Jill Jackson - 04 - Watch the World Burn Read Online Free PDF

an induced coma.’
    ‘It’s just so terrible. I’m so sorry this has happened,’ said Troy. ‘Would you mind if I came over to visit?’
    ‘You won’t be able to see her.’
    ‘That’s okay, David. I just feel like I should come. I want to make sure you’re all right too.’ Find out if you’ve remembered how the hell your mother got burned.
    ‘Sure. You can come. That would be very good of you. Actually, I’d kind of like the support while the police are here.’
    ‘Detective Hutchinson mentioned he’d be coming out to see you,’ said Troy.
    ‘What do they want?’ asked David.
    Troy paused, furrowed his brow. ‘Well, they have to try to figure out what happened. How this happened.’
    ‘Anyway, you can come,’ said David. ‘My daughter’s here. She’s pretty broken up about her grandmother.’
    ‘I’ll be there in about an hour, David,’ said Troy, ringing off. He stood. ‘I’m first in the bathroom, Luce.’
    She bolted for the door. Never fails, he thought.
    ‘Hi, Mona,’ Lucy said to the skinny Goth girl perched on the arm of a chair next to David Caine.
    ‘Lucy,’ said the girl.
    ‘You two know each other?’ asked Troy.
    ‘Mona’s in the year above me at school,’ said Lucy. ‘Sorry to hear about your grandmother,’ she said to Mona.
    The girl pulled at a piercing on her lip. Goth or Emo? Troy wondered. Luce assured him there was a huge difference. But they both wear black, have piercings, hate the world and are permanently depressed, aren’t they? he’d asked her once. Yep, she’d told him. And they write poetry, trowel on eyeliner and think about offing themselves all the time? Yep. And they’re different? he’d said. They’re nothing like each other, she’d snorted. You’re so old.
    Troy watched the girls draw together, speaking quietly. He turned to Caine. ‘Any news on your mum?’ he asked. Unsurprisingly, the man looked as though he hadn’t slept at all. He’s changed his clothes, at least, thought Troy. He would have struggled to recall this man if they hadn’t met under such traumatic circumstances. Approximately one hundred and seventy centimetres tall, thirty-five to forty, greying brown hair, average build, Kmart jeans and dull green shirt. Most people could live next door to this bloke for years and not pick him down at the local shops.
    ‘The surgeon’s coming to see her today. He’s the best, apparently.’ Caine grunted. ‘Every specialist is supposedly the best. You never hear anyone say “He’s okay” or “He’s crap”.’
    Troy gave a tight smile. What do you say to that? ‘Have the police been in yet?’ he asked.
    ‘Good timing,’ said Caine.
    Troy turned and saw Scott Hutchinson striding down the hall. The detective towered over a blonde woman in cargo pants and white T-shirt. He watched her as the couple made their way towards him and Caine. Hot, was his first thought. Cop, his second. Almost unconsciously, he dropped his right hand below his chair to hide his missing fingers. Suddenly ashamed of himself, he raised it again, coughed, and deliberately covered his mouth so she’d see. If any girl didn’t want to know him with a hand like this, he didn’t want to know her.
    Bad luck anyway, he thought. Just as the couple approached, his instincts told him they were together.
    ‘Mr Berrigan,’ said Hutchinson, holding his hand out to Troy. ‘Mr Caine. The nurses pointed us over here. You remember me from last night – Scott Hutchinson? You can call me Scotty.’ He shook hands with Caine. ‘This is Detective Jill Jackson.’
    Troy watched Caine shake hands with Detective Jackson. Then she turned to face him.
    ‘It’s good to meet you,’ she said, and smiled.
    They know, he thought, feeling sick. Of course they know. It’s their job to know who you are. Still, it had been a couple of years since he’d met anyone who knew about the shooting. He avoided police at all costs.
    ‘I came to see how Mrs Caine is doing,’ Troy