Read Online Born Innocent by Christine Rimmer - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Christine Rimmer
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walked you home.”
“ Yes.”
“ And after that, what happened?”
Claire took in a breath. The truth was going to sound bad. Very bad. But lying would do her no good. If they hadn’t already done so, they would talk to the couple who’d found her outside, leaning against the main building after Henson had attacked her. And they’d talk to Verna and Amelia, both of whom would have to tell them that she’d had some kind of conflict with Alan Henson last night. In the end, Claire realized, the truth was all she had.
So she told it. Slowly and clearly. Right up to the moment when she sent Verna home.
After she was done, her mother looked as if she might pass out, Sheriff Dan reached for yet another praline and Undersheriff Leven still wore that unpleasant smile.
Leven pressed a little, “Are you sure Henson was unhurt when you left him?”
“ Yes. I’m positive.”
Leven did not look convinced, but he evidently decided to move along anyway. He asked the question Claire had been dreading more than all the others. “After Verna Higgins left you alone, what did you do next?”
Even though she had known this moment was coming, she still was not fully prepared for it. Her mouth was very dry, suddenly. She took another sip of coffee.
How could she tell the rest? How could she say it?
I took a pregnancy test and found out I’m going to have a baby....
How could she just say that—in front of her poor mother and Sheriff Dan and the disapproving Leven?
Claire had hardly adjusted to the fact that she was pregnant herself. The thought of having her mother, Sheriff Dan and a virtual stranger know right now, before she’d even had a chance to think about what to do—no, she wouldn’t do it. She couldn’t do it. It was none of their business and it had nothing to do with Alan Henson, anyway....
“ Ms. Snow?” Undersheriff Leven prompted. “I asked what you did next.”
Claire set her coffee cup into its saucer. It made a scraping, clattering sound, a sure giveaway that she was rattled. She jerked her hands away from the betraying cup and folded them in her lap. The others were watching her, waiting. She kn ew she had to say something.
“ Well, I...”
And the service bell out at the desk rang.
The other three tensed at the sound. For her part, Claire had never known such relief, even though she was fully aware that it was only a temporary reprieve.
She stood up. “Excuse me a moment. There’s someone out in front. I’ll be right back.” Claire stepped around the coffee table and made a beeline for the foyer and the front desk beyond.
She came through the inner door to the lobby with a big, grateful smile on her face for whoever it was that had unwittingly interrupted her grim moment of truth. But the smile froze in place when she saw who her rescuer was.
Joe.
He stood there on the other side of the desk, looking hard and rangy and ready for anything. He was dressed in his usual faded jeans and a dark shirt.
Claire wanted to run to him and bury her face against his hard chest, and beg him to help her out of the trap she felt closing around her.
He didn’t waste any time. “Brawley’s back there now?” he asked quietly, tipping his head toward the door behind her.
She nodded. “And Wayne Leven, too. How did you know?”
“ The word’s out,” he said cryptically. “You’re in trouble.”
“ I know. Oh, Lord...”
“ What did you tell them?”
Claire collected herself and explained as succinctly as she could. “I told the truth. Last night in his bungalow, Henson more or less attacked me. I hit him with a water glass and told him to get out by noon today.”
“ Was he hurt?”
“ By the glass, you mean? No. It was a very thin glass, and he wasn’t even cut that I could see. He was fine when I left him.”
Joe’s amber eyes bored through her. “What else?”
“ At noon today, I went to order him out, and I found him unconscious on the floor of his bungalow. From what the
“ Yes.”
“ And after that, what happened?”
Claire took in a breath. The truth was going to sound bad. Very bad. But lying would do her no good. If they hadn’t already done so, they would talk to the couple who’d found her outside, leaning against the main building after Henson had attacked her. And they’d talk to Verna and Amelia, both of whom would have to tell them that she’d had some kind of conflict with Alan Henson last night. In the end, Claire realized, the truth was all she had.
So she told it. Slowly and clearly. Right up to the moment when she sent Verna home.
After she was done, her mother looked as if she might pass out, Sheriff Dan reached for yet another praline and Undersheriff Leven still wore that unpleasant smile.
Leven pressed a little, “Are you sure Henson was unhurt when you left him?”
“ Yes. I’m positive.”
Leven did not look convinced, but he evidently decided to move along anyway. He asked the question Claire had been dreading more than all the others. “After Verna Higgins left you alone, what did you do next?”
Even though she had known this moment was coming, she still was not fully prepared for it. Her mouth was very dry, suddenly. She took another sip of coffee.
How could she tell the rest? How could she say it?
I took a pregnancy test and found out I’m going to have a baby....
How could she just say that—in front of her poor mother and Sheriff Dan and the disapproving Leven?
Claire had hardly adjusted to the fact that she was pregnant herself. The thought of having her mother, Sheriff Dan and a virtual stranger know right now, before she’d even had a chance to think about what to do—no, she wouldn’t do it. She couldn’t do it. It was none of their business and it had nothing to do with Alan Henson, anyway....
“ Ms. Snow?” Undersheriff Leven prompted. “I asked what you did next.”
Claire set her coffee cup into its saucer. It made a scraping, clattering sound, a sure giveaway that she was rattled. She jerked her hands away from the betraying cup and folded them in her lap. The others were watching her, waiting. She kn ew she had to say something.
“ Well, I...”
And the service bell out at the desk rang.
The other three tensed at the sound. For her part, Claire had never known such relief, even though she was fully aware that it was only a temporary reprieve.
She stood up. “Excuse me a moment. There’s someone out in front. I’ll be right back.” Claire stepped around the coffee table and made a beeline for the foyer and the front desk beyond.
She came through the inner door to the lobby with a big, grateful smile on her face for whoever it was that had unwittingly interrupted her grim moment of truth. But the smile froze in place when she saw who her rescuer was.
Joe.
He stood there on the other side of the desk, looking hard and rangy and ready for anything. He was dressed in his usual faded jeans and a dark shirt.
Claire wanted to run to him and bury her face against his hard chest, and beg him to help her out of the trap she felt closing around her.
He didn’t waste any time. “Brawley’s back there now?” he asked quietly, tipping his head toward the door behind her.
She nodded. “And Wayne Leven, too. How did you know?”
“ The word’s out,” he said cryptically. “You’re in trouble.”
“ I know. Oh, Lord...”
“ What did you tell them?”
Claire collected herself and explained as succinctly as she could. “I told the truth. Last night in his bungalow, Henson more or less attacked me. I hit him with a water glass and told him to get out by noon today.”
“ Was he hurt?”
“ By the glass, you mean? No. It was a very thin glass, and he wasn’t even cut that I could see. He was fine when I left him.”
Joe’s amber eyes bored through her. “What else?”
“ At noon today, I went to order him out, and I found him unconscious on the floor of his bungalow. From what the
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