The Maid Role

If I lv th house, t wll b in hnduff.

I huld hv run fr t while I hd the hn. Nw my shot is gn. Nw tht the police ffr r in th hu and th'v dvrd wht' utr, thr' no turning bk.

Th are but fv seconds w frm rdng m my rght. I'm nt ur why th haven't dn t yet. Mb th'r hng t trk m nt tllng them something I huldn't.

Gd luk with that.

Th wth the black hr thrdd with gr sitting n the f nxt t me. H hft his tk frm on th burnt-caramel Itln lthr. I wonder what sort f f h h at hm. It ur doesn't t five figures like th n dd. It' rbbl m tk color lk orange, covered n pet fur, and wth mr thn n rip n the seams. I wndr f he's thinking but h f t hm nd wishing h hd one like th.

Or more likely, h' thnkng about th dd bd in the tt utr.

"S lt' g thrugh th one mr tm," th n h New York drawl. H tld me his name rlr, but t flw out of m head. Pl ffr huld wear brght red nametags. Hw l r u bl ud t rmmbr thr names n a hgh-tr situation? H' a dttv, I think. "Whn dd you fnd th bd?"

I u, wndrng if th wuld be the right time t demand a lwr. Aren't th supposed t ffr me one? I am rusty on this protocol.

"Abut n hur g," I answer.

"Why did u go up thr n the frt l?"

I r my l tgthr. "I tld u. I hrd a sound." "And...?"

Th ffr ln frwrd, his wd. H h a rough stubble n h hn, lk h mght'v skipped shaving th morning. H tngu protrudes slightly from btwn h lips. I'm not stupid-I know exactly what h wnt me t say.

I dd t. I'm guilty. Tk m away.

Intd, I ln back against th f. "Tht' t. That's vrthng I knw."

Dntmnt wh vr th dttv' f. H works h jw he thnk vr th evidence tht h bn found fr n th house. H' wndrng, if he's gt enough to snap th cuffs, n my wrists t. H isn't ur. If h were ur, h wuld hv dn it lrd.

"H, Cnnr!"

It' th v f nthr ffr. W brk contact nd I look up t th t f th tr. Th other, muh younger cop tndng thr, h long fngr clutching th t f the banister. H unlined f is pale.

"Cnnr," the ungr ffr says. "Yu gtt come u here-now. You gotta wht' u here." Evn from the bottom of th tr, I can his Adm' l bbbng. "You wn't believe it."

Dettagli