章 42: Chapter 42: Silver - Klempner

APRIL'S TEARS – BOOK THREE OF 'THE LOVER'S CHILDREN'

A figure emerges from the tented crime scene. White-clothed. A pale man. Tall. Long-legged. Silver-haired.

And red...

Blood bright on his hands

Borje.

For an instant, he clearly doesn't recognise me. Then, his eyes widen. "Larry? What the hell..."

I react by instinct, locking a hand to his throat. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Jolted back against a supporting post of the marquee, arms flailing, he gurgles against the vee of my thumb and fingers. Red-faced, scrabbling at my hand... "Choking me..."

I relax my hold a bit.

"What was that?"

"Doctor. I'm a fucking doctor!"

?

I release my grip and he drops, gasping, to all fours. "Doctor?"

"Yes, a doctor." On hands and knees, he coughs and splutters, clearing his airway. "I'm a police pathologist, you fucking... maniac."

For a moment, my thoughts freeze...

Then my brain kicks in again, collecting the detail my first freaked-out impression missed: