Read Online Play Dead by Harlan Coben - Free Book Online Page A

is it?' she asked.
    'Laura just called from Australia,' he began slowly, his strength ebbing away with each word. 'David's dead. He got caught up in some powerful current and drowned.'
    Despair swept through Gloria. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. Not David. Not the only man her sister had ever loved. Not the only man who had ever treated Gloria like a person, the only true friend she had ever had.
    She broke then and ran to her father on frail legs, the tears already starting to pour down her face.
    It just couldn't be.
    T.C. sat next to Laura on the plane. She had barely spoken since he had delivered the news, asking only one question: 'When can I see the body?'
    T.C. had hoped she would not ask that question. 'There's no need,' he had said gently.
    'But I want -- '
    'No you don't.'
    T.C. had taken care of the rest of the details quickly. He knew that David had no real family to contact. His only living relative was Stan, his piece-of-shit brother who none of them had seen for over a decade and who would probably applaud David's death. No need to contact that scumbag. T.C. had also been busy making sure the press did not hassle Laura too much. He knew that once Laura returned to Boston, the press vultures would be all over her, wanting to know the tiniest tidbit of how it felt to have your heart ripped out of your chest. He decided the best thing would be to hide Laura in Serita's apartment for a little while, but T.C. knew from past experience that the press could only be denied for so long.
    He turned toward her. He had been searching his brain, desperately trying to think of a way of easing some of her pain. His eyes watched her, concentrated on her every movement as if they would give him a clue as to what he should do. It was a useless exercise and T.C. knew it.
    Damn you for doing this to her, David. Damn you.
    He also knew what Laura was thinking under the haze of anguish because he was one of the few people who knew the truth about David and his affliction. He had witnessed its awesome effects firsthand. He had seen it nearly kill his best friend.
    But Laura had put that all in the past, thank God. Somehow, she had sought and eventually destroyed the evil spectre that had tormented David Baskin for a good portion of his life. But still, they were haunted by the fear that the spectre would one day return. Was the spectre truly dead, they wondered, or like some Godzilla sequel was he just hiding, regaining his strength, preparing to one day attack with a vengeance that would destroy David once and for all?
    And the more immediate question that T.C. knew Laura was asking herself: Had the creature paralyzed David's body in a wave of unbearable agony while he tried to handle the treacherous waters? If she had stayed with him, could she have done something to protect her beloved David from the cruel creature within?
    T.C. reached out and patted her hand. He wanted to tell her to stop thinking such thoughts. He wanted to tell her that David had not had another attack. He wanted to tell her that there was nothing Laura could have done to change what had happened.
    But of course, he could not tell Laura any of those things. She would never just accept his word. She would demand to know how he knew so much about David's drowning.
    And that was something he could never tell her.
    Dr James Ayars had seriously considered canceling all his appointments for the day. It was something he had not done in over twenty years, not allowing himself to become ill during that entire time period. He had always prided himself on being punctual. Every Monday through Friday -- save his three weeks' vacation each year - began with hospital rounds at seven thirty in the morning, followed by his first office appointment at nine, his last one at four thirty, another quick visit to the patients in the hospital, and then back to his home on the outskirts of Boston. If a day was to be missed for personal reasons, he gave his patients and staff at