"Down River" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hart John)

CHAPTER 5

I stretched out on the sofa, but sleep was an impossible dream. I sat up when Robin opened the door. Strain showed on her face. Fatigue and what looked like anger.

“What time is it?” I asked.

“After midnight.”

I noticed all of the things that were not right: red mud on her shoes, a leaf tangled in her hair. Her face was flushed, with spots of brighter color in the hollow places. The kitchen lamp put pinpricks in her eyes.

Something was very wrong.

“I have to ask you a question,” she said.

I leaned forward. “Ask,” I said.

She perched on the edge of the coffee table. Our knees were close, but we did not touch. “Did you see Grace today?”

“Did something happen to her?” Adrenaline jolted through me.

“Just answer me, Adam.”

My voice was too loud. “Did something happen to her?”

We stared at each other. She didn’t blink.

“Yes,” I finally said. “I saw her at the farm. At the river.”

“What time?”

“Four. Four thirty, maybe. What’s going on, Robin?”

She blew out a breath. “Thanks for not lying to me.”

“Why would I lie to you? Just tell me what the hell is going on. Did something happen to Grace?”

“She’s been attacked.”

“What do you mean?”

“Somebody assaulted her, maybe raped her. It happened this afternoon. Early evening, perhaps. Down by the river. It looks like someone dragged her off the trail. They’d just found her when I got the call.”

I surged to my feet. “And you didn’t tell me?”

Robin rose more slowly. Resignation moved in her voice. “I’m a cop first, Adam. I couldn’t tell you.”

I looked around, grabbed my shoes, started pulling them on. “Where’s Grace now?”

“She’s at the hospital. Your father is with her. So are Dolf and Jamie. There’s nothing you can do.”

“Screw that.”

“She’s sedated, Adam. It won’t make a difference if you’re there or not. But you saw her this afternoon, right before it happened. You may have seen something, heard something. You need to come with me.”

“Grace comes first.”

I turned for the door. She put her hand on my arm, pulled me to a stop. “There are questions that need to be answered.”

I pulled my arm away, ignored her sudden anger, and felt my own emotion rise. “When you got the call, you knew it was Grace? Didn’t you?”

She did not have to answer. It was obvious.

“You knew what that would mean to me and you lied about it. Worse, you tested me. You knew that I’d seen Grace and you tested me. What? Did Jamie tell you that I was there? That I saw her at the river?”

“I won’t apologize. You were the last to see her. I had to know if you’d tell me that.”

“Five years ago,” I spat out. “Did you believe me then?”

Her eyes drifted left. “I would not be with you if I thought you’d killed that boy.”

“So, where’s the trust now? Where’s the goddamn faith?”

She saw the rage in me, but didn’t flinch. “It’s what I do, Adam. It’s who I am.”

“Screw that, Robin.”

“Adam-”

“How could you even think it?”

I turned violently away; she raised a hand to stop me, but could not. I tore open the door and was through, into the thick night that held such perfect ruin.