"Laymon, Richard - InTheDark" - читать интересную книгу автора (Laymon Richard)

_Hey, cut it out. I'm trusting him, remember?_
"I hope it's where it's supposed to be," Brace said.
"What do you mean?"
"The statue. I haven't actually _seen_ it since the thing was banished from the quad. I know where they originally _put_ it, but who knows?" The headlights swept across the rear of Jane's parked car, then left it in darkness. She turned her head. Her little Dodge Dart looked dreary sitting all by itself in the lot.
"How long ago did they get rid of it?" she asked.
"Ah . . . three years ago? Right, three. I was one year away from tenure, so the administration threatened to give me the bounce if I didn't shut up about it." He checked the street, then pulled out, turning right. "I didn't shut up about it. They kept me, anyway. They kept the statue, too, but safely tucked out of sight so it wouldn't offend anyone."
"If they found it so offensive, why didn't they melt it down, or something?"
"They almost did. There were suggestions that it should be destroyed and recast into a giant peace symbol, for one thing. Fortunately, the sculptor was an alumnus. Also, there were a few of us who argued that history might be unkind to those who went around destroying works of art because a ludicrous political trend happened to make the subject matter unpopular. They finally compromised and hid it. Just hope it's still there. It's possible that the statue was moved or destroyed or something after the controversy finally died down."
"If that's the case," Jane said, "it obviously isn't the horse we're looking for."
"It's the most obvious one, though."
"Not if it's gone."
Brace looked at her and nodded. "It'd _better_ be the Crazy Horse statue. The only other horse I know about is in front of the Safeway market and goes up and down when a kid drops a quarter in its slot."
"We might have to give that one a try."
"Let's hope we get lucky with the statue," he said.


Brace parked on the street in front of Jefferson Hall, the humanities building. "This is about as close as we can get in the car," he explained.
They climbed out.
"Where is it?" Jane asked.
"The other side of campus," Brace said as they started walking. "Just this side of Mill Creek. There's a fenced-in area where the maintenance crews keep equipment and things. That's where it's _supposed_ to be. More than likely, it hasn't gone anyplace. The thing's a monster -- took a construction crew with a giant crane to move it there in the first place."
On their way through the campus, they encountered several students. Some were alone, while others walked with friends. All of them recognized Brace and spoke to him. Some even stopped and chatted.
"You're pretty popular around here," Jane said as they reached the far side of the quad.
"It's you they're curious about."
"So I noticed."
"Hope you'll forgive the fellows who drooled."
She laughed. "Nobody drooled. A couple of those _gals_ looked ready to kill me, though."
"You'll be okay. Just don't turn your back on them."
She looked behind her. The students who'd stopped and talked were no longer in sight. Nobody seemed to be nearby, or approaching, or watching from a distance. "I wonder where _he_ is," she said.
Brace turned around. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the walkways and trees and shadows.
"He must be watching," Jane said. "He must be. Otherwise, what's the point?"
"I don't know."
"He _must_ be watching."
"He wasn't in the stacks," Brace reminded her.
"He might've been. You know? Just because we didn't find him doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't there. Maybe he had a good hiding place."
"It's possible, I guess."
"You're _not_ him, right?"
Smiling, Brace raised his right hand. "Honest Injun."
"Oooo. I heard that."
"Sorry. I'm evil -- the demon who thought it wasn't a sin to call our team the Warchiefs."
"I don't think _that's_ so bad. Warchiefs. It's not like calling them the Redskins, you know? But I'm not so sure about Crazy Horse as a mascot."
"He was great. You should've seen him, galloping down the sidelines at the football games. And the statue . . . it's magnificent. You'll see."
"Hope so."
"We're almost there," Brace said. He left the walkway and walked on the grass, leading Jane toward the side of a low building.
Though, Jane had been on campus a few times, she had never done much serious exploring of the university grounds. She was aware of the wooded area behind the buildings on the western side of the quad, but she'd never ventured into it.
You're about to do it now, she told herself.
She didn't much care for the idea.
Mill Creek was back there someplace.
She had probably noticed a few things from the park on the other side of the creek. Storage sheds? A greenhouse? She couldn't really be sure what she'd seen. Mostly, she remembered seeing thickets and trees. She clearly remembered that the area had seemed desolate and gloomy.
"This is where the statue is?" she whispered, nodding toward the darkness ahead.
"Back behind the science building. Can't see it from here."