Mark was eleven and had been smoking off and on for two years, never trying to quit but being careful not to get hooked. He preferred kools, his ex-father's brand, but his mother smoked Virginia 30 страница

He turned slowly, and stared at her in terror as this reality sunk in. He took two steps toward her, then stopped. Reggie left her small group and walked to him. She knelt on the tarmac, and looked into his panicked eyes.

He bit his lip. "You can't come with us, can you?" he asked slowly in a frightened voice. Though they had talked for hours, this subject was never touched.

She shook her head as her eyes watered.

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. The FBI agents were close by, but not watching. For once in his life, he was not ashamed to cry in public. "But I want you to go," he said.

"I can't, Mark." She leaned forward, took both of his shoulders, and hugged him gently. "I can't go." Tears flooded his cheeks. "I'm sorry about all this. You didn't deserve it." "But if it hadn't happened, Mark, I never would've met you." She kissed him on the cheek, and held his shoulders tight. "I love you, Mark. I'll miss you." "I'll never see you again, will I?" His lip quivered and tears dripped off his chin. His voice was frail.

She gritted her teeth and shook her head. "No, Mark." Reggie took a deep breath, and stood. She wanted to grab him, and take him home to Momma Love. He could have the bedroom upstairs, and all the spaghetti and ice cream he could eat.

Instead, she nodded at the plane where Dianne was standing in the door, waiting patiently. He wiped his cheeks again. "I'll never see you again," he said, almost to himself. He turned, and made a feeble attempt to straighten his shoulders, but he couldn't. He walked slowly to the steps, and glanced back for one last look.

MNUTES LATER, AS THE PLANE TAXIED TO THE END OF the runway, Glint eased to her side and took her hand. They watched silently as it took off and finally disappeared in the clouds.

She wiped tears from both cheeks. "I think I'll become a real estate lawyer," she said. "I can't take any more of this." "He's quite a kid," Glint said.

"It hurts, Glint." He squeezed her hand harder. "I know." Trumann appeared quietly beside her, and the three of them looked at the sky. She noticed him, and pulled the micro-cassette tape from her pocket. "It's yours," she said. He took it.

"The body is in the garage behind Jerome Clifford's house," she said, still wiping tears, "886 East Brookline." Trumann turned to his left and stuck a radio to his mouth. The agents bolted for their cars. Reggie and Glint did not move.

"Thanks, Reggie," Trumann said, now suddenly eager to leave.

She nodded at the distant clouds. "Don't thank me," she said. "Thank Mark."

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04