Grey Zone Read Online Free PDF

yelled, and they both took off.’
    â€˜Dulcie, sweetie, you’ve got to learn to take care of yourself.’
    â€˜But I didn’t do anything.’ Neither Chis nor Suze seemed to be hearing what, to her, was the major point. ‘If anything, I wonder if I should have.’
    â€˜No.’ Chris sounded quite decisive. ‘No, you shouldn’t have. You should have run back to the library and alerted the guard. Or used one of those blue-light emergency phones. I think they’ve added more of them, you know, since the attacks.’
    â€˜But it might just have been a lovers’ spat.’ She paused for a moment to think about their recent past. ‘And I wasn’t sure what was going on, not till it was too late.’
    â€˜Sweetie, that’s the problem.’ He was sounding sleepy again, and Dulcie wondered if he had taken her admission for an apology. ‘That’s always the case.’
    â€˜Suze thinks I ought to tell the university police.’ She waited for him to say this wasn’t necessary. When he didn’t, she offered a prompt. ‘I don’t even know what I’d tell them, though.’
    â€˜You want me to go with you? I should be free by one or so.’ That wasn’t the answer she wanted. But he was fading, she could tell.
    â€˜No, I’ve got to meet with one of my students. You working tonight?’ The question was automatic. Still, for a moment she hoped.
    â€˜Yeah, all week.’ Dulcie didn’t trust herself to say anything more. ‘I’m sorry, sweetie. I’ll see if I can get away for an hour or two. Leave your phone on?’
    â€˜Of course,’ she said, working hard to keep the disappointment out of her voice. ‘Love you.’ But he was already gone.
    â€˜Nobody understands me but my cat,’ Dulcie said to the uncaring emptiness as she rounded the corner to the departmental headquarters. After yesterday’s meeting, it didn’t look quite as welcoming. Maybe her colleagues were right, she mused as she walked up the street. Maybe the looming new psych building had ruined the little house’s appeal. She checked her watch. If the meeting were on time, it would have started. And while that was doubtful, it did mean she didn’t have time to touch base with Suze, either. Another gray squirrel, this one halfway up a denuded maple, paused as she spoke. ‘Even you are more thoughtful than my kitten. Or my friends,’ she said, addressing the bright-eyed creature. It raced up the tree, and with a sigh, Dulcie mounted the steps.
    â€˜Conference room,’ Nancy stage-whispered, pointing toward the back.
    â€˜Just a quick refill.’ Dulcie popped the lid of her mug. As she did, she looked over at the bulletin board, where ads for sublets and calls for journal submissions usually held sway. To her surprise, a large flier took precedence today, tacked boldly over something about the undergrad poetry magazine. The flier, dated that morning, asked in bold letters: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS STUDENT? Underneath was a little information: the student being sought was named Carrie Mines. She’d lived off campus and so was affiliated with Dudley House. She was a sophomore. In her distracted state, Dulcie felt a memory tickling. The name was familiar. Had she had her in a section? Dulcie moved closer to examine the face. The photo had clearly come from an ID card, the kind everyone grimaced over and would never willingly share. To make matters worse, it had been blown up almost to the point of graininess, but the face was still distinctive. Striking, rather than pretty, with wild dark hair and wide-set light eyes, maybe gray, maybe blue. Underneath, bold type read: ‘Campus police are seeking any information.’
    â€˜Dulcie?’ The secretary was holding a full pot, ready to pour. But Dulcie wasn’t looking at her. Something about the eyes in that photo – a little too open, a