The Rebuilding Year Read Online Free PDF Page B

squeezed lightly and then withdrew. “I saw the end of it. She didn’t hesitate. Just let go and boom. She didn’t give you time.”
    Ryan looked up. Those hazel eyes were just as compassionate as the last time. John looked worriedly at him. “Did you hurt yourself? I almost had a heart attack thinking you were going to go down with her.”
    “No, I’m fine. A few scrapes.”
    “Good.”
    The emergency vehicles were bumping toward them over the grass, police and fire rescue. Too damned late. Although John was right. She hadn’t hesitated.
    The paramedics came running over and knelt beside the girl for a moment. The older one shook her head. “Skull, neck, chest. Not a chance. How far did she fall?”
    “About forty feet,” Ryan said.
    The campus police were joined by a city police car. Ryan sighed and waited. So much for a lunch hour of studying. So much for some stupid mixed-up kid’s life. At his back, John waited too, a solid presence, as the paramedics and police did their thing. After about five minutes, a cop came over to Ryan.
    “Excuse me, sir. I’m told you were the guy who went up the tree after her?”
    “Yes.”
    “And you are?”
    “Ryan Ward. I’m a med student.”
    The cop flipped to a new page in his notebook and made a note. “Officer Danielson. I’d like to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.” He glanced at Ryan’s cane, and back up. “We could sit on the bench over there, if you like.”
    Fuck. But his back was sore. He’d wrenched something in that wild grab. “Okay.” He led the way over and sat down. John didn’t follow them, but he leaned against the tree, listening. After a glance his way, the officer turned to Ryan.
    “Can you tell me your address and phone, and then run through what happened?”
    Ryan went through the story.
    “What made you go up after her?”
    “The way she was talking. She clearly wasn’t thinking normally. You’re going to want to do a complete drug screen on her.”
    The officer nodded. “Could you tell what she had taken?”
    “No clue. She was calm but weird, almost happy.”
    “She was like that the other night too,” John said from where he stood.
    “The other night, sir?”
    “Yeah. The first day of term. I was working late on the grounds, and I came across that same girl wandering in the alder grove. She was talking nonsense, like disconnected poetry. I figured she was high. I took her back to her dorm and got one of the other girls to get her back to her room. At least I assume that’s what she did. I didn’t actually go inside.”
    “You’re sure it was this girl?”
    “Yes. I got a look at her just now before she…fell. And that night, she said her name was Alice.”
    “And you didn’t report this to anyone at the time? Her dorm monitor or health services?”
    “No, I didn’t.” John’s voice got deeper. “She seemed happy, her pulse was normal, she just seemed high. It’s not my job to police these kids, as long as they seem safe.”
    “But she wasn’t safe, was she?”
    “Not this time.” John didn’t look down. “She was then.”
    “Who are you anyway?” the cop asked. “What is your job?”
    “John Barrett. Groundskeeper.”
    Barrett. Ryan figured he might actually remember that now. Although after an hour of drunken rambling, he was probably entitled to think of the man as John.
    “I’ll want to talk to you afterward.” The cop turned back to Ryan. “Even if the girl was high, what made you think it was a good idea to climb after her?”
    “I didn’t like the way she was talking about flying,” Ryan said carefully.
    “And you didn’t worry that you might scare her into falling?”
    “Sure I did.” He kept his voice even. “But she had that out-of-control feel, like she wasn’t coherent enough to even realize the danger. I hoped I could grab her first.”
    “That’s a difficult call to make.”
    “I was a firefighter for eight years. I’ve seen jumpers. And fallers. I made the