An Evil Eye

129

Marta and Palewski froze as they listened to a heavy tread descending the cellar steps.

Two thoughts ran through Palewski’s mind. The first, that one of the men had been sent to kill them. Or that the sound of the breaking bottle had brought him down to check.

About the first possibility, he could do nothing-unless Marta could pass him the shard of broken glass.

Palewski felt Marta’s hand close around his wrists, searching for the cord.

The man stopped. Then they heard him tramp upstairs again, and the door closed.

Palewski climbed slowly from the pillar, flexing his fingers.

Marta laid a hand on his arm. “They are coming back.”

He cocked his head, and heard the sound of someone scraping nearby. He tightened his fingers around the glass and put Marta behind him, covering her with an outstretched arm.

In the dark they strained their ears.

Palewski frowned, incredulous.

One of his favorite pieces was Chopin’s tiny mazurka, the prelude in A major. He had practiced it all summer, with fairly good results.

It didn’t sound too bad right now, whistled by Kadri between his teeth, from the far end of the cellar.