The Unbidden Truth by Kate Wilhelm Read Free Book Online Page B

me with murder to scare me, didn’t they? They said it could be ten years to life. So I’d agree to something less, like self-defense or something. Is that how they play their game?”
    â€œMaybe. You understand that you can plea bargain anytime, from now until it goes to trial? What you can’t do is take off in your car for parts unknown. You understand that?”
    â€œSure. They’d really bag me then. But I won’t say I did it, no matter what. Because I didn’t. But I’m scared, Barbara. Real scared.”
    She could go from street-smart tough to vulnerable and hurt to frightened, and each had an entirely different effect on her expression. Her eyes widened now and she blinked several times. Barbara wondered if she wept when she was alone.
    After Carrie left, she turned to Maria. “And you go to lunch. Why do you always wait to be told?”
    â€œI was busy,” Maria said. She smiled. “I’m afraid you’ll have to go to Phoenix on Thursday to keep your date on Friday. I have the schedule here, and a map, plane reservations, room reservations, a car reserved. All set.”
    â€œIt’s hard to hate you,” Barbara said, taking the folder Maria held out. “Thanks. Now beat it.”
    â€œShelley’s on the track of an apartment,” Maria said, picking up her purse. “She said she’ll check in this afternoon.”
    Â 
    At that moment Frank and Shelley were standing in the middle of an apartment over Darren’s garage. It was unfurnished except for the usual kitchen appliances. Darren lounged in the doorway watching them.
    â€œWhat do you think?” Frank asked Shelley.
    â€œIt’s perfect. Do you want to help me pick out furniture?” she asked Darren.
    â€œNo way. I haven’t even finished my own place yet. Get whatever you’d get if you were moving in.”
    Frank cleared his throat. He suspected that Darren had no idea just how rich a young woman Shelley was. Her father built yachts, her mother was an heiress in her own right and Shelley had come into a big trust fund when she turned twenty-one. She probably never looked at a price tag. “Maybe you should keep things in the price range you think Barbara would go for. You understand. Pick out things that she might have chosen for herself.”
    Shelley dimpled and nodded. “Gotcha. Why don’t you both go on down and eat your sandwiches while I start a list?” She already had her notebook out, making a sketch of the apartment.
    Frank had called Darren as soon as he entered his office that morning and made the date for lunch, with a business proposition, he had said. He had picked up deli sandwiches on the way to the clinic to collect Darren. In the car, he had explained what he had in mind. It was a simple deal. They would furnish the apartment for Carrie in lieu of rent for a couple of months, if that was agreeable.
    â€œShe’ll blow her stack when she finds out,” Darren had warned, without defining whom he meant by “she.”
    Frank had smiled and explained the difficulties Carrie would face trying to find a furnished apartment in her predicament. Then Darren had grinned and said it sounded like a great deal.
    The two men left Shelley to do her list, and went down to eat lunch. Frank knew “she” would blow her stack, but he also knew that as she became more and more involved in her case, Darren would be put on hold for a long time, and he did not intend for that to happen. “She” would be out of town Thursday, Friday and most of Saturday, and with any luck, Carrie would be settled in by then. Fait accompli.

5
    T he Arizona desert was the most desolate country Barbara had ever seen. White sand and rocks on both sides of the road glared heat waves, and the barrenness of the landscape made the Oregon desert seem lush in comparison. Here, only a few, widely spaced cactus plants were visible. Ahead, a water mirage