"Robert Tine - The Astronaut's Wife" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tine Robert)

if for that split second both women had become as still and as inert as statues, their bones and
joints frozen. The spell on Jill broke first.
тАЬOh my God Jillian gasped. Then she pushed past Nan to raise the volume on the television
. . .тАЬ


set. But she was a second too late. They had missed the story.
тАЭ...his has been a special report,тАЭ said the deep-voiced announcer. тАЬWe now return you to the
program already in progress.тАЭ h a matter of seconds a midday talk show blared from the screen.
тАЬJill! WhatтАЩs going on?тАЭ Nan yelled.
Jillian did not answer. She twisted the knob on the set, running madly through the channels,
but there was nothing more about her husband, just regular programmingтАФthe game shows, the
cooking shows, the soap operas seeming all the more inane when contrasted against the dread
that had suddenly filled her body.
тАЬJill? Jilly?тАЭ said Nan. Jillian did not appear to have heard. She was still desperately turning
the channels when the doorbell chimed. Both Jillian and Nan froze.
Jillian knew exactly what was happening. тАЬOh God,тАЭ she whispered. тАЬItтАЩs them.тАЭ
тАЬItтАЩs who?тАЭ demanded Nan.
тАЬNASA they probably have a trauma team or an honor guard or something. This is it.тАЭ
...


тАЬJill, you donтАЩt knowтАФтАЭ
But Jill had raced to the front door and thrown it open. Standing on the step was a middle-
aged man m a well-cut gray suitтАФthe NASA uniformтАФ and with a particularly sheepish look on
his face. He seemed to have trouble looking Jillian square in the eye and he shuffled his feet
nervously.
Jill had met most of the Victory team at one time or another, but she had never seen this man
before. In her fear and anxiety she felt a deep, irrational loathing for this anonymous man, a
warm body on whom she could vent her wrath.
тАЬWho are you?тАЭ she demanded.
тАЬIтАЩm Sherman Reese, Mrs. Armacost,тАЭ he said softly. тАЬIтАЩm from NASA. ItтАЩs about your
husband.тАЭ
JillianтАЩs anger had flared up for a moment and now had burned itself out. She slumped against
the door frame, her pretty face pale and drawn as if the last few minutes of her life had exhausted
her, had drained her of her entire reserves of energy and strength. Blood was dripping from her
finger like a leaky faucet.
тАЬWhat has happened?тАЭ she asked. Her throat was tight, her voice harsh and dry.
тАЬWeтАЩd like you to come down to theтАФтАЭ Reese started, but was interrupted.
From inside the house Nan shouted, тАЬJillтАФ thereтАЩs something on TV about Spencer!тАЭ
тАЬWe have a car waiting,тАЭ said Sherman Reese softly. He took her arm gently, as if to guide her
toward it.
тАЬJill?тАЭ Nan called from inside the house. тАЬJilly, I think you better come and seeтАФтАЭ
As if suddenly afraid of Reese, Jill backed away, as if by not seeing him she could turn back
the clock by those few minutes needed to set the world right again. There would be no NASA
man at her door, no sinister NASA car in her driveway.
тАЬPlease, Mrs. Armacost,тАЭ said Reese quietly. тАЬCaptain StreckтАЩs wife is already over there.
Any questions you have will be answered down at theтАФ
Jillian turned and ran back into the house, Reese following in her footsteps.
тАЬMrs. Armacost, please donтАЩt make this more difficult than it is already.тАЭ Jillian vanished into