Книга Dead Men's s Boots — читать онлайн бесплатно полностью

‘Is she here?’

‘Up the stairs,’ I said, and he was taking them three at a time almost before the word was out of my mouth. I didn’t follow straight away. The energy Juliet had lent me had all drained away now and the events of the last few hours were taking their inevitable toll. I felt like a piece of wind-blown crud that had fetched up out of the night at the foot of these stairs and couldn’t be expected to go any further. Wind-blown crud doesn’t defy gravity: it knows its place.

But eventually I summoned the will-power from somewhere and started to climb.

I hesitated on the top step, not sure whether this was a private party or not. Covington’s ‘We’ll sort this’ gave me no clue at all as to what he had planned – or even who the ‘we’ referred to.

Leaning my back against the wall, I enjoyed the momentary sensation of weightlessness that comes with having carried something very heavy for a long time and finally been allowed to set it down.

The weightlessness passed, but I still felt curiously detached from my own emotions. The guilt that had bitten into me when I’d heard about Gary Coldwood’s car accident was mercifully dulled, but there was no sense of triumph or satisfaction in having dealt with his attackers. If anything, Covington’s account had left me feeling as though there was mourning still to be done: but I couldn’t make a start on it just yet.

Covington’s voice rose and fell in the bedroom, his words never quite becoming audible. I could hear Kale’s replies, though.

‘No. I didn’t see you. I looked for you and I didn’t see you. You left me!’

Murmuring from Covington.

‘Oh, that’s fine! That’s wonderful! Whatever you want to call it. Fucking – cocks! Cocks talking, calling themselves men! Love me? Oh yeah, I’ll bet you do.

Murmur.

‘Well, this is me, now. It’s not him any more, it’s me.’

Murmur.

‘I don’t even know the way. But if I knew the way, I couldn’t do it. Not on my own, Les! Not – not all that way, on my own. Don’t make me. Don’t ask me to.’

Murmur.

‘No.’

Murmur.

‘You can’t. Don’t lie to me! I won’t even have a fucking hand to hold.’

Murmur.

Long silence.

Kale laughed, and the laugh turned into a sob.

‘Don’t leave me.