F Paul Wilson - Secret History 02 Read Online Free PDF Page A

speak.
     
                "I don't believe it. A couple
of guys drag her up to their room, rape and sodomize her, then throw her out a
window and you have the nerve to say that she enjoyed it? I should have known!
Is this what being a cop in this city has done to you?"
     
                Rob stared into his coffee in
silence. When she was through, he spoke in a low voice.
     
                "It was Kelly's room."
     
                "What?"
     
                "Kelly rented it."
     
                "Rob, what are you
saying?"
     
                He continued to stare into his
coffee.
     
                "I'm saying that Kelly Wade,
your sister, took that room herself. She signed in as 'Ingrid' Wade."
     
                "No. There has to be a
mistake."
     
                "No mistake. She's been a
regular at the Plaza for the past few months. Paid cash every time. She was
known to quite a few of the staff as a good tipper, and, um, a real swinger.
She'd rent a room, pick up a guy in the bar—sometimes two guys—and take them
upstairs."
     
                "No!"
     
                "And we found a vial of coke in
her purse."
     
                Suddenly numb, Kara slumped back in
the chair.
     
                Over Christmas she had sensed that
something was bothering Kelly when she was out at the farm. She'd thought her
sister was still in a funk over her break-up with that Tom creep the previous
year. Kara had never dreamed it was anything like this. One night stands.
Cocaine. She hadn't noticed any signs of drug abuse. But out in the heart of
Amish country, who knew those signs?
     
                An awful thought struck her. Was her
habit bad enough to…
     
                "She… she was a
prostitute?"
     
                "I don't think so. The M.E.
said there was no sign of a heavy coke habit. And as far as we can tell, she
didn't charge for her favors. One of the bartenders at the Plaza had spoken to
a few of her, um, dates after they'd been up in her room. They said they
couldn't believe they'd gotten what they'd, um, gotten for free."
     
                Kara stared at him.
     
                "This is true, Rob? Really
true?" She fought to keep a growing sob from choking off her voice.
"It can't be! You're not talking about my sister, Rob! We're twins. We
spent every day of our lives together. I knew her! You knew her! This can't be
Kelly you're talking about! There's got to be a mistake!"
     
                Sadly, he shook his head.
     
                "I wish there were. Midtown
North is just a block from the Plaza. When I came in the next morning and saw
the name Wade on the report, I took the case. On a whim. I never dreamed it
would be Kelly. When I saw the body I… I thought it was you. And the more
digging I did, the more bizarre it became. I mean, I haven't seen Kelly since
you and I—since you left town. That's ten years, but you're right, this kind of
lifestyle doesn't fit with my memory of her. Not one bit."
     
                "She was a nurse , for God's sake!" Kara said. "She worked at St. Vincent 's! Whenever she'd visit the farm she'd tell
me horror stories about all the drug addicts and the VD and AIDS. She saw all
that stuff first hand! I can't believe she'd become a… a swinger!" The
very word left such a foul taste in her mouth that she wanted to spit.
"Tell me there's a chance you're wrong, Rob."
     
                His expression was pained.
     
                "I wish I could, Kara, I really
do. But there's too much corroboration. The Plaza people knew her. According to
them, she was fast becoming a legend in the Oak Bar."
     
                "A legend ," she said acidly. "My sister the legend. That's
just great."
     
                Gradually, her shock and disbelief ebbed
away,