.”

When she left the bedroom and stood at the top of the stairs, she looked down and saw Catherine standing in the hallway across from a middle-aged local police officer wearing a Smokey the Bear hat. He held a notepad and pencil and was shaking his head.

“I understand, Mrs. Frazier.” The policeman was speaking slowly, a little densely, and Ashley could see Catherine was clearly frustrated. “But I can’t put out an all points bulletin on someone you invited into your home, simply because he seems to be obsessively in love with Miss Freeman… Good evening, Miss Freeman, if you could come down…”

Ashley descended the stairs.

“Now, did this fellow strike you, or threaten you?”

Catherine snorted. “Everything he said was a threat, Sergeant Connors. It was not in the words he said, but in the manner he spoke them.”

The policeman looked over at Ashley. “You were upstairs, miss? So you didn’t witness anything?”