Read If She Should Die for Free Online

“Dara could be dead!”
    Christine stroked his arm. “We don’t know that, so you calm down and think good thoughts, because it’s probablynot Dara.” She glanced at Winter, who studied Jeremy with a faint frown. Obviously, he noticed the slightly childish tone of Jeremy’s speech, which did not belong to a man of twenty. She wondered if anyone had told the deputy sheriff that Jeremy Ireland was mentally disabled, that he had the intelligence of a twelve-year-old, although that age assignment was arbitrary. In many ways, he was not like a regular kid of twelve.
    “I wanna know about the body,” Jeremy demanded.
    “Let’s not talk about it now.” Christine tried to smile at him. “Let’s talk about it later when we’re home and comfortable.”
    “I’m not a little boy,” Jeremy said solemnly. “I want to know what’s happening
now
.”
    Christine sighed. No, at his level of intellectual development Jeremy wasn’t exactly a little boy. But he wasn’t an adult, either.
    Winter came forward, hand extended. “I’m Deputy Sheriff Michael Winter. Glad to meet you, Jeremy.”
    “Glad to meet you, too,” Jeremy said, shaking Winter’s hand. “Dara was sort of like my sister, but not really. Her father is our guardian.”
    “Your sister told me.”
    “So what’s goin’ on?” Jeremy asked edgily.
    “Well, Jeremy, I’m afraid the flood has washed up something unpleasant,” Winter went on without a hint of condescension. “The body of a female wrapped in plastic. It’s been in the water a long time. We can’t tell a lot about it except that it’s the right height to be Dara and it has black hair. But it might not be Dara.”
    “Why can’t you just look at the body and see if it’s Dara?”
    “Because the body has been in the water a long time. There’s been decomposition. . . .” Winter looked at Jeremy’s frown. “The body has been damaged, Jeremy. Inspite of the plastic wrapping, the water caused the skin on the body to—”
    “Rot,” Jeremy supplied bluntly. “She’s all rotted down to bones.”
    “Well, not completely—”
    Tears welled in Jeremy’s eyes. “Christy, I feel sick.”
    “Go to the bathroom and splash some cold water on your face.”
    “Cold water won’t help if Dara’s all rotted—”
    “The body hasn’t been identified,” Winter interrupted. “Jeremy, I want you to keep in mind that it may
not
be Dara.”
    “But you said there was black hair.”
    “Lots of people have black hair. It’s not proof that the body is Dara’s. Now do what your sister said. Go splash water on your face and think positive thoughts.”
    “Positive thoughts?”
    “Don’t think about it being Dara’s body until we know for sure. Stay strong. I’m sure everyone in your family is depending on you to be strong.”
    Christine looked at Winter sharply. Was he making fun of Jeremy by telling him the family was counting on him? Was Winter patronizing him? But the deputy’s expression was open and guileless. Either he was a good actor or he was genuinely trying to give Jeremy strength and encouragement.
    Jeremy nodded. “I’ll be strong; I promise.”
    He turned and walked briskly toward the back of the store. When Jeremy closed the door behind him, Winter looked at Christine. “Miss Ireland, I’m sorry to have delivered this news. I’ll be in touch with your family as soon as I know anything. In the meantime, I’m trying to keep this as quiet as I can to spare Mr. Prince more grief, although it’s hard to keep a lid on news like this.”
    “I know. So does Ames. But we appreciate your efforts, Deputy Winter.”
    The deputy rose from the table, grabbed his poncho and hat, and strode out the front door, head bent against the cold, pouring rain. Christine stood staring after him as if his exit couldn’t possibly be the end of the scene.
    “What’s wrong?” Reynaldo Cimino asked, making Christine jump. She hadn’t heard him enter the showroom. With his black hair, high