"James Patrick Kelly - The Edge of Nowhere" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kelly James Patrick)

of a book. Will was gone. If she said it aloud, it would become just another story on the MemEx. But
she had to know. "M-My boyfriend climbed over the edge a couple of hours ago trying to find a way
down the cliff. I pitched the goddamn novel he was writing after him. The end."

"But what does this have to do with The Last President?"

"That was the name of his book. Used to be. Once." She was out of breath. "Okay, you got story. Now
you owe me some god-damn truth. He's dead, right? You've absorbed him already."

Rover started to say, "I'm afraid that we have no knowledge of ...." But she didn't give the dog a chance
to finish; she slammed the door.

She decided then not to throw Will's things out. She dragged them all into the bedroom closet and
covered the pile with the electric blanket. She made one more pass around the apartment to make sure
she had everything. Then she decided to make a grocery list so she could stop at Cereno's on the way
home from work tomorrow. That's when she discovered that she had nothing to write on. She gave
herself permission to retrieve a couple of pages of Will's paper from the closet -- just this once. As long
as she was writing the list, she didn't have to think about Will on the cliff or the dogs in the hall. She
cracked the apartment door just enough to see that all three of them were still there, heads on paws,
asleep. Spot's ear twitched but he didn't wake up. She sat on the couch with the silence ringing in her
ears until she got up and muscled the dresser over to block the closet where she had put Will's stuff. She
thought about brushing her teeth and trying for sleep but she knew that would be a waste of time. She
was browsing the books on her bookshelf, all of which she had long since read to tatters, when the
phone squawked.

Rain was sure it was the dogs calling, but decided to pick up just in case.

"Lorraine Carraway?"

Rain recognized Sheriff Renfield's drawl and was immediately annoyed. He was one of her best
customers -- an avid Georgette Heyer fan -- and knew better than to call her by her proper name.

"Speaking, Beej. What's up?"

"There's been some trouble down to the Laughing Cookie." He was slurring words. He pronounced
There is as Thersh.

"Trouble?"

"Fast Eddie said you had dogs in the store today. Dogs with hats."

"What kind of trouble, Beej? Is Eddie all right?"

"He's fine, we're all just fine." Everybody knew that Beej Renfield was a drinker and nobody blamed him
for it. Being sheriff was possibly the most boring job in Nowhere. "But there's been what you might call
vandalism. Books all over the place, Rain, some of them ripped up good. Teeth marks. And the place
stinks of piss. Must've happened, an hour, maybe two ago. Fast Eddie is ripping mad. I need you to
come down here and lay some calm on him. Will you do that for me, Rain?"

"I'll do you one better, Beej. You're looking for these dogs?"