Read Online The Night Season by Chelsea Cain - Free Book Online Page B

under the sink. It was maybe the best food she’d ever had.
    Robbins and Archie had just briefed the chief on their theory, which, when said aloud, didn’t amount to much, and created more questions than answers.
    Susan liked Chief Eaton. He was small, maybe five-four, but didn’t seem that bothered by it. And he’d let Archie go back to work after his two-month stay at the psych ward, which must have required cutting through some red tape.
    He rubbed his face with his hand. Looked at Archie. Looked at Robbins. And then rubbed his face again.
    “Six houses just slid down the West Hills,” he said. “Eleven dead. The river is still rising. I-5 is closed at Chehalis. Oregon City and Tillamook are flooding. You do not breathe a word of this. You get your team on it. Bring in whomever you need. But try to do it quietly. And keep me posted.”
    He started for the door and stopped in front of Claire, who was sitting in a plastic chair next to Susan.
    “I’m sorry about Henry,” he said to her.
    “He’s a good cop,” Claire said.
    “Cut the crap, Claire,” Eaton said. “Everyone knows about you two.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    He put his hat on. It was covered with clear plastic to protect it from the rain. “Take care of yourself, everyone,” he said, and went out the door.
    Claire brought her hands to her face. “Shit,” she said through her fingers. “I left that guy handcuffed to the bench.” She dropped her hands and stood up. “I need to make a call,” she announced, stepping out of the room.
    Archie raised his eyebrows at Susan.
    She knew when to change the subject. “How long will Henry’s tox screen take?” she asked Robbins.
    “Depends. They have to run a lot of tests. I brought them a sample from Stephanie Towner. That might help.” He took a step toward Archie and clapped his hand on Archie’s shoulder. “Look,” he said, “I’ve got to get back to the morgue. We’ve got a lot we still need to get out of there. I’ll check in later.”
    “Thanks,” Archie said.
    As Robbins passed Susan, he glanced down at her feet. “You’ve washed those boots since you were at the morgue, right? Before you came to a hospital and tracked biohazards all over the ER?”
    She hadn’t washed them. “Absolutely,” she said.
    When he was gone, it was just Archie and Susan. She didn’t know what to say to him. He and Henry had been partners for fifteen years. They’d worked the Beauty Killer case together. Henry had been there for Archie’s wife and children the ten days he was missing, and then sat vigil with her all those weeks in the hospital after Gretchen had let Archie go, barely alive. When Archie had gone off the rails, it had been Henry who’d protected him, and who’d finally convinced him to get help.
    Archie had only recently begun resembling a sane person. He was eight months clean of painkillers. Six months out of inpatient treatment. Susan had no idea what would happen to him if Henry died.
    “I’m okay,” Archie said.
    Susan looked up. She could feel tears on her cheeks.
    “Really,” Archie said.
    Susan wiped the tears away and smiled. “Why does one of us always end up in the hospital?” she said.
    The door opened and one of the nurses popped her head in.
    Susan’s heart dropped. Henry.
    But the nurse wasn’t bringing news about their friend. “Where’s Robbins?” she asked.
    Susan let out the breath she’d been holding. “He just left,” she said.
    The nurse was carrying a long piece of Tupperware sealed with a blue lid. “I have his ulna,” she said.
    “His what?” Archie asked.
    “His ulna.” She indicated her forearm. “Arm bone,” she explained. “Apparently he sent some bodies to our morgue, and they found this ulna on one of the cadaver trays tucked next to a corpse. Robbins was supposed to pick it up.”
    Through the milky plastic, Susan could make out the bone, brown and cracked from so many years underground.
    Ralph, she thought.
    “Give it to me,”