Secrets Can Be Deadly by Nancy Roe Read Free Book Online

said. “Good thing you remembered the beer.”
    “Ready to lose your money?” Mason said.
    “Who wants pizza?” Paul bellowed as he entered the house.
    “What took you so long? You eat half the pizza before you got here?” Jeff grabbed the boxes and opened them on the kitchen counter. “I knew it. You ate two slices.”
    “I actually only ate one. Gave one slice to a homeless guy.”
    “Feeding the homeless? ” Todd said. “Your girlfriend making you do a good deed a day? I overheard my mom telling dad about the church’s new thing Help Others, Help Yourself .”
    “It was a nice thing to do for someone. Maybe you should try it one day.” Paul put Todd in a chokehold and mussed his hair.
    “Okay , boys, break it up. I’m ready to play poker,” said Carl.
    “Where was the homeless guy?” Mason asked.
    “He was hanging out under the tree at Pizza Hut,” Paul said. “I almost didn’t see him. He was all in black. Not a big guy, didn’t say much.”
    Mason made a mental note to contact Pizza Hut next week to see if they had any issues with a homeless man.
    Mason changed the subject. “Okay, who’s the wise guy that’s been leaving me notes and calling me?” He looked at their faces.
    “My heav y breathing on the phone too much for you?” Jeff laughed.
    “ Mace can’t handle my sweet love notes.” Paul batted his eyes, put his hands over his heart.
    “ Can you guys be serious a minute? Please ,” Mason said.
    “Sorry , dude,” Jeff said. “Wasn’t me.”
    Nobody confessed and Mason’s friends looked genuinely surprised when he told them about the notes and phone calls. None of his friends had good poker faces.
    Jeff helped Carl set up the table and chairs, while Mason, Paul, and Todd got out the playing cards and poker chips. The guys settled in their seats and Carl dealt the first hand.
    “So , Carl, when do we get to meet this mysterious Katrina?” Paul said. “I’m starting to think she isn’t real.” The rest of the guys laughed.
    “Very funny,” Carl replied. “I’ve only been seeing her a week. Haven’t spent a lot of quality time together, what with work, finding a place to live, and her family issues.”
    “Warning sign , dude. Family issues. Time to walk away,” said Jeff.
    “She lost touch with her brother. Her mom died when she was young and her dad was a deadbeat. She’s had a hard life, but managed to pull it together.”
    “And you’re just the guy to make her world all better?” Mason said.
    “Tease me all you want. I’m going to take all your money and we’ll see who’s teasing whom at the end of the night. Let’s play poker.”
     
    Mason dealt the last hand at two o’clock . No big winner tonight, unless you counted who drank the most beers. Jeff won by a landslide.
    “Let me give you a ride home. I’d hate to arrest you for public intoxication,” Mason said.
    “Fine , mister policeman.” Jeff slurred his words.
    “I may have to tuck you into bed .” Mason grinned.
    Jeff tried to stand without swaying. “You’re such a funny guy.”
    Jeff managed to stay awake for the four-block ride home. Mason made sure Jeff got safely inside before driving home.
    Mason needed sleep. Sophia expected him at her apartment in six hours for church. He lay in bed, hands clasped behind his head. He stared at the ceiling, his mind racing. His friends weren’t the culprit, so who could be writing the notes and making the phone calls? Someone from his past? Someone he put in jail? Stop thinking and go to sleep .

11 Monday, May 23, 1977 (Sam)
    I mages of people filled my dreams. Headless people. Wandering in a moonlit cemetery.
    Every two hours I’d wake up, turn over. I tried to remember my dad, my brother, my mom. I was nine when I lost my family. There’s one thing I remember vividly—the barn and the terrible beatings Grandfather would give me for not following his rules.
    Someone screamed. I sat up in bed and listened, not moving. It was just the dream. It