Read Live and Lime Die: A Key West Culinary Cozy - Book 8 for Free Online Page B

instructed. “We’ll do some blood work and check your
vitals in the morning, and as long as everything looks good, you’ll be
released, okay?”
    Tiara
nodded curtly, arms folded over her chest.
    “Alright
then,” the doctor pursed his lips and turned to leave.
    A
nurse politely informed Marilyn that visiting hours had ended quite some time
ago, and received a raised eyebrow in response.
    “Tiara,
get some sleep, honey,” her mother said, squeezing her hand. “I’ll be back to
get you in the morning.” Her daughter’s lower lip quivered briefly and she
turned over on her side, facing away from her mother, the nurse and the door.
Marilyn looked up at the nurse, whose face was more than sympathetic, patted
Tiara’s arm, and headed out of the room.
    The
exhausted woman took the elevator back down to the Emergency Room, where she
had come in, and saw a cluster of officers in the waiting room. She approached
the group timidly, intimidated by the grim faces and serious demeanors.
    “Is
Cort…uh, Detective Cortland, going to be okay?” she asked.
    A
tall policeman whom she’d seen before answered briefly. “We don’t know yet,
he’s in surgery,” he said, dismissively.
    “Oh,
okay…thank you,” she said softly, the color draining from her face. She moved
numbly toward the exit, overwhelmed by the day’s events, remembering only when
she got outside in the fresh air, that she had no ride. She spotted a couple of
taxis near the main entrance and hailed one, ready for home and bed,
desperately trying not to cry.
     

Chapter 12
    Her
head leaned against the cool pane of glass in the taxi window, Marilyn sat up
as she neared her home. It was dark and deserted, the police had left after
their search for evidence, and her back yard was cordoned off with yellow tape
– not a welcome sight. She paid the driver and trudged up the steps of the
front porch, weary to the bone.
    Without
bothering to even snap on the lights, Marilyn went straight from the front door
to the stairs, dragging herself up to bed, barely able to keep her eyes open.
Fluffy, the grey striped cat that Tiara had rescued several months ago, trotted
up faithfully behind her, in anticipation of curling up in her plush kitty bed
underneath the nightstand. The contented feline seemed to sleep most of the
time, but she never actually got into her bed until Marilyn was in hers.
Sliding out of her shoes and slipping into the oldest, baggiest pajamas she
could find, the exhausted mother sunk gratefully into bed, pulling the covers
up under her chin and falling immediately asleep.
    "Thunk!”
A sound had Marilyn moving her head restlessly against her pillow. “Thunk!” She
sat bolt upright, heart pounding, adrenalin flooding her veins. Looking around,
trying to figure out what had caused the sound that woke her up, she heard it
again and her head snapped around toward the side window. Slowly pushing the
covers back, she rose from the bed and made her way toward the window, making
certain to stay below the bottom sash so she wouldn’t be seen.
    Standing
beside the window, she moved the gauzy curtain slightly to peer out into the
darkness, searching for the source of the sound. Seeing nothing, she grew
bolder, and split the curtains down the middle, her eyes darting left and right
across the yard, looking for any sign of what had caused the sound. She lifted
the window to see if she could hear anything, being careful to not make a
sound. Silence.
    Suddenly,
a jarring crash downstairs, and the sound of breaking glass, drew Marilyn away
from the window. Terrified, and not knowing what to do, she grabbed her phone
and quietly opened her bedroom door. She crept down the stairs, heart in her
throat, hands shaking with terror. She had no idea of what…or who…she might
encounter when she made it to the first floor, but she refused to cower in her
room, awaiting her fate. She paused about halfway down, listening. Silence.
Taking two more steps, she nearly fainted