Sleep While I Sing by L. R. Wright

Author:L. R. Wright [Wright, L. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781631941214
Publisher: Felony & Mayhem Press
Published: 2018-01-29T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

“THEY’VE BEEN GRILLING me, Cassandra. For hours. I feel like a fucking steak. Get me a drink, will you? Please?”

Cassandra brought him a drink. She was still in her gardening clothes, but she’d taken off her sneakers when she noticed that she was tracking bits of dirt and pieces of wet grass all over the house. She had continued to work outside even after the rain began, and her socks were wet when she took off her shoes, but she had hardly noticed. For hours she had been doing meaningless household tasks that she couldn’t now remember. And waiting. It hadn’t occurred to her to change her clothes.

“What happened?” She sat down in the living room, where he had dropped onto the sofa in an attitude of exhaustion.

“They think I did it. Christ, Cassandra. They really think it was me.”

“Did they ask you if you had an alibi?” The words seemed awkward, almost clumsy. She imagined them written. That was much better.

“I told them—I mean, what was I going to tell them? I couldn’t tell them.” When he picked up his glass Cassandra saw that his hand was trembling. She hoped he’d be able to put it down again safely, without cracking the glass surface of the coffee table, and was relieved when he did.

“What did you tell them?” She noticed with admiration that her voice was calm.

Roger probed cautiously at his chest with two fingers. “I’ve got a pain,” he said, “right here. Not really a pain. Kind of a heavy feeling. Like something big and unfriendly’s sitting on my chest.”

“Roger. What did you tell them?”

“I told them I was driving your car.” He swung his feet to the floor and stood up. “What the hell was I supposed to tell them? It’s true, anyway.”

“But Roger,” she said patiently. “They’re not going to believe that, if you don’t tell them you went to see somebody who can confirm it.”

“Christ,” he said, his voice breaking. He covered his face with his hands. “I can’t believe it. I can’t fucking believe it.”

She couldn’t help but wonder if all this emotion was genuine. The man was a chameleon, after all. “Did you hear me?” she said, more sharply.

He took away his hands and she saw the tears on his face. “They searched my sister’s house. Jesus. Looking for a weapon, probably.” He glanced over at her. “They’re going to search your car, too. I hope you haven’t bled in it lately.”

Cassandra sighed and discovered a tension in her body she hadn’t known was there.

Roger was looking at the floor and shaking his head. “Christ, I’ve never heard of anything so stupid. Fucking cops.” He stood up and went to the window. It was early evening, and the sky was almost completely dark.

“There were three of them,” he said to Cassandra. “Your friend, that big blond guy. And another one, even bigger. And a smooth-looking young dude. I don’t remember their names. Do you know you aren’t even allowed a phone call

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