AllFreeNovel
Share Us
HERE’S WHAT I remember of Sunday. Julie’s flying leap from the floor to my stomach. Staring me in the face, saying, “Get. Up.”
“What if I don’t?”
“Well. Then you’re a lazy head.”
“Oh, no.”
Julie giggled. She looks so much like Joe with her dark curly hair and dark eyes that I just couldn’t be mad at her for more than a minute. “What time is it?” I asked her.
She handed me my watch. It was nine thirty.
“What day is it? Sunday. So, I don’t have to get up, right?”
Joe came in with Martha at his heels. She also jumped onto the bed.
“You feeling better, Blondie?”
“I feel … like … a wet sock. Who’s on the phone?”
“Here’s everyone who called. Rich. Brady. Cindy. Brady, again. Officer Chris Fama. Yuki called and put Brady on the line. Claire just called. She’s spoken to the Marin County ME.”
“It’sSunday,” I said with more vehemence than I meant. “Sorry, Joe.”
“It’s okay. Cindy was crying. Call her when you’ve had your nap. Your phone will be charging next to the bed. Also, Brady wants a briefing.”
“I gave him one last night. I’m sure I did.”
“I told him to talk to Richie.”
“Oh, boy. Richie’s mad at him. What did Claire find out?”
“She confirms the bullets in Hammer’s head were for extra credit. He was already dead.”
“I’m going back to sleep. Don’t try to stop me.”
“Officer Fama called to say thanks and if anything breaks he’ll be in touch …”
“Okay.”
“One other thing. You want it later?”
“Did Marin PD get any tips about the victim?”
“No one mentioned it.”
“Martha’s had her walk?”
Joe just looked at me.
“See you later,” I said, the words slow walking out of my mouth. He leaned down, kissed the top of my head.
I said, “Rich called? What did he say?”
“He said to have you call him.”
My lights went out. When I woke up again, afternoon sun was streaming through the bedroom windows. I got up, grabbed my phone from the charger, looked around the apartment. No one was home. In the kitchen, I nuked oatmeal, made coffee, sugared it half to death. I called Cindy first.
She said, “You okay?”
