The Night Killer Read Online Free PDF Page B

here and get off your feet? I believe I’ve got a bottle of water.”
    The deputy put a supportive arm around her and walked her around to the passenger side. He opened the door for her and took her arm to help her in.
    “My shoes . . .” Diane began, indicating the muddy globs encasing her footwear.
    “Does this look like a vehicle that’s finicky about a little mud?” He grinned. “Get in.”
    She climbed in the blessedly dry vehicle and Deputy Conrad went around to the other side and got in. He reached behind the front seats and came up with three bottles of water held together by plastic rings.
    “Try a little of this,” he said.
    Diane reached to take a bottle from him. Her hand was shaking uncontrollably. “Thank you,” she said. “I guess I’m more tired than I thought.” She twisted open the bottle cap and took a long drink of water.
    “Let me see here,” Deputy Conrad said. He reached into the glove compartment, felt around for a moment, and pulled out a candy bar. “Never know when I might get low blood sugar. Chocolate okay?”
    “Absolutely perfect,” Diane said. She fumbled with the wrapper before finally tearing it open, and took three bites in rapid succession. She realized that her head was spinning. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat.
    “You just relax. You’ve had a time of it,” Conrad said. “That ought to make you feel better in just a few minutes.” He put the Jeep in gear and started out. The tires spun and the Jeep slipped sideways in the mud for a few feet before he straightened it on the road.
    “We gotta do something about these roads,” he said. “Where were you headed to, anyway?”
    “Looking for a phone,” Diane said.
    “You know, Roy and Ozella Barre live right up the road here. You must have passed their place. I’m sure they wouldn’t have minded you getting them up,” he said.
    “That’s why I was looking for a phone,” Diane said.
    “What’s why you were looking for a phone? You know, you’re not making a lot of sense. You just relax until you feel better.”
    “No, you don’t understand,” said Diane. “I left the Barres’ house earlier this evening, about seven thirty. I had the altercation with the man at the house on Massey Road, and managed to get back to the Barres’ after more than five hours of trudging through the woods on foot.”
    “In all this storm? That must have been quite a hike,” he said.
    “But listen, about the Barres.” Diane stopped, a lump forming in her throat.
    “Afraid to wake them up?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the muddy road.
    “No. It’s much more serious. Look. This is hard,” she said. “The Barres are dead. When I got back here, I found them murdered in their house. Someone has killed them.”
    Deputy Conrad slammed on the brakes. The Jeep fishtailed in the road before coming to a stop. Diane pressed against the seat belt and held on to the dash.
    “What do you mean, killed?” he asked, as if he didn’t know what the word meant.
    “Someone cut their throats. They are sitting at their dining table,” said Diane. “They’re both dead. I found them not more than thirty minutes ago. Their phone is dead too.”
    “Is this for real? This is not some joke, because if it is . . .”
    “I wish it were,” said Diane.
    “I just saw them yesterday at the Waffle House,” he said. “He was all happy about someone from the museum in Rosewood coming to look at his arrowheads.” He looked over at Diane. “I guess that’d be you.”
    “Yes,” she said. “That was me.”
    Deputy Conrad rubbed his hands over his face. “Aw, God.” He looked over at Diane. “You know, you’ve had a hard night. Maybe you’re delirious, maybe you—”
    “Imagined it?” said Diane. “I wish I had. I hope when we get to their house you find them safe in bed and you can yell at me for scaring you.”
    He took his foot off the brake and pressed the accelerator. The tires spun and the Jeep slid