Elizabeth Bloom The Mortician's Daughter (pdf)

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minded her of a lost child. She sat next to him on the cot and
put a hand on his knee.
I can only think of one reason why Dulaine would have
risked trying to dig up Paula s body, she said. Eighteen years
ago he wouldn t have worried about the baby s DNA. LeGrand
gasped, eyes darting around the room but seeing nothing. But
now, with the construction on the lake
Shut your mouth, Dulaine snapped.
Ginny ignored him. Sonya said her sister had come into
some money before she disappeared. I doubt you were the one
who gave it to her. LeGrand shook his head, almost impercep-
tibly, and bit his bottom lip. She couldn t hold down a job. So
where does a girl like that get money? From a rich boyfriend.
A snide expression had taken up residence on Dulaine s face.
LeGrand, on the other hand, was starting to look like he was
only half there.
How dare you accuse me of consorting with that slut? Du-
laine hissed at her. I have no idea what happened to Paula and
her bastard brat, but she deserved whatever she got.
Ginny had been on guard against Dulaine. It hadn t occurred
to her to worry about the priest to imagine that this agonized,
guilt-ridden shade of a man might try to overpower her as she
sat there comforting him.
She should have known better; fury can be more potent than
steroids. Still, she wasn t prepared for the priest to shove her for-
T he M or ti ci an s D aughter 281
ward onto the floor, knocking her off balance and grabbing the
revolver from the small of her back.
The next thing Ginny knew, Father LeGrand had leaped to
his feet, with more agility than she would ve thought he pos-
sessed. He stood there, the .38 surprisingly firm in his grip,
aimed directly at Dulaine.
Then, with the dexterity of someone who knew just how to
handle a gun, he slid the safety off.
48
Z
ather, she said, give me the gun.
F He ignored her.
Stop waving that thing around, Dulaine said. You don t
even know what you re doing.
My father taught me, LeGrand said.
Dulaine didn t look impressed. You know you couldn t hurt
a fly. When the priest didn t answer, Dulaine yelled, Officer!
No one came. There were only two cops on duty in the sta-
tion, and neither of them was in earshot.
Be quiet! LeGrand shouted at him. And don t move.
His tone was near hysterical, totally at odds with his steady
grip on the gun. Dulaine looked at the weapon, his face sud-
denly revealing a healthy respect for its ability to do harm.
What are you going to do, Pierre? he asked in a voice still
tinged with condescension. Shoot me? You re a priest.
And you re a deacon, LeGrand said. How could you?
282 E li zabeth B loom
Arrogance overtook fear. Be careful, Dulaine said. You
can t violate the confessional.
LeGrand cocked the revolver. How dare you hide behind
the church? For years I ve watched you throw your weight
around, like you were the only one holy enough to tell right from
wrong. But you re nothing but a hypocrite.
Officer!
Dulaine s second cry for help was no more successful than
the first, but it did an excellent job of infuriating the priest.
LeGrand moved closer, pressing the barrel against Dulaine s
forehead. Ginny stepped forward, approaching him with an out-
stretched hand.
Father, she said, please give me the gun.
Take one more step, the priest said, and I ll kill him right
now. I swear it.
Ginny let her arm drop. Nobody has to get hurt, she said.
Dulaine will pay for what he did. I promise.
He ignored her, turning back to Dulaine. Get on your
knees, he said.
The banker raised his hands in a posture of surrender. Take
it easy, Pierre. You don t
Get on your knees!
Dulaine did as he was told, arms still raised.
Now, the priest said, pray for forgiveness.
LeGrand took a step back, gun still aimed at Dulaine s head.
The banker brought his palms together, diamond pinkie ring
glinting in the light of the single bulb.
I m sorry, Dulaine said in a voice finally devoid of
bravado. Please forgive me.
Now tell her what you did. Tell her how you killed that poor
girl.
Dulaine turned a pair of pleading eyes to Ginny. You can t
just let him
T he M or ti ci an s D aughter 283
Tell her!
Something in the priest s voice scared Dulaine even more
than before. He squeezed his eyes shut, hands pressed together
in supplication, immaculate coat getting sullied with dust.
Pierre asked me for help, Dulaine whimpered, eyes still
closed. One day I found him crying in the rectory, and he told
me everything. How Paula was pregnant and she wanted him to
go away with her. He opened his eyes, again appealing to
Ginny. Please, you can t just stand there and
I said tell her!
The priest stood over him, eyes filled with fury. Dulaine
drew in a quick, terrified breath.
Pierre didn t know I was seeing her, too. I d been seeing her
for years. She promised to stop her whoring and put her bas-
tard son up for adoption and be faithful to me. So I gave her
money, and I said I d set her up in an apartment. He turned
back to Ginny in a pathetic bid for understanding. I loved her.
I was obsessed with her. You have no idea how beautiful she
was, how incredibly sensual. She made me feel so alive. My wife
will only have relations with the lights off, like making love to a
corpse
Arthur.
It was one word, but it contained enough malice to make
Dulaine squeeze his eyes shut again, like LeGrand and his gun
were too terrible to behold.
I was jealous, he said. I was crazy with it. I planned the
whole thing. Paula had told Pierre to meet her at the Fish Pond.
I told him I d meet her instead I d talk some sense into her and
put her on a bus out of town. When she got there, she was so
excited about running off with another man. When she saw it
was me, she was confused. I told her she had no right. No right
to bleed me dry and make a fool of me to take my money and
then cuckold me with a priest.
284 E li zabeth B loom
Dulaine s speech had come out in a torrent, one word slam-
ming into the next, spittle raining onto the floor in front of him
and the priest opposite. He was hyperventilating, shirtfront
heaving beneath his necktie and coat.
Finish, LeGrand said.
His voice scared Dulaine into raising his hands again in sur-
render. When he realized what he d done, he clasped his palms
back together desperately, like he hoped the priest hadn t no-
ticed.
I strangled her, he said. I didn t even give her the chance [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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