"Kevin O'Donnel Jr. - The Journeys of McGill Feighan 01 - Caverns" - читать интересную книгу автора (O'Donnell Jr Kevin)

"You shtill here?"
"Why is it a relief?"
" 'cause I thoughtтАФ" She half-turned to face her husband, and had to
spread her legs to keep from falling. "тАФan' he thought, too, that I washтАФ"
She frowned at herself. "тАФwas blacking out alia time, 'cause I'd find himтАФ"
She pointed at the bed. "тАФnext to me, or in my lap, or whateverтАжboy,
thash a relief. Bet I shleep good tonight. Ta-ta." Pivoting awkwardly, she
stumbled out into the hallway.
Schwedeker looked at Feighan curiously. "What's she talking about?"
"She's drunk," said Feighan, with sad simplicity.
"I know that, but what was she talking about?"
"AhтАФ" He scowled at the empty doorway, but there was pain in the
frown, and unsundered love. "тАФit's her contention that she's forever finding
the boy somewhere he wasn't put. She blames me for it. To her way of
thinking, it's a grand, cunning scheme to convince her she's crazy, so she'll
put herself away. But I ask you, why should I go to all that bother, when I
could just as easily walk out of here tomorrow and be divorced the day
after?"
Schwedeker hauled himself to his feet and peered into McGill's deep, dark
eyes. He could feel the power in the boy, feel it as though it were a warm
spring breeze. So much strength for such a little childтАж he straightened up
with a groan and an ache in his lower back. "She finds him where he wasn't
put?"
"So she says, but it's a miracle she can say anything at all these days,
given the ungodly speed with which she drains a bottle. A lesser tongue
would have been pickled solid by now. Would you say that makes her a
trustworthy witness? Or would you say rather that it's touched her in the
memory, and inclined her to forgetting just exactly what she did do with the
child?" The can of peanuts was empty. He eyed it as though it were a friend
who had betrayed him, then crumpled it in his massive fist and dropped the
wad of aluminum into his pocket. "I wouldn't be trusting her testimony if I
were you."
Schwedeker's disappointment was gone, replaced by a pulse-stirring
eagerness. He raised his face to the light fixture in the ceiling like a man
letting the sun's heat creep into his bones. "Did you," he asked, "ever stop to
think that she's the way she is because of what your boy's been doing?"
"Huh?"
He turned and spread his arms. "If you were sober and found an elephant
in your icebox, wouldn't you think you were crazy?"
"It'd be a terrible temptation," agreed Feighan.
 "But if you saw it when you were drunkтАФ"
"Ah!" He nodded forcefully. "Sure, and you'd have to think it was the
alcohol in your brain that was making you see it."
"Exactly!" He spun on his heel and walked back to McGill. "Kid," he said,
"if you can teleport around this house, you can sure as hell walk. And talk.
And by damnтАФ" He leaned over to touch him on the nose. "тАФI'm gonna
make sure you learn how."
McGill blinked, and stroked Schwedeker with his peace.
It was the only way he had of saying, "Thanks."