Cheated By Death by L.L. Bartlett Read Free Book Online

me.”
    Richard looked over at me and I shrugged. “I
don’t do so bad. For a pipsqueak.”
    Brenda cleared her throat. “Who wants tuna
for lunch?”
    “Sounds good to me,” I said, grateful to
change the subject.
    Brenda headed for the butler’s pantry and
Richard took a seat at the table, his voice low. “We’ll drop this
for now, but I want a full report later.”
    “I’m working tonight.”
    “Then I’ll stop by the bar on my way home
from the clinic.”
    “Suit yourself.”
    Brenda came back with a large can in hand.
“Lunch will be ready in a few minutes.”
    Tension still filled that kitchen. Somehow I
felt like I had done something wrong. I hadn’t planned on
mentioning my earlier adventure, but it seemed like a good
distraction.
    “I went to see my father this morning.”
    They both looked at me in wide-eyed surprise.
“Great,” Brenda said cheerfully, no doubt grateful for a change of
subject. “That’s great.”
    “Why?”
    “Because you need family. Everyone needs
their family.”
    “I have you guys. I have Maggie.” What I
wanted to say was, I don’t need any more .
    “How’d it go?” Richard asked, his tone
neutral.
    I shrugged. “He’s a sick old man.” I stared
at the tabletop for a long moment. “It turns out I have a
half-sister, Patty. She was at work.”
    “That’s terrific,” Brenda said. Her
enthusiasm seemed strained. “When will you meet her?”
    “I don’t know. I’m not in a hurry.”
    She looked puzzled. “Why?”
    “It’s all happening too fast. I need time to
get used to all of this.”
    “Don’t take too long. At least, not if you
want to get to know Chet. He hasn’t got long.” The quiet was
ominous. Richard stared me straight in the eye. “I mean it, Jeff,
he doesn’t have much more time.”

    CHAPTER
    4

    As promised, Richard stopped at the bar on
his way home from the clinic that night. A lot of neighborhood
regulars had dropped in for a few beers before heading home—not a
good time for me to chat. I bought Richard a drink and he hung
around until there was a lull in the action.
    I noticed his glass was empty. “Can I get you
another?”
    “No. What did you get from Willie?”
    So much for small talk. “Not a vibration, not
a funny feeling. Nothing. In fact, he was kind of subdued. I know
Brenda was afraid, but I get the feeling it’ll be okay now.”
    “No, it won’t. She’s—” He stopped himself.
“She’s still pretty upset about it.”
    I thought about it for a moment. “Maybe
you’re right. Just thinking about her ex gets Maggie going. I’m the
same about mine. You get the gold star as the only one of us
without a failed marriage.”
    Richard’s blue-eyed gaze bore into me. “I’ll
take that as a compliment.”
    A couple of women came in and I had to get
back to work. Looking grim, Richard gave me a half-hearted wave and
headed for the door, looking as gloomy as when he’d arrived.
    The happy hour crowd was long gone by nine
o’clock. The place was dead, and Tom was about to let me leave when
the phone rang.
    “It’s for you, Jeff.”
    I frowned. Maggie seldom called me at work,
and since Richard had already dropped in, it wasn’t likely to be
him. “Hello?”
    “Jeffrey? It’s Patty.”
    Oh, wonderful.
    “Hi. How’d you get this number?”
    “You told Dad where you worked. I wanted to
connect with you as soon as possible. How the hell are you?”
    “Fine,” I answered, wary. “How are you?”
    “Great, now that I know you’re home in
Buffalo. I’ve been waiting my whole life to meet you. When’s a good
time? How about tonight?”
    “I won’t get out of work until late,” I lied.
I’d had enough emotional overload for one day.
    “Damn. How about tomorrow? I can stop over at
your place on my way home from work.”
    “It’s not exactly on your way,” I said,
remembering Chet said she worked in Lockport.
    “Don’t worry about that—I just want to meet
you. Is four-thirty good?”
    “I suppose