One Grave Less
dangers.
“We have to climb down. It won’t be too bad,” said Maria. “There is enough of a slope that we can do it. We just have to be careful.”
She took the backpack from Rosetta and started down the slope, watching the kid pick her way through the rocks and vegetation that was getting thicker. She looked over at the river again and saw a sight that made her heart flutter. A boat. A two-decker. Possibly a tourist boat.
They couldn’t make it down in time, but if there was one boat, there could be another one. They could follow the river. Then she thought of crocodiles and decided perhaps that wasn’t a good idea.
She was tempted to pick up the pace. But she didn’t. Don’t be reckless after all this . She got the map and compass out of the backpack and calculated how much farther they had to go. A little more than forty miles. Not far. Not far at all. She felt lighthearted all of a sudden. Maria quickened her pace when they reached flatter ground.
“It’s not far,” she told Rosetta.
Rosetta grabbed her hand and the two of them followed the compass toward Benjamin Constant.
Chapter 42
“I’m thankful you built the safe room,” said Diane as they raced through traffic to Frank’s house. She heard sirens and hoped they were heading for Star. She had her arms crossed around her middle, holding herself together.
“Me too,” said Frank. His face was a tight mask. “She’s in the room. She’s safe. It’s a good room. Strong.”
The safe room was built after a violent intruder beat down the back door and broke in the house with Diane alone at home. It was on the first floor. Frank had taken a small spare bedroom with a tiny on-site bathroom and converted it to a safe room outfitted with steel doorjambs; Kevlar, steel-reinforced, fire-resistant, soundproof walls; controlled ventilation; and separate communication to the outside world. It was small, but comfortable. Frank made a few other renovations, the kind that might be made to make a home handicap accessible, to allow quick access to the room from all areas of the house. It was still a work in progress, but he had finished the main safety features first.
Diane hoped Star wasn’t terrified, and was relieved she had made it to the room, scared at the reason she had to. Frank was pushing past the speed limit. Gregory was with them in the backseat. He said nothing. Diane sensed he was worried. He leaned forward, as if willing the car to go faster. He hadn’t met Star, but Marguerite had when they visited Paris and London on their trip to buy Star’s wardrobe—her reward for meeting Diane’s challenge of sticking out her first year in college and maintaining at least a 2.7 GPA. Gregory had been out of the country at the time. Marguerite was a great help shopping in Paris. It had been fun. Star had a great time. The trip broadened her horizons, made Star see herself in a different light.
Diane had told Gregory about Star and the death of her adoptive parents, Frank’s best friends, and how Frank became her guardian and formally adopted her. She still called him Uncle Frank, which brought no end of confusion to people meeting them for the first time—especially since Star tended to introduce him as “This is my dad, Uncle Frank.”
Diane’s mind was racing, hopping from one trivial thing to the next. Her heart thudded against her chest. She wanted to call Star in the safe room but Star was keeping the line open to the police.
They turned onto Frank’s street. Not much farther to go. Diane could see the police cars in the driveway. Frank pulled in and parked in the grass, out of their way. He jumped out of the car and raced in, Diane and Gregory close behind him.
The police were in the front door. It had been smashed open with, it appeared, a battering ram. Probably took only a couple of hard hits to collapse the door. That door and all the outside doors would be next on the list to reinforce.
A policeman held a hand out before he recognized Frank.
“Duncan,” he said. “We just got here. We’re searching the grounds. It looks like they only made it through the front door.”
Diane knew the policeman, but not well. He had been hired to replace Izzy when Izzy came over to the crime lab. He was a young man, several years younger than Izzy. He pointed to the shattered door askew on its hinges—as if it weren’t noticeable.
Frank rushed past him into the house.
“Uh, we haven’t cleared the house yet,” the policeman
Weitere Kostenlose Bücher