had the social instinct of a woman — that of being dependent upon a man. You were afraid, - Mickey Spillane

I sat there as if I were paralyzed; for a second totally immobilized, a suddenly frozen mind and body that had solidified into one great silent scream at the mention of a name I had long ago consigned to a grave somewhere. Then the terrible cold was drenched with an even more terrible wash of heat and I sat there with my hands bunched into fists to keep them from shaking.

Todos los homicidas incurren en alguno. En especial los que matan a sangre fría, cerebralmente. Su crimen suele estar perfectamente planeado. Pero están solos para vigilar la perfecta ejecución de sus planes mientras que, de nuestro lado, hay muchos cerebros concentrados en la solución del mismo problema.

On an ordinary day the corridor would have been filled with the early lunch crowd, but now the emptiness gave the place an eerie feeling, as though I were a trespasser and hidden eyes were watching me. Except that I was the only one there and the single sign of life was the light behind my office door.
I turned the knob, pushed it open and just stood there a second because something was wrong, sure as hell wrong, and the total silence was as loud as a wild scream. I had the .45 in my hand, crouched and edged to one side, listening, waiting, watching.