Читать книгу Mercy - David Kessler - Страница 19

‘We’re talking about your life!’ Alex practically shrieked. ‘When I went in to meet the governor, I thought you were a dead dog. And now he’s throwing us a lifeline—against all the fuckin’ odds! Are you just gonna fling it back in his face?’

‘You don’t understand!’ Burrow replied, sobbing into his hands. ‘I can’t tell you where she is because I don’t know where she is!’

‘What do you mean “don’t know”?’ asked Alex, looking round to make sure that the guard outside was out of earshot. ‘Are you gonna carry on with this innocent act even now, when you have a chance to save your neck?’

‘It’s not an act! Look, I’m telling you I never touched…I mean, I didn’t…’

He broke off, seeing the look of disbelief in the lawyer’s eyes. For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. Alex tried again.

‘Okay, so what do you think happened? You think someone else killed her? You think she just walked off the edge of the earth?’

‘She set me up!’

‘What?’

‘She framed me!’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Why do you think her body was never found?’

Alex realized that this was no time for pussyfooting round—not if he wanted to save his miserable client’s neck.

‘Because you buried her?’

‘Because there was no body! She’s not dead, I’m telling you. She’s sitting in a room somewhere, watching the TV, laughing her head off at this whole cornball sideshow!’

‘You think so?’ Alex practically sneered.

‘Goddamn right, I think so!’

‘And have you got anything by way of…evidence?’

Burrow looked at the lawyer like he wanted to hit him.

‘If I had evidence d’you think I’d be in this shit hole?’

Alex was breathing heavily, trying to restore calm.

‘Okay, I’m sorry, that was a stupid question. But just tell me one thing…why would she frame you?’

‘What?’

‘Motive? What’s her fucking motive?’

Burrow’s face showed how hard he felt the full force of his lawyer’s skepticism.

‘You think I’m bullshitting, don’t you?’

Alex sighed.

‘I think you’re clutching at straws.’

But he knew that this didn’t make sense either. Why would Burrow be clutching at the straw of a crackpot theory, when the governor had just thrown him a rope?

‘I think she did it because I…’

He trailed off. But Alex could see in his eyes that he wanted to say more. He tried an encouraging tone.

‘You…what?’

But Burrow’s mood had changed.

‘Look, forget it, okay? Let’s just forget it. You’ve done your best for me. I can’t say you haven’t gone the extra mile. Now let me just prepare for the inevitable.’

Alex was looking at Burrow with an uneasy thought going through his mind: this was not the response of a guilty man.