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A h the door, but no words could be understood I stopped listening and knocked A shadow passed over the spy hole and the door was yanked open At the same time, a TV studio audience erupted into frenzied applause

I took hi ht was that they were so big they would get in the way if he should ever atte a white tank-top undershirt and jeans, both noticeably snug He was tanned, but it wasn’t a healthy color There seeold As advertised, his hair was blond and cut close to the scalp so that he reseence ritten in his eyes

"Well, hello," he said

"Mr Nye?"

"Come in, come in"

"Don’t you want to knoho I am first?" I asked

"Why?" Nye smirked as he examined the bruises on the side of my face "Do you think I should be afraid?"

I didn’t say

"I knoho you are," Nye said "You’re McKenzie I’ve been expecting you"

Expecting me?

I entered the apartment The room smelled of stale beer, old food, unwashed sheets, and dirty socks and underwear I could see the kitchen from where I stood in the hallway The sink contained dozens of encrusted spoons, forks, knives, pots, and pans, but no cups, saucers, or plates Instead, next to the refrigerator was a wastebasket overfloith paper plates and plastic cups, as well as TV dinner trays, pizza wrappers, and empty beer cans

"This way"

Nye ledroom that contained an ancient overstuffed chair and a TV set mounted on a stack of newspapers three feet in front of it One of those dayti broadcast--I didn’t knohich one Nye moved to the set and reduced the volulanced around There was no other furniture, only ss Coured azed out a pair of sliding glass doors that led to a s woe chair on her balcony directly across froht old

"Nice view," I said

"Bitch doesn’t even close her drapes, you believe that?" he said

That’s when I noticed the binoculars resting on the top of the TV

Nye had a jailhouse smile, insincere and off center I had no doubt that he would shove a shiv in

"You said you were expecting ured you’d be around"

"How do you know I’ for Merodie?"