The Naked Face [antikvár]

chapter oneAt ten minutes before eleven in the morning, the skyexploded into a carnival of white confetti that instant-ly blanketed the city. The soft snow turned the alreadyfrozen streets of Manhattan to gray slush and the icyDecember wind herded the Christmas shoppers to-ward the comfort of their apartments and home.On Lexington Avenue the tall, thin man in theyellow rain slicker moved along with the rushingChristmas crowd to a rhythm of his own. He waswalking rapidly, but it was not with-the frantic paceof the other pedestrians who were trying to escape thecold. His head was lifted and he seemed oblivious tothe passersby who bumped against him. He was freeafter a lifetime of purgatory, and he was on his wayhome to tell Mary that it was finished. The past wasgoing to bury its dead and the future was bright andgolden. He was thinking how her face would glowwhen he told her the news. As he reached the cornerof Fifty-ninth Street, the traffic light ambered its wayto red and he stopped with the impatient crowd. Afew feet away, a Salvation Army Santa Glaus stoodover a large kettle. The man reached in his pocket forsome coins, an offering to the gods of fortune. At that