Breakdown Read Online Free PDF Page A

him.
    “He was in London, but I don’t know, maybe—”
    “He’s dead, Jon. I was in London. I went to his flat.”
    The revelation was another jolt. Jon had to breathe in, then out. “You were in London? When?”
    Chris didn’t answer right away. His mouth opened, he looked down. “Last year.”
    “Last year ?”
    “I’d just come in on a ship from Canada. Came into London, went to his flat, to see if I could find out anything. The door was marked, for all three of them, deceased.”
    “Charlotte. And Penny,” Jon said, his mind shoving their names forward amid the conflicting emotions. “They were engaged. He’d told me a few weeks before Christmas. He was going to tell you, when you came. He’d finally popped the question.”
    “Huh,” Chris whispered. “Good for him.”
    Something broke through the jumble in Jon’s mind. His stomach turned over. “Sophie—”
    Chris shook his head, swallowed. “No, they’re both gone. Right at the start. Long time ago now.”
    “Oh God, Chris, I’m sorry.”
    “It’s okay,” Chris said. He put up a hand to wipe at his eyes, then put his arms around Jon again and hugged him hard. “It’s okay now, right? I’ve found you.”
    “Where have you been?” Jon said then, hugging back. They parted, and Chris adjusted the bag over his shoulder. “Here, let me take that,” Jon offered, reaching for it.
    “No, it’s okay; don’t worry about it.”
    “Where have you been, Chris?” Jon asked again, for an instant jealous of Brian and his long bus ride back from Bath with Chris, wanting to hear all the things Chris must have told him during the trip. They started to walk back toward the others waiting in the yard.
    Chris seemed to be thinking. “Different places. It was a few years before there was any way for me to get over here, of course. I finally made it to London in June of last year. I’ve been a few places since then.”
    “Where?”
    “It’s a long story.”
    “When did you get to Bath?”
    They reached the others. Fiona was smiling, but Brian’s expression was guarded.
    “Wednesday, I suppose it was,” Chris said. “I’ve been staying at your flat...had to get a blood test, then went looking for whatever I could find out. Found Flynn on Thursday.”
    “He said you’d been there,” Brian put in. “I’m afraid I didn’t quite believe him.”
    Chris eyed him and shrugged.
    “We checked at the Government Center,” Brian went on. “They didn’t have you registered.”
    Chris shook his head. “No, I didn’t register. That can be tricky.”
    Jon noticed the tension between his brother and Brian immediately. Every time Chris looked at Brian, it took him two tries: his eyes shifted in Brian’s direction first, then to his face. Brian was not smiling. Jon nearly chided them both, but stopped himself. It was all in the past. They would figure that out soon enough, he was sure.
    “Let’s all go inside, so Chris can sit down,” Fiona said. Jon bent to pick up Chris’s bedroll from where it had fallen. Chris put out a hand for it, but Jon waved him off, slung it over his shoulder.
    “This is nice,” Chris said as they went inside. He stopped just inside the door. Jon could see him glancing around, taking in the Aga, the light fixtures, the long table, the row of fresh bread loaves on one counter. “Um, is Laura here?”
    “She’s not back yet,” Fiona told him. “She should be here in time for supper. Simon, too. You know Alan, right? You’ll meet Vivian, his wife. They live in the gatehouse. I’ll have them over for supper, as well.”
    Chris nodded, put his hands in his pockets, then took them out again. He stepped away as Brian came in the door, as if they were opposing magnets, unable to touch, repelling automatically.
    “Do you want to sit down, have a drink or something?” Jon asked him.
    “If there’s time, I’d like to have a wash. I’m a bit grotty, I’m afraid.”
    “Plenty of time,” Fiona assured him. He