Read Good & Dead #1 for Free Online

cheating method.  Are you going to make it to the show tonight?” Randy asked.
    “I’m not sure we’re going on tonight.”
    “What?  Why not?”
    Ah, crap. I’m terrible at secrets .  “You didn’t hear?  There are cops all over the place.  I think something happened after the show last night,” Michael said vaguely, trying not to sound too informed.
    “Are you serious?”
    “Yeah, I heard they were taping off the whole street,” Michael said.  “Hey, I’ve really got to pee,” he added.
    “I don’t care.  Tell me what happened.”
    “I don’t know—” he said, urinating, “Hey, I’ve got another call coming in.”
    “Okay,” Randy said, “I’ll talk to you later.”
    Michael answered the other call without looking at the number.  “Hello?”
    “Michael?” Charlotte asked.
    Michael nearly missed the toilet.  He couldn’t stop now.  He tried to pee quieter, but found that was actually not possible. 
    “What’s that sound?” she asked.
    “Uh…leaky faucet,” he said badly, “What’s up?”
    “I had to cancel the show tonight,” she said sadly.
    “Oh, why?” Michael asked, relieved that the noise had stopped.  This is the worst day .
    “A woman was murdered in the alley last night,” she said.  Michael’s heart sank.  She had been really real.  And she really was dead. 
    “Michael?” Charlotte asked, “Are you there?”
    “Yeah, I’m just…surprised,” he said slowly.  “Was it someone from the theatre?”
    “No.  They think she was probably a…‘working girl’,” she said quietly.
    “Oh,” Michael said, “That’s awful.  Are you okay?”
    Charlotte didn’t answer.
    “Charlotte?”
    “Yeah,” she said, “I’m just…” she laughed.  “Never mind.”
    Michael frowned.  Her voice was oddly high pitched; for a moment he was afraid she might start to cry. 
    “I’m sorry about the show,” he said nervously.  “Are you…I’m sorry…is there anything I can do?”
    “No,” she said finally, “thanks for asking.  Oh, actually, could you call Randy and let him know we won’t need him to run sound tonight?  One less horrible, awkward phone call for me.”
    “Sure, no problem.”
    “Thanks.  Yeah, so…” she said, her voice returning to normal, “The investigator I was talking to said we could go on tomorrow, so I’ll see you then.”
    “Okay,” he said, not sure what to say next.
    “Oh, are you feeling better?” she asked. “I heard you got out of going to the hospital.”
    “I’m feeling much better.  Thank you for asking.”
    “I’m glad.  I’d hate for you to get…scared…again.”
    “Did Randy tell you the pediatrician story?”
    Charlotte laughed.  “Randy told everyone the pediatrician story.”
    “I’m going to kill him.”
    “I’d love to hear your version,” Charlotte said, her voice bursting with amusement.
    Michael rolled his eyes.  “I’m sure he did it justice.  I’ll just say, though, that I was 6.  I’ve heard him say I was 13 at least a dozen times.”
    “You know him well!” she laughed.
    “Great.”
    “I’ll see you tomorrow, Michael.”
    “Bye.”  Michael snapped the phone shut and smiled.
    Then he remembered he was supposed to call Randy.  He flipped it open again as he walked to his desk and turned on the laptop.  It was propped up on an upside down wire vegetable bin.  It needed to be elevated to stay cool, and sometimes he had to put a bag of frozen peas under it to keep it from overheating while he played World of Warcraft.
    “Hello?” Randy said.
    “Hey, Randy,” Michael said in a business-like tone.  He wanted to get off the phone quickly before Randy started asking him questions.  A lot of people assumed that Randy wasn’t that bright because he was always joking, but Randy was intelligent enough to know that Michael had lied to him, and he knew Michael well enough to know he was hiding something.
    “What’s up?”
    “Charlotte wanted me to make sure