A Bead in the Hand (Glass Bead Mystery Series Book 2) by Janice Peacock Read Free Book Online Page B

and threw it out of the way.
    “I haven’t taken a class in CPR, so I am not authorized to perform any lifesaving techniques,” Ryan said.
    “I think it’s too late for that,” I said, out of breath.
    Ryan was already on his radio, asking for help from the hotel staff.
    My hands were shaking and balled into fists. My right hand was covered in blood. As I turned it over and opened my fingers, I saw a perfect round bead, glistening with blood. It was one of Saundra’s beautiful Cosmos beads. And then I passed out.
    • • •
    Ryan’s face was swimming in and out of view.
    “Jax? Are you all right?” he said as he crouched above me. I felt like throwing up. Ryan must have moved me, since I wasn’t near my table. I was lying next to the wall at the back of the ballroom with a wet paper towel on my forehead. An emergency technician was kneeling next to me, checking my pulse.
    I sat bolt upright.
    “You’re okay,” Ryan said, gently settling me more comfortably with my back against the wall for support. He removed the soggy paper towel and brushed the hair off my face.
    Down the aisle from where I was sitting, a handful of cops were stringing crime scene tape around Saundra’s and my tables. Tessa was talking with a surly-looking police officer. As soon as she saw me, she broke away from him.
    “Jax! Dio Mio!” Tessa shouted as she ran toward me, stopping just short of knocking Ryan over.
    One of the cops approached Ryan and called him away, and Tessa took his place at my side. The EMT continued to check my vital signs, taking hold of my arm and sliding a blood pressure cuff on it.
    “What happened? Where’s Saundra?” I asked a blurry Tessa, as the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm, then released.
    “The coroner’s team took her away. She’s dead, Jax.” Tessa hugged me tight. I closed my eyes and stopped breathing while I focused on Tessa’s arms around me. Those words, she’s dead , hit me hard. Dead. I already knew Saundra had died, but hearing it said out loud made it all the more real.
    “I just, I tried to save her—”
    “Shhhh, there was nothing you could have done—that any of us could have done—to save her,” Tessa said. She seemed so calm. Maybe that’s what happens when you become a parent—you get all sorts of super-powers, like remaining calm during emergencies. With her teen girls, I’m sure she got lots of practice at being calm during a crisis.
    “Excuse me,” the EMT said, wedging himself between me and Tessa and removing the blood pressure cuff. “Just trying to finish up here.” He took a pen light out of his kit and flashed it across my eyes. The bright light stung, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I was not a good patient. The technician must have seen enough to know I was not injured. He clicked off the light and tossed it back into his bag.
    “You’re not feeling dizzy?” asked the EMT.
    I shook my head.
    “Well then, you check out okay. If you get a headache or have any vision trouble, you get over to Providence Medical Center.” He got up, grabbed his kit, and was gone in a flash.
    Sal paced back and forth in front of the tables that were now ringed in yellow tape. He had to be concerned about how he was going to explain what had happened to the dozens of customers now crowded around the doors, ready to come in and shop.
    “What happened to my table?” I asked.
    “The police aren’t going to let you into that area until they finish their investigation,” Tessa said. “But Sal set up another table for you.”
    “Another table?”
    “Sal said he had a no-show by the front door. The police won’t let you take your displays or other show gear. But I’ve got your beads. Let’s go look at the new table.”
    “But, why—how—can they even continue with the bazaar? That’s crazy.”
    “I know, but Sal said the show must go on,” Tessa said, shaking her head. It was outrageous that Sal would want to continue as if nothing had happened. It’s not like