Mystery by the Sea Read Online Free PDF Page B

him, almost relieved, as if his mere
presence meant that everything would be all right.
    “Oh, Lorenzo, you finally came. Do
you know what they’re saying? That I killed Pedroza,” said Doris, laying her
hands open on the table. Lorenzo did not answer. He just looked into her eyes.
    “And is that what happened?” he
asked bluntly.
    Doris opened her mouth in
astonishment. Looking at him squarely for a few seconds, she shook her head no.
She, too, had noticed the rift lately, but Lorenzo’s question seemed to come
out of nowhere. She felt utterly alone.
    “Is that what we’ve come to? Even
you believe I’m capable of doing this?”
    “Oh, now I’m the bad guy? I
believed you when you went out, you said to work, when you’d actually
been let go. I also believed you when you said that you went to the movies last
night.”
    Doris did not respond. She knew it
looked bad. She had lied, and now everything was blowing up in her face.
    “I’m sorry. I was too scared to
tell you. I thought I could fix everything without you finding out. You haven’t
been doing well, and I didn’t want to worry you any more,” she said in a faint,
embarrassed voice.
    “Don’t use me as an excuse now. Doris,
you have to tell me,” he insisted.
    She was undoubtedly shattered and
Lorenzo wanted her to see that he was the only friend she had. So, he got up,
sat down in the seat next to her, took both of her hands in his, and looked her
directly in the eyes.
    “Look at me. Was it you?” he asked.
The question was followed by a pause that felt like an eternity to him.
    “No,” answered Doris after a deep
sigh and swallowing hard.
    “How do you explain what happened,
then? They have physical evidence and witnesses. And what were you doing there
in the first place?” asked Lorenzo.
    Doris shook her head repeatedly,
quickly and sharply, out of control.
    “Lorenzo, you have to get me out of
here. I can’t go to jail,” she said in a shaky voice, sweating.
    “Don’t worry. I’m with you,” said
Lorenzo, trying to soothe her with his voice. “I don’t want you to go to jail,
either, but you have to help. They sent me here to convince you to confess.
Tell me how…”
    “Lorenzo, you don’t understand,”
Doris cut him off quietly. “I can’t go to jail. Don’t let it happen,” she
begged him with a tear running down her cheek.
    “You know full well that it’s not in
my hands. What can I do?” explained Lorenzo.
    “Whatever you can so that I don’t
end up in jail. I can’t, I can’t go to jail,” insisted Doris, her voice rising
to a plea.
    “What do you mean you can’t ?”
asked Lorenzo, confused.
    Doris breathed deeply, as if
gulping, and raised her eyes toward Lorenzo.
    “I’m pregnant. I was going to tell
you after fixing everything with my job, but…” Doris broke into a sob. Lorenzo
had seen her cry before, or at least he thought he had. But her sobbing was
completely different this time. It was a bitter sob, an overwhelming sob that
showed deep pain. Her face was so distorted that he felt an unexpected jolt.
    Lorenzo tried to absorb the
information that Doris just revealed. It was quite possibly the best news he
had received in a long time, maybe the best news of his life. Or was it the
worst?
    “Do you know what that means?”
asked Doris, raising her voice between sobs.
    “Okay, calm down,” Lorenzo said in
a soft voice, putting his hands on her shoulders.
    “I’m not going to have my baby in
jail! Okay? We can’t allow it! No!” exclaimed Doris, raising her voice to a
shout.
    “I know, but lower your voice,” said
Lorenzo, glancing at the door to see if she had attracted the attention of the
guard waiting outside.
    “You have to get me out of here!
Get me out, get me out !” she shouted hysterically, repeatedly banging on
the table.
    Just then, the bailiff entered and
grabbed Doris by the arms, lifting her out of the chair and taking her from the
room while she continued crying inconsolably.