Before I Wake by Dee Henderson Read Free Book Online Page B

pocket, picked up a large white hotel towel, and went to explore.
    She’d turned down Bruce’s offer of company tonight, thinking she would catch a nap, watch some TV, and make it an early night after a long day of traveling. A two-hour nap had taken care of the desire for sleep, there was nothing on TV, and she was bored. Staying in the hotel room was not a workable option.
    She found the workout room on the first floor just past housekeeping. The one occupant, a lady Rae recognized by sight as having a room a few doors down from her own, was walking at a fast clip on the treadmill.
    Rae set the tension wheel on the stationary bike and cleared the mileage counter.
    “Do you happen to have the time? The wall clock’s dead.”
    Rae looked at her watch. “Seven twenty-two.”
    “Thanks. I’ve got a late-night movie date.”
    Rae settled into a smooth pace on the bike. “What’s playing these days?”
    “We’re going to go see Holiday Park with James Roberts. I heard it was good. If not, at least Roberts is cute.”
    “I’ll agree with that.” Rae slowly increased her cadence.
    “Do you happen to know Joe Prescott?”
    “The name isn’t familiar,” Rae replied, paying a bit more attention to the lady on the treadmill, as it became obvious she was looking for some conversation.
    She was in her late twenties, in good shape. Her workout clothes were plain, but the jacket draped over the chair had a logo on the pocket from a gym Rae recognized as one that marketed itself as the LA gym of the stars.
    “I know he lives somewhere near Justice but I haven’t been able to locate him.”
    “I’ve met only a handful of town residents, but it strikes me that most know each other. Maybe someone at the café can help.”
    “I think word is out that I’m a reporter; they don’t say much when I start asking questions.”
    If she had realized it, she would have probably done less talking as well. “You work for the local paper?”
    “I’m freelance with the Chicago Daily Times and the National Weekly News .” The lady slowed the treadmill pace. “Five miles. That’s plenty. Have you tried the hotel sauna?”
    “They have one?”
    “Down past the pool. I’m going to risk it.”
    “I hope the movie turns out to be good.”
    “So do I. First dates tend to be unpredictable.”
    Rae understood exactly what she meant and shared a smile. The lady left.
    Rae did fifteen minutes at a brisk pace on the bike and then slowed to cool down. She thought about visiting the sauna, but she wasn’t that desperate to talk to someone to want to search out a reporter. She returned to her hotel room.
    * * *
    A shower helped kill another twenty minutes of her evening. As Rae paced the hotel room towel drying her hair, she flipped through the channels on the TV again.
    It was after 8 p.m. on a Saturday night; there was nothing on TV worth her time, and while she wasn’t lonely, the emotions were flittering just below the surface. She needed conversation and people and something happening around her. She tossed the remote back on the bed. She picked up her room key, cash, and a book.
    The best way to understand a town was at night, when some of the surface clutter of businesses and shoppers faded away and most people were at home. Finding out what the nightlife was like would help her understand the pace of the town. She took the stairs down three flights and exited through the south doorway into the parking lot.
    It was a cold night, but the wind was calm. Rae left her car in the hotel parking lot and walked across the street, retracing the way she had come through town earlier that day.
    She headed toward the M&T Diner. She didn’t know how late it stayed open, but there had been a place next door to it that had also looked interesting. The lit sign had said Sir Arthur’s, and there had been a suit of armor visible through the tinted window.
    Where did the cops in this town hang out when they were off duty? That would be an