Grey Zone by Clea Simon

Author:Clea Simon [Clea Simon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House Publishers Ltd
Published: 2012-12-09T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-FOUR

As the light came back on, Dulcie became aware of a horrible pain in her head and of a large pink face leaning over her.

‘I didn’t think this was how you meant to keep your appointment, Ms Schwartz.’ The face had a bit of stubble and an unfortunate nose. She blinked, unable to place the large face. ‘I’m Detective Rogovoy.’

‘Oh, right.’ She started to sit up and was stopped both by the shooting pain and by Rogovoy’s hand on her shoulder.

‘I don’t think you should do that yet.’

She let herself be pushed back down. She was on a bed, in a curtained alcove. Hushed voices and lights carried from the outside world. ‘Where am I?’

‘University health services.’

She nodded, a little. It hurt. ‘And?’

‘You were hit on the head with a piece of brick, coming out of the basement of Weld.’

She put her hand up to where the pain was coming from and felt dampness. Rogovoy reached over to a table and grabbed an ice pack. ‘I’m supposed to tell you to leave that on for twenty minutes at a time.’

She nodded again, a mistake. ‘An accident?’ The pain was making her nauseous.

‘There’s no loose masonry in that stairwell.’ He looked at her, his tired eyes sharp. ‘You don’t remember seeing anything? Hearing anyone?’

‘No.’ She worked to keep her head still, but the thoughts were coming fast. ‘The Harvard Harasser?’

Rogovoy tightened his mouth into what could have been a smile. ‘That nickname. Makes him sound harmless, doesn’t it? This fits with the other attacks, but we won’t know anything until we find out more.’

‘OK.’ In her current state, that had almost made sense. ‘So what happens now?’ The ice was helping. If she spoke softly it didn’t hurt so much.

‘So I take your statement, such as it is, and then I pretend you just woke up and call for the nurse.’

That was her cue, she decided, to close her eyes and wait.

The next time she opened them, it wasn’t Detective Rogovoy’s nose that greeted her, but Chris, looking more pale than usual.

‘You OK?’ Dulcie asked, sitting up. It didn’t hurt as much.

‘Me?’ His thin face broke into a grin. ‘Dulcie, you had us all so worried.’

‘Us?’ She risked turning her head to look around. They seemed to be alone.

‘Me, Suze. Even Trista came by.’ He reached to stroke her cheek. ‘But never mind all that crap. You’re awake.’

‘Yeah.’ He was always pale, and it was March in New England. One sunny day didn’t change that. Still, something was up. ‘Chris, how long have I been out?’

‘You’ve been in and out for a couple of hours. The doctors say you probably have a concussion.’ He slumped back in his chair, leading Dulcie to wonder how long he’d been perched over her. ‘They kept saying it probably wasn’t serious, but you were so still.’ He turned away, but she saw him wiping his face. ‘I was scared.’

‘Oh, Chris.’ Despite the pain, she smiled. It was nice to be cared about. But something was bothering her.

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