"Barker, Clive - Books of Blood 02" - читать интересную книгу автора (Barker Clive)

СYou like her then?Т
СSheТs an ignorant cow. SheТs pretentious, sheТs weak, sheТs stupid. But she wouldnТt give, she wouldnТt give a fucking thing.Т
СYou mean she wouldnТt screw?Т

СOh no, sheТd strip off her knickers soon as look at you. It was her fears she wouldnТt give -,
Same old song.
СBut I persuaded her, in the fullness of time.Т
Quaid pulled out a box from behind a pile of philosophy books. In it was a sheaf of black and white photographs, blown up to twice postcard size. He passed the first one of the series over to Steve.
СI locked her away you see, Steve.Т Quaid was as unemotional as a newsreader. СTo see if I could needle her into showing her dread a little bit.Т
СWhat do you mean, locked her away?Т
СUpstairs.Т
Steve felt strange. He could hear his ears singing, very quietly. Bad wine always made his head ring.
СI locked her away upstairs,Т Quaid said again, Сas an experiment. ThatТs why I took this house. No neighbours to hear.Т
No neighbours to hear what?
Steve looked at the grainy image in his hand.
СConcealed camera,Т said Quaid, Сshe never knew I was photographing her.Т
Photograph One was of a small, featureless room. A little plain furniture.
СThatТs the room. Top of the house. Warm. A bit stuffy even. No noise.Т
No noise.
Quaid proffered Photograph Two.
Same room. Now most of the furniture had been removed. A sleeping bag was laid along one wall. A table.
A chair. A bare light bulb.
СThatТs how I laid it out for her.Т
СIt looks like a cell.Т

Quaid grunted.
Photograph Three. The same room. On the table a jug of water. In the corner of the room, a bucket, roughly covered with a towel.
СWhatТs the bucket for?Т
СShe had to piss.Т
СYes.Т
СAll amenities provided,Т said Quaid. СI didnТt intend to reduce her to an animal.Т
Even in his drunken state, Steve took QuaidТs inference.
He didnТt intend to reduce her to an animal. However.
Photograph Four. On the table, on an unpatterned plate, a slab of meat. A bone sticks out from it.
СBeef,Т said Quaid.
СBut sheТs a vegetarian.Т
СSo she is. ItТs slightly salted, well-cooked, good beef.Т Photograph Five. The same. Cheryl is in the room. The
door is closed. She is kicking the door, her foot and fist and face a blur of fury.
СI put her in the room about five in the morning. She
was sleeping: I carried her over the threshold myself.
Very romantic. She didnТt know what the hell was going on.Т
СYou locked her in there?Т
СOf course. An experiment.Т
СShe knew nothing about it?Т
СWeТd talked about dread, you know me. She knew what I wanted to discover. Knew I wanted guinea-pigs. She soon caught on. Once she realized what I was up to she calmed down.Т
Photograph Six. Cheryl sits in the corner of the room, thinking.
СI think she believed she could out-wait me.Т

Photograph Seven. Cheryl looks at the leg of beef, glancing at it on the table.
СNice photo, donТt you think? Look at the expression of disgust on her face. She hated even the smell of cooked meat. She wasnТt hungry then, of course.Т