A Greater Evil Read Online Free PDF Page B

was. The cop was forced to go. The curtain rings rattled again and the material swished. He felt her tiny hand on his shoulder.
    ‘I am sorry. I keep moving them away and then they come back. Are you all right? As all right as you could be, I mean?’
    He nodded without looking round, even though he was grateful. She must know it, he thought, so why bother to say anything? All his energy was focused on Cecilia, trying to keep her from the death he knew was coming. If she couldn’t hear, then maybe she couldn’t feel either, which was the only comfort he could find.
    His eyes leaked more tears as he looked back at the pathetic five years they’d had together. A sixth of his life so far; a little less of hers for ever.
    They’d met when she’d come to one of his first solo shows in London and bought a bronze. Only one of a planned edition of eight, it had to be cast specially, so they’d had to meet again. He’d delivered it to her flat and she’d given him a glass of wine and shown him the rest of her small collection. He’d liked everything she owned except for one painting, a meaningless pretty bit of landscape with neither depth nor atmosphere. When he’d eventually said he’d better go, Cecilia hadn’t said anything about seeing him again, but she’d had his address on the invoice and used it to invite him to a dinner party only about a month later.
    He leaned forward, thinking he’d seen a flicker in one eyelid, but it was only a trick of the light. There were almost no traces of her real face through the mass of blackening bruises and the raw-edged cuts. She’d never been beautiful, but he’d loved everything about the way she looked, from the broadness of her forehead and the strength of her square chin to the steady grey-green eyes and the thick mouse-coloured hair that went wriggly, as she called it, in the rain.
    Rubber soles squeaked on the shiny vinyl tiles, then the curtain rings rattled again. He didn’t look round until a faint vanilla scent reached him through the chemicals and disinfectant that filled the air.
    ‘Gina,’ he said, only half turning.
    ‘Yes, it’s me.’ He felt his mother-in-law’s hand on his shoulder, much heavier than the nurse’s. In spite of the weight, he could feel her trembling. She tried to speak again, then coughed and tried once more. ‘How terrible for you to find her like this, Sam.’
    ‘It’s my fault,’ he said and barely noticed the withdrawal of her hand as he felt the chill sweatiness of guilt all over again. Then he understood what he’d done and rushed to say: ‘If I hadn’t gone out this morning, she’d never have … I could’ve saved her. If …’ His brain was shutting down. He couldn’t produce the right words. Tears were easier. They clung to his skin, sliding slowly down his stubbly cheeks until they dripped off his chin.
    ‘I know,’ said Gina, replacing her hand for a moment. ‘I know. But thinking “if only” always makes horror worse.’ She moved away, walking to the side of the bed so she could lay her hand on her daughter’s head.
    She looked as though she was establishing ownership of Cecilia’s dying body. Furious, Sam forced himself to remember Cecilia was her only child. He met her gaze for a second, then couldn’t bear what he saw. Bowing his powerful body over the bed, still clinging to Cecilia’s hand, he tried to stifle everything in the thin torn blanket that covered her.
    Every chance he’d had to love and be loved as a child had been taken away. Now he’d lost this one too.

Chapter Five
    ‘So now you’re launched, Caro,’ said the chief superintendent with a friendly smile. ‘Looks like a simple domestic, although the husband’s trying to deny it. You’ve got a good sergeant in Glen Makins. Use him. And don’t be too proud to take his advice. He’s with your team downstairs now. Go get ’em.’
    ‘Thank you, sir.’ Caro tried not to remember her light-hearted longing for a good juicy