Blind School Read Online Free PDF Page A

of her gasping breath. Still rattled though, she picked up a steady jog again after a moment.
    She looked back at intervals. Still no black van in sight.
    Still that steady finger tap on the steering wheel, the van driver swung into another turn...
    She took another turn too before finally easing her pace. A steady fast walk now as she glanced back. She felt safe at last.
    What she hadn’t noticed was that the van had rounded the block and was now parked ahead, tucked in close behind a 4-wheeler.
    And when she did finally spot it, it was already too late: the van's side door swung open and she caught only a shadow of movement before a cloth was clamped hard over her mouth.
    Darkness.
    Dusk light. The Andrews USAF base hangar was now being used as both a morgue and assessment area. An ATF team were busy sorting through anything from fuselage parts to charred shoes and handbags.
    Their leader, Brent Cohburn, looked up as Ellis Kendell approached. Cohburn grimaced as Ellis flashed his badge.
    ‘Thought I already dealt with the FBI's interest in this case earlier today.’
    ‘Different department. And like they say – three heads is better than one.’
    ‘More like five or six now, what with the military brass.’ Cohburn hooked a brow. ‘So what's your department's interest in the case?’
    Ellis smiled thinly. ‘Don't worry. When they let me know that I can tell you – you'll be the first to know. So what we got?’
    ‘Nineteen dead. Eight critical. Another dozen walking wounded. And three of the corpses are yet to be identified.’
    Ellis followed Cohburn's gaze towards the body bags on some far trestle tables – shadows heavier there beyond the arc lamps lighting the wreckage sorting tables.
    ‘Flight recorder's now with our Langley depot,’ Cohburn remarked. ‘And, as you can see, a ton of wreckage and personal items to sort through and bag.’
    ‘You got a guest list for the event? And any video cams showing their movements while they were here?’
    ‘Yeah, tons. Entrance and car-park, the marquee... and the stand itself.’ Cohburn held out a palm. ‘How long you got?’
    ‘As long as it takes.’
    The blonde girl slowly stirred in a dark, enclosed space. It took her a second to recall the last moments of being chased and the cloth being put over her mouth.
    As she awoke fully and reached out to touch solid wood inches above and to each side, she let out a gasp.  And as the smell of damp earth reached her through the wood and it fully dawned on her where she was, she started hyperventilating.
    The only faint light in the coffin was from a cell-phone. And now a voice coming over it:
    ‘You awake yet?’
    She calmed her fractured breathing after a second, answered tremulously.
    ‘Yes. Who are you? And where ... where am I?’
    Silence from the other end, and her frantic, staccato breathing lapsed into tears.
    ‘What do you want? Get me out of here... Out of here!’ She quickly lost it, started banging and scratching at the wood, screaming repeatedly: ‘Out... Out... Out of here !’
    Above ground, a sly smile creased Frank Lyle's lips as he listened through a hands-free earpiece. But still he remained silent.
    Her breath caught again as the opportunity suddenly dawned on her.  She grabbed the cell-phone and punched 911.
    But the buttons were rigid, didn't move.
    Lyle, hearing the scuffling, worked out what had happened.
    ‘Neat trick, huh? All the buttons have been super-glued. So you can't dial out or switch off. My voice will stay with you until the battery runs out or you run out of air down there.’
    His comment set off another frantic burst of screaming and kicking from the girl through his earpiece, brought the warped smile back to Lyle's face.
    ‘You wanna get out of there, you got to convince me just how much you want that. How much you like me? How much you love me?’
    ‘I... I don't even know you,’ she stammered after a second.
    ‘Not the right answer. So let's try again: do you love