All Shall Be Well Read Online Free PDF Page A

when he opened the door.
    “Mr. Kincaid?” The man’s question was hesitant, as if he were afraid he might be rebuffed.
    Kincaid examined him, taking in the oval face and smallbone structure, but there any resemblance to Jasmine ended. Theo Dent wore an extra layer of padding on his small frame, had a halo of curly brown hair shot with gray, round John Lennon specs and eyes that were blue rather than brown.
    “Mr. Dent.” Kincaid held out his hand and Theo gave it a quick jerk. His palm felt damp and Kincaid had the impression that his hand trembled. “Do you have a key to your sister’s flat, Mr. Dent?”
    Theo shook his head. “No. No, I’m afraid not.”
    Kincaid thought for a moment. “You’d better come in while I hunt something up.” He left Theo standing with his hands clasped in front of him, rocking on his heels, while he rooted around in the bedroom bureau drawer. When he’d worked Theft one of his regulars had given him a set of lockpicks which he had never had occasion to use.
    He held up the ring of delicate wires as he returned to the sitting room, and Theo’s eyebrows rose questioningly above the rims of his spectacles. “I didn’t think to look for a key when I locked up again earlier,” Kincaid said in explanation. “These ought to do the trick.”
    “But how … I mean, it was you that found …”
    “Yes. I picked it a little less elegantly this morning, I’m afraid. With a paperclip.” If Theo Dent wondered how Kincaid came by a set of lockpicks, he didn’t ask.
    They descended the stairs and Kincaid made short work of the cheap lock. As he opened the door and stepped aside, his arm brushed against Theo’s and he felt the tremor running through it. He paused and touched Theo’s shoulder. “Listen. It’s all right, you know. There’s nothing to see. You don’t even have to go in if you’d rather not. I just thought you might need to look through her papers.”
    Theo looked up at him, his blue eyes blinking earnestly. “No, I want to go in. I must. Forgive my being silly.” Hestepped past Kincaid into Jasmine’s flat. His momentum carried him to the center of the sitting room, where he came to a halt, his arms hanging at his sides. He gazed at his sister’s things, the jade and brass, the brightly colored silk hangings, and the neatly tucked hospital bed taking up more than its share of space.
    To Kincaid’s consternation tears began to slip beneath the gold spectacles and run unchecked down Theo’s face. Standing among his sister’s belongings he looked both pathetic and incongruous—the tweedy jacket over the pinstriped shirt and red braces seemed almost a parody of Englishness. He reminded Kincaid of the dressed-up teddy bears in shop windows.
    “Here.” He took Theo’s arm and guided his unresisting body over to a dining chair. “Sit down.” Kincaid hunted for some tissues on the table by the bed, and the sight of Jasmine’s book and reading glasses sitting tidily next to the tissue box made him feel rather hollow himself. “Jasmine kept some whiskey in the cupboard,” he said as he handed Theo the tissues. “We could both use something to drink.”
    Theo shook his head. “I’m not much of a drinker.” He sniffed, took off his spectacles and wiped his face, then blew his nose. “But I suppose just a small one won’t hurt.”
    Kincaid splashed a half-inch of whiskey in two glasses and handed one to Theo. “Cheers.”
    “Thanks. And please call me Theo. Under the circumstances anything else is rather absurd.” They drank in silence for a few minutes, some of Theo’s color returning. He buried his face in the tissues and blew, then pulled a rumpled handkerchief from his pocket and gently patted the tip of his nose.
    “It’s just that I didn’t quite believe it,” Theo spoke suddenly, as if continuing a conversation Kincaid hadn’t begun, “until I came in and saw the flat empty, and the bed here in the sitting room. I didn’t know about the