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Ice Cold: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel

Ice Cold: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel

Titel: Ice Cold: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel Kostenlos Bücher Online Lesen
Autoren: Tess Gerritsen
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inside, please? You don’t have to prove anything to me.”
    “I’m proving this to myself.” Maura picked up the kerosene lamp and reached for the door. Even as she grasped the knob, she had to beat back the fear that was screaming at her:
Don’t go out! Lock the bolt!
But such fears were illogical. No one had tried to harm them; they themselves had brought on all their misfortunes, through a series of bad decisions.
    She opened the door and stepped outside.
    The night was still and silent. No wind blew, no trees rustled. Theloudest sound was her own heart, pounding in her chest. The door suddenly opened again and Elaine emerged, wearing her jacket.
    “I’m coming, too.”
    “You don’t have to.”
    “If you find any more footprints, I want to see them for myself.”
    Together they circled around to the side of the house where the window faced. They had not tramped this way before, and as Maura scanned the snow by the light of the kerosene lamp, she saw no footprints, only unbroken snow. But when they reached the window she stopped, staring down at the unmistakable evidence revealed by the lamplight.
    Now Elaine saw it, too, and she sucked in a breath. “Those look like wolf tracks.”
    As if in answer, a distant howl pierced the night, followed by an answering chorus of yips and wails that sent shivers racing across Maura’s skin. “These are right under the window,” she said.
    Elaine suddenly burst out laughing. “Well, that explains the face that Arlo saw, doesn’t it?”
    “How?”
    “Isn’t it obvious?” Elaine turned toward the woods, and her laughter was as wild and uncontrollable as the wails coming from the forest. “Werewolves!”
    Abruptly, the howls ceased. The silence that followed was so complete, so unexplainable, that Maura felt her skin prickling. “Back inside,” she whispered.
“Now.”
    They ran through crusted snow, back to the porch and into the house. Maura slid the bolt home and dragged the chair against it. For a moment, they stood panting, saying nothing. In the hearth, a log collapsed into the bed of glowing ashes, and sparks flew up.
    Elaine and Maura suddenly stiffened and looked at each other as they both heard the sound, echoing through the valley. It was the wolves, howling again.

B EFORE THE SUN ROSE THE NEXT DAY, M AURA KNEW THAT A RLO WAS dying. She could hear it in his breathing, in the wet gurgle in his throat, as though he were struggling to draw air through a water-clogged snorkel. His lungs were drowning in fluid.
    She awakened to the sound and turned to look at him. In the firelight, she saw that Elaine was bending over him, gently wiping his face with a washcloth.
    “Today’s the day, Arlo,” Elaine murmured. “They’ll be coming to rescue us, I know it. As soon as it gets light.”
    Arlo inhaled a tortured breath. “Doug …”
    “Yes, I’m sure he’s made it by now. You know how he is.
Never give up, never surrender
. That’s our Doug. You just have to hang on, okay? A few more hours. Look, it’s already starting to get light.”
    “Doug. You.” Arlo took in a ragged breath. “I never had a chance. Did I?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Always knew.” Arlo choked out a sob. “Always knew you’d choose him.”
    “Oh, Arlo. No, it’s not what you’re thinking.”
    “Time to be honest. Please.”
    “Nothing ever happened between Doug and me. I swear it, honey.”
    “But you wanted it to.”
    The silence that followed was an answer more honest than anything Elaine could have said. Maura remained silent and still, an uncomfortable witness to this painful confession. Arlo had to know his time was running out. This would be his last chance to hear the truth.
    “Doesn’t matter.” He sighed. “Not now.”
    “But it
does
matter,” said Elaine.
    “Still love you.” Arlo closed his eyes. “Want you … to know that.”
    Elaine put her hand over her mouth to smother her sob. The first light of dawn lit the window, washing her in its glow as she knelt beside him, racked by grief and guilt. She took in a shuddering breath and straightened. Only then did she notice that Maura was awake and watching them, and she turned away, embarrassed.
    For a moment, the two women did not speak. The only sound was Arlo’s hoarse breathing, in and out, in and out, through rattling clots of phlegm. Even from across the room, Maura could see that his face had changed, his eyes more sunken, his skin now tinged with a sickly green cast. She did not

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