《Change Of Mind 》作者：- Robert Reed【EPUB】

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A Change of Mind by Robert ReedThey remembered him as a quiet man a standoffish man but essentially friendly -- a good neighbor withan easy smile and enough generosity to order cookies from six of the local Girl Scouts. Except ofcourse that he moved away before the cookies arrived leaving the bill unpaid. Yet nobody acted upset.It had been a nice gesture on his part and the residents seemed to genuinely miss their one-timeneighbor. quotWhen did he move awayquot Morgan would ask. To a person they said it had been a year ormaybe thirteen months. Or he left in February which was almost fifteen months ago. Local memorieswere conspicuously aligned always vague but forthright about their limitations. Nobody could rememberseeing him move out so they assumed he had left in the middle of the night. He must have taken his longvan since it too had vanished and with it his essential possessions including his hobby equipment. quotWhatkind of equipmentquot The shiny stuff people reported. The fancy stuff. The machinery that glowed in thenight making his windows bleed a purple light. quotA deep pure purple lightquot they described with exactlythe same words and the same intonations.The mans house had been built at the turn of the century. A drab little split-level made from sloppylumber and sheetrock it sat on a side street in what was a tiny practically anonymous town near theCanadian border. A vigorous old woman in her nineties named Sandra lived next door. Her entire lifehad been spent in the same residence and with the clarity of mind that comes to people who had donelittle and gone nowhere the woman could name every person who lived in the town alive or otherwisestretching back over the last eight decades. About the missing man she could say quite a lot. quotHe kepthis lawn cutquot she offered with a certain fondness. quotI appreciate that in any neighbor.quot Then with acrooked smile she added quotHe was rich I assumed. We assumed. He bought the house from theCrammers with cash and then he didnt work a day in the eight nine ten months that he was here withus. Mr. Question just sat indoors all day and night playing with his hobbies. Unless he was out cuttinghis grass of course.quotquot Mr. QuestionquotquotYesquot the old woman replied.quotThats a rather