City of Glass

Qui

"Good afternoon," said Qui

The boy, rapidly withdrawing into shyness, managed no more than a faint hello. In his left hand he held a red object that Qui

"It's a yoyo," he answered, opening his hand to show him. "I found it on the street.

"Does it work?"

The boy gave an exaggerated pantomime shrug. "Du

Qui

"A great philosopher once said," muttered Qui

"But you didn't make it go up," said the boy. "It only went down."

"You have to keep trying."

Qui

Auster saw the yoyo in his hand and said, "I see you've already met. Daniel," he said to the boy, "this is Daniel." And then to Qui

The boy burst out laughing and said., "Everybody's Daniel!"

"That's right," said Qui

"And around and around it goes," shouted the boy, suddenly spreading his arms and spi

"And this," said Auster, turning to the woman, "is my wife, Siri.

The wife smiled her smile, said she was glad to meet Qui

"Not many people know that," she said.

"Do you come from Norway?"

"Indirectly," she said. "By way of Northfield, Mi

"I know this is sort of last minute," Auster said, "but if you have some time to spare, why don't you stay and have di

"Ah," said Qui

He made one last effort, smiling at Auster's wife and waving good-bye to the boy. "So long, Daniel," he said, walking towards the door.

The boy looked at him from across the room and laughed again. "Good-bye myself!" he said.

Auster accompanied him to the door. He said, "I'll call you as soon as the check clears. Are you in the book?"

"Yes," said Qui

"If you need me for anything," said Auster, "just call. I'll be happy to help."

Auster reached out to shake hands with him, and Qui

11

QUINN was nowhere now. He had nothing, he knew nothing, he knew that he knew nothing. Not only had he been sent to the begi

His watch read nearly six. Qui

The hour had long since passed for his call to Virginia Stillman, and he debated whether to go through with it. Would it be possible to ignore her? Could he abandon everything now, just like that? Yes, he said to himself, it was possible. He could forget about the case, get back to his routine, write another book. He could take a trip if he liked, even leave the country for a while. He could go to Paris, for example. Yes, that was possible. But anywhere would do, he thought, anywhere at all.

He sat down in his living room and looked at the walls. They had once been white, he remembered, but now they had turned a curious shade of yellow. Perhaps one day they would drift further into dinginess, lapsing into gray, or even brown, like some piece of aging fruit. A white wall becomes a yellow wall becomes a gray wall, he said to himself. The paint becomes exhausted, the city encroaches with its soot, the plaster crumbles within. Changes, then more changes still.

He smoked a cigarette, and then another, and then another. He looked at his hands, saw that they were dirty, and got up to wash them. In the bathroom, with the water ru

It was seven o'clock now. Once again, he debated whether to call Virginia Stillman. As he turned the question over in his mind, it occurred to him that he no longer had an opinion. He saw the argument for making the call, and at the same time he saw the argument for not making it. In the end, it was etiquette that decided. It would not be fair to disappear without telling her first. After that, it would be perfectly acceptable. As long as you tell people what you are going to do, he reasoned, it doesn't matter. Then you are free to do what you want.

The number, however, was busy. He waited five minutes and dialed again. Again, the number was busy. For the next hour Qui

Qui

He turned on the television and watched the first two i