Last Seen Alive by Carlene Thompson Read Free Book Online

refused to see a doctor, of course.”
    “He should. He might have pulled a tendon or ligament.”
    Beverly nodded. “I know, but he’s as stubborn as your mother. As for his mood, all I can say is that he seems okay today, but yesterday was awful for him.” Her eyes filled with tears. “He dropped by to see your mother after we got back from Pennsylvania. The next morning he said he had a funny feeling about her and he was going to come by again and check on her. He absolutely wouldn’t just call. He said he had to see her. Isn’t that strange? It’s the kind of thing the family has told me you used to do. Get weird feelings.”
    “That was a
long
time ago,” Chyna said sharply, then, seeing the startled look on Bev’s face, softened her tone. “It was a phase I went through as a child. An embarrassing phase.”
    “Oh, you shouldn’t be embarrassed. Kids go through a hundred phases,” Beverly said dismissively.
    “Yeah. So go on about Mom.”
    “Well, Ned wasn’t supposed to stay long,” Beverly continued in a quick, low voice, obviously trying to tell her story before Ned returned. “He’d arranged to take an extra day off to help me unpack and maybe go on a picnic together—you know he hardly ever takes a vacation. Anyway, when he didn’t come home after almost two hours, I called. Ned answered and told me he’d found Vivian dead at the foot of the stairs. I said I’d be right over, but he said no, he was handling everything. The Emergency Service was here and so was the coroner.” Beverly closed her eyes and almost shuddered. “Chyna, his voice was so weird. It was flat and almost robotic. I was shocked about your mother, but at that moment I was more scared for him, for what kind of emotional state he was experiencing.
    “Kate was in kindergarten and I took Ian to a neighbor’s,” Beverly went on. “Ned finally came home and moved around like an automaton all day. He livened up when the kids came home, but it was an act. Tonight he’s grumpy. He doesn’t talk about your mother at all. He only says he’s irritable because
    his leg hurts.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what to do for him.”
    Ned entered the room, favoring his right leg. He gave his sister a tight smile. “I can tell Michelle had a steak for dinner. She literally turned up her nose at the Gravy Train.”.
    “It’ll look better to her tomorrow when she’s hungry again,” Chyna said. “But a dog can’t live on Gravy Train alone. An occasional bite of people food won’t kill her.”
    “A whole steak is a bite?”
    “Oh, quit griping,” Chyna said lightly. Beverly was right. Ned looked thin-lipped and pale, his posture stiffer than usual. Chyna’s instinct was to make him relax. “Well, we’re all standing around like we’re in someone else’s house. Sit down. I made fresh coffee.”
    Ten minutes later, they sat in the familiar living room, coffee cooling in china cups. Ned’s blond hair was cut slightly shorter than usual, probably because of the wedding he’d recently attended, but his blue eyes were as bright as ever, although they lacked their usual twinkle.
    “Ned, Beverly said you came over here the morning you found Mom because you had a bad feeling about her,” Chyna burst out, surprising herself. “You knew she was sick and you didn’t tell me!”
    “I did not know she was sick.” Ned looked at his hands. “I mean, I didn’t know she had heart trouble. When I saw her the day before, she just didn’t look or act quite like herself. Frankly, I thought something was bothering her mentally, emotionally, not physically. I thought there was something wrong in
your
life she wasn’t telling me and I couldn’t get hold of you, so I came back the next day and …” Tears rose in his bright blue eyes.
    “Oh.” Chyna felt ashamed of herself for attacking her brother. “No, I’ve been fine.”
    “Well, I know now the problem wasn’t you and I’m relieved. I worry about my little sister