Silent Scream Read Online Free PDF

the crackled reply from their captain.
    David pushed to his knees, the ball clutched in his glove. They crawled to the stairwell, not breathing easily until they
     stood on solid earth. He ripped off his mask with his free hand, sucking in air. His knees were weak, but he’d never let anyone
     see that.
    “Hunter?”
    MPD’s arson guy had arrived. David considered him a straight shooter. “Barlow.”
    “I hear the floor collapsed. You two okay?”
    “Yeah.” He held out his gloved hand, the ball still tucked in his palm. “I found this near where the girl died.”
    Barlow’s brows shot up. “You disturbed the scene?”
    “There is no more scene,” David said dryly. “The floor where I found her is completely gone. The ball was headed for the hole
     and I grabbed it. Reflex.”
    “It was a hell of a save,” Jeff put in. “Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, then
pow
. Hunter pulls it out. Then I pulled him out,” he added wryly. “Now he owes me big-time.”
    David rolled his eyes. “Barlow, you want the damn ball or not?”
    Barlow shook his head. “Come with me. You can give it to Homicide yourself. She’s not going to be happy that you disturbed
     the scene.”
    For the second time that night David had the sensation of free-fall.
She
. He only knew of one female homicide detective. He started walking.
Thank you.
    Monday, September 20, 1:25 a.m.
    Eric lifted his head from his hands, looking up as Mary came into the room, toweling her hair. She frowned over at his sofa,
     where Joel lay motionless, eyes closed.
    “He’s still out cold? Damn, Albert, you hit him too hard.”
    Albert grunted from his chair. “He came to while you were using all the hot water.”
    She shot Albert a hostile look. “Fuck off. My roommates would ask questions if I came home smelling like a goddamn forest
     fire.” Gently, she sat on the sofa, hip to hip with Joel. “Come on, baby,” she said quietly. “You gotta snap out of this.”
    Joel’s swallow was audible. “We killed her.”
    Mary lifted a shoulder. “Yes, we did. And we’ll have to live with that. But we’re not telling anyone. We have to act like
     everything’s normal, or we all go to jail.”
    Joel nodded miserably. “I see her face. Pressed up against the glass.”
    As did Eric. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was her mouth, open. Screaming. They hadn’t seen her when they
     were pouring out the glue. She must have been hiding somewhere. Squatting. “She was in that building illegally.”
    Joel’s laugh bordered on hysterical. “You can actually use the word
illegally
? So it’s not our fault? Is that what you’re saying? Do you honestly believe that shit?”
    “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Eric said firmly. They had to face facts, and the fact was, he wasn’t going to prison. “We
     stand together, Joel.”
    “But we killed her,” Joel whispered, his voice breaking. “We killed her.”
    “Be a man, Fischer,” Albert snarled. “Yeah, we fucking killed her. Get over it.”
    Mary’s eyes narrowed. “Leave him alone. He’s in shock and in pain. You didn’t have to hit him so hard.”
    Albert’s face was darkly ominous. “I should have hit him harder. Then I wouldn’t have to listen to him whine.
We killed her
,” he mimicked cruelly. “So goddamn fucking what? We can’t change it, so tell your pussy boyfriend just to shut the hell up
     about it or I’ll shut him up myself.”
    White-faced with fury, Mary opened her mouth to deliver what would surely have been a diatribe every neighbor on Eric’s floor
     would hear.
    “Settle down,” Eric snapped. “We set out to make a statement. We wanted to send a message to the developers—keep away from
     our wetlands. We sent that message.”
    Joel sat up, gingerly pressing his fingertips to the knot on the back of his head left by Albert’s club. “Don’t kid yourself.
     Nobody’s going to hear our message. All anyone will remember is that girl
died
.