"Grafton, Sue - Kinsey Millhone - Q is for Quarry Txt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grafton Sue)

Dolan said, "That leaves Frankie."

"You and I can draw straws, but let's hold off on that until we contact the other two." Stacey winced and then stood up abruptly, saying, "Shit! Hang, on a sec."

Dolan said, "What's wrong?"

Stacey groaned, then sucked in air through his teeth, his face tense. "Damn back's seizing up. Jeez, that hurts. Pain's shooting all the way down my leg."

"What's the doctor say?"

"How do I know? This ain't Death at my door. I told you - I pulled a muscle. I can't call the oncologist for every little thing." He leaned" sideways, stretching. After a moment, he stood upright, taking a long, slow, deep breath.

"Better?"

"Much. Sorry to interrupt. Damn thing caught me by surprise."

"Would you quit the self-diagnosis and call the guy?"

"The doctor's a woman, you sexist prick. You ought to give some serious thought to the assumptions you make."

"Quit the bullshitting, Stace. This is all a big smokescreen. You keep acting like you've only had the back pain for the past two days when you've complained of it for weeks. You should have had the docs take a look while you were in the hospital."

"It wasn't hurting me then."

"Oh, for heaven's sake. You know what? This is called "denial." This is you trying to minimize a problem that could be damn serious. Hell, give me the gal's name and I'll call her myself."

"No, you won't."

"Then you call."

"I will. I was going to do that."

"Now."

"Con, cut it out! It's past five. She's probably left for the day."

"Then call the service, leave CC's number, and have her paged. We can wait. You don't call her, I will. I'm sick of hearing you bellyache."

"You don't even know her name."

"I'll find out."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Quit arguing. Maybe she'll give you some Valium to help you sleep at night."

Stacey shook his head. "I hate making a fool of myself because of you." Despite his grumbling and protests, he did go off to find a phone.

Dolan and I sat without looking at each other. I didn't like the sound of it any more than he did. Finally, I said, "Are the two of you okay? You seem testy."