Read "Knock Three-One-Two" by Fredric Brown online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Dolly Mason heard the first ring of the phone when she was in the hallway outside her apartment, returning from dinner with Mack Irby. Mack was with her and she thought she had a free evening to spend with him. She ran to the door, fished the key out of her handbag and stuck it in the lock. It jammed there for several rings of the telephone inside, till Mack said, "Let me, Doll. " He reached around her and turned the key. Dolly got to the phone just as it finished the seventh ring. "Hello," she said, a bit breathlessly.
"Hi, Dolly," the phone said to her. "This is Ray. Ray Fletcher."