The Next One to Fall by Hilary Davidson

Author:Hilary Davidson [Davidson, Hilary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hilary Davidson
Published: 2020-11-17T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 31

Len Wolven was a patient in exactly the same hospital for foreigners that I was in. He wasn’t too sick to be released, Vargas explained to me, as we walked along a hallway and took the elevator up two stories. It was the risk of suicide that kept him there.

“Why not let him kill himself?” I asked.

My question rearranged the expression on Vargas’s wooden face into bitter disapproval. “How could you say such a thing?”

I didn’t answer, but what I was thinking was this: Len Wolven preyed on women. Last night, I’d pitied him; now, all I felt was disgust and loathing. How many women were dead because of him? If his life were lost, others would be saved. But what made me bite my tongue was that I wanted vengeance for myself as well. The man had tried to dispose of me, and some dark part of my soul that should have been erased by civilization wanted blood.

As we approached his room, I noticed a uniformed cop standing in the doorway, and a woman sitting in a chair, knitting. She was striking, with shoulder-length black hair, smooth olive skin, and kohl-rimmed, catlike eyes that reminded me of Sophia Loren’s. Her lips were painted bright red, and her polished fingers were clacking away on knitting needles, turning bright pink yarn into what looked like a blanket for a baby. Or maybe I was assuming that because she was very obviously pregnant. She looked up as we approached, but her hands kept on working.

“This is the American lady, Miss Moore?” she asked Vargas. Her English was elegant, with just a hint of an accent setting it off. One hand fluttered to her heart. “Thank God she is safe. Miss Moore, you have the deepest apologies of my family. We will do everything in our power to make sure this evil man is caught.”

“Lily, this is Augustina Wolven Moreno. She arrived earlier today from Santiago. She is Leonard Wolven’s sister.”

“Half-sister,” Augustina corrected him. She held my hand for a moment. “Pardon me for not getting up. At seven-and-a-half months along, I can barely move, or fit through a doorway.”

“Congratulations,” I said. “Is this your first child?”

“My third. Another girl.”

“That’s wonderful.”

She smiled, and her hands went back to knitting. “I have been in my own little world until today. I had no idea what was happening with my little brother. He is…” She shook her head. “There is always disaster swirling around him. Perhaps he cannot help it. But I can promise you, that is all going to change now that I am here. This situation cannot be allowed to continue.”

There was a steely determination in her voice that I didn’t doubt.

“I will go back to my hotel now that I have seen you’re well, Miss Moore. But I would very much like to see you tomorrow. Perhaps we could have lunch or dinner together, if you have time. All I do these days is eat or sleep.” She smiled again, but she was gazing at the blanket with a fond, eager expression.

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