Archiwum
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- Fisher John Okiem psa
- Bukowski, Charles El cartero
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- Cartland Barbara Namić™tnośÂ›ć‡ i kwiat
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Something about this is beginning to frighten me. He must feel my fear.
Charli, love, you fell. Down a flight of stairs at your apartment. Do you remember
that? Ethan moves to sit beside me, nudging Doctor Hardy back from the bed.
No. You ve got it wrong. I didn t fall, Ethan. I was tied to a chair in the office, with
duct tape, and Stan Medlar was trying to rape me.
Think of every cliché you can imagine about total quiet.
That about describes these three men. The proverbial pin drops. The silence is
deafening. And the looks on the faces of these three are something else altogether.
Shock. Incredulity. Disbelief?
Doctor Hardy looks at me as though I ve taken complete leave of my senses. He tips
his head at Roland Driver and indicates Roland should join him, away from my bed. I
watch and wonder what they re talking about.
Ethan continues to sit close to me, biting his lip, staring into my eyes. He turns
briefly to the other men as though looking for support then looks back at me.
What are you talking about, sweetheart? Stan had nothing to do with it. And you
weren t in the office.
What am I talking about?
What s he talking about? Why is he asking me these questions? He was there.
Wasn t he?
Ethan, don t you remember, you were in the basement with Sergeant Riggs and I
was upstairs in the office. The door was locked and when I heard a noise I thought it
was you, but you didn t answer me so I hid. Under the desk. Then Stan came in and
he& he found me& and God it hurt to remember what happened! Then he tied me
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Kelsy George
up, and he& he tried to pull my clothes off& he ripped my blouse and was mad because
he d taped me so tight he& couldn t& couldn t get my pants off. I remember hitting my
head when the chair tipped and I must have finally passed out. I thought about
everything that happened a moment longer. That s all I remember.
Charli, love, who is Sergeant Riggs? Ethan looks at me as though he s never
heard of the sergeant before, but I know he has.
You know him. You were with him in the basement, he arranged for the DNA
testing, he brought Ruthie s bible
Whoa, whoa, whoa! I don t know what you re talking about here, my love. Help
me out, will you? What exactly do you think& No. Go back to the beginning. Tell us
everything that happened. Everything you can remember. Ethan moves up beside me
on the bed so he ends up sitting next to me, his arm around my shoulders, and pulls me
to lie against his chest. Okay, from the top. All of it.
Do you remember the day of the big meeting, about the ad with the dog? He
shakes his head but he doesn t speak, doesn t interrupt. In the afternoon, you sent me
to get LeRoy and from there everything just seemed to go from bad to worse. After I cut
my feet&
I continue relating what I remember, answering their quiet questions, while Ethan
hands me the water glass whenever my voice gets scratchy, until I suddenly realize the
little bit of sky I can see through the slit where the heavy drapes meet is dark. What
time is it? How long have I been talking?
It s evening. Don t worry. You feel okay? Ethan looks at the others, asking
questions with his eyes. I have no idea why they seem to be acting so strangely but I
continue.
Anyway, this morning, while you and Sergeant Riggs set the trap for Ruthie s son,
someone locked me in the office and that s where Stan found me. Where he& where he
tried& I can t finish the words will only make my memories worse.
Complete silence.
Nobody says a word. No one moves. We sit like this for a few minutes, then I feel
Ethan shift beside me. He clears his throat.
Hardy, I m going to tell her. She has to know. He waits until the other man nods.
It s obvious neither Hardy nor Roland is going to say anything.
You weren t attacked by Stan in any office, love. When I start to interrupt, he
shushes me, holding a finger to my lips. No, now it s my turn. I m going to tell you
what actually happened. He pulls me closer, his arm tighter.
Last November, he looks up at Roland as though looking for his confirmation, in
fact, seven months ago today, you were attacked outside your apartment by a man who
grabbed you as you came out the door, hit you over the head with something, we think
a piece of iron pipe, then pushed you down the stairs. The guy must have had a real
psycho problem, too. He cut you. He cut the bottoms of both your feet. The only reason
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Deja You
we could see for that was to keep you from being able to run away after he finished
with you.
Finished doing what?
You don t want to know.
Yes, I do, Ethan. I nearly choked on my words. Feet shuffle around me. Tell me.
He was trying to rape you, Charli. Ruthie Simpson came out of her place and
screamed. That s the only reason he left you alone.
I want to say something but I can t get my breath. Ethan doesn t seem to notice and
continues. Ruthie scared him off. If the doctors were right, he kicked you as he left.
You had bruises on your ribs that were consistent with the toe of a work boot, not the
edge of the stairs.
No, Ethan. I finally manage to get enough breath to talk. It was Stan. I saw him.
He was yelling at me. Calling me names. Bitch. Whore. Made me angry. I hadn t done
anything to him but he d been mad at me since we fired him. I tried to get a message to
Michael but nobody came. The bewildered expression in Ethan s eyes is scaring me.
Charli, Stan Medlar has been in jail for nearly seven months. He couldn t have
assaulted you.
Jail?
Jail. He couldn t make bail, they set it so high. He s been charged with attempted
rape and assault with a deadly weapon. For a while they were thinking about
attempted murder. He draws a deep breath and I suddenly think I should have left
well enough alone. For hurting you, Charli, and putting you in this coma.
Stan did this to me?
Ethan nods. And he ll be be behind bars a while longer. He should get about six
years before he s eligible for parole, if found guilty.
Okay. So if I m getting the part about Stan wrong, how much more
If I m mixed up about Stan, what about Lester and Louise?
Who?
Lester McGinley and Louise Walters. When we met them, Lester was looking for
the diary buried under the floor in Louise s apartment. Remember? He was trying to
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