Psycho - Three Complete Novels Read Online Free Page B

bed.
    She was still trying to puzzle it out when the big dark shadow emerged out of the other shadows and opened her car door.

— 3 —
    “L ooking for a room?”
    Mary made up her mind very quickly, once she saw the fat, bespectacled face and heard the soft, hesitant voice. There wouldn’t be any trouble.
    She nodded and climbed out of the car, feeling the ache in her calves as she followed him to the door of the office. He unlocked it, stepped inside the cubicle and switched on the light.
    “Sorry I didn’t get down sooner. I’ve been up at the house—Mother isn’t very well.”
    There was nothing distinctive about the office, but it was warm and dry and bright. Mary shivered gratefully and smiled up at the fat man. He bent over the ledger on the counter.
    “Our rooms are seven dollars, single. Would you like to take a look, first?”
    “That won’t be necessary.” She opened her purse quickly, extracting a five-dollar bill and two singles and placing them on the counter as he pushed the register forward and held out a pen.
    For a moment she hesitated, then wrote a name —Jane Wilson —and an address— San Antonio, Texas. She couldn’t very well do anything about the Texas plates on the car.
    “I’ll get your bags,” he said, and came around the counter. She followed him outside again. The money was in the glove compartment, still in the same big envelope secured by the heavy rubber band. Maybe the best thing to do was to leave it there; she’d lock the car, and nobody would disturb it.
    He carried the bags over to the door of the room next to the office. It was the closest, and she didn’t mind—the main thing was to get out of the rain.
    “Nasty weather,” he said, standing aside as she entered. “Have you been driving long?”
    “All day.”
    He pressed a switch and the bedside lamp blossomed and sent forth yellow petals of light. The room was plainly but adequately furnished; she noted the shower stall in the bathroom beyond. Actually, she would have preferred a tub, but this would do.
    “Everything all right?”
    She nodded quickly, then remembered something. “Is there anywhere around here where I can get a bite to eat?”
    “Well, let’s see now. There used to be a root beer and hamburger stand up the road here about three miles, but I guess it’s closed down since the new highway came in. No, your best bet would be Fairvale.”
    “How far away is that?”
    “About seventeen-eighteen miles. You keep going up the road until you come to a county trunk, turn right, and hit the main highway again. It’s ten miles straight ahead, then. I’m surprised you didn’t go through that way if you’re heading north.”
    “I got lost.”
    The fat man nodded and sighed. “I thought as much. We don’t get much regular traffic along here any more since that new road opened.”
    She smiled absently. He stood in the doorway, pursing his lips. When she looked up to meet his stare, he dropped his eyes and cleared his throat apologetically.
    “Uh—Miss—I was just thinking. Maybe you don’t feel like driving all the way up to Fairvale and back in this rain. I mean, I was just going to fix a little snack for myself up at the house. You’d be perfectly welcome to join me.”
    “Oh, I couldn’t do that.”
    “Why not? No trouble at all. Mother’s gone back to bed, and she won’t be doing any cooking—I was only going to set out some cold cuts and make some coffee. If that’s all right with you.”
    “Well—”
    “Look, I’ll just run along and get things ready.”
    “Thank you very much, Mr.—”
    “Bates. Norman Bates.” He backed against the door, bumping his shoulder. “Look, I’ll leave you this flashlight for when you come up. You probably want to get out of those wet things first.”
    He turned away, but not before she caught a glimmer of his reddened face. Why, he was actually embarrassed!
    For the first time in almost twenty hours a smile came to Mary Crane’s face. She