Re: entryway; seated on the bench by the stairs; DAVID/ CASEY
"Did you ever wonder what the secret was?" he asked, like a tease, as if he knew the answer. "When I was little I thought it must be something terrifying."
"Nothing blacker than crows," he mused. It seemed he was agreeing with her, or her sentiment - something like that. "Creatures that commune comfortably with death and carry on living have something on the rest of us. They live unafraid." Casey seemed like comfortable company. Even in his isolation, his quiet remove, he could appreciate that. He wouldn't have stood and stalked off for anyone, really, but it was a lucky stroke to find a good conversationalist in a crowd.
He glanced down at the briefcase beside her, not quite reading her mind. "Now I'll ask a question," he said. "What's in the case? Emergency rations? Litre of vodka?"