The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon Read Free Book Online Page A

always be second best. The consolation prize. He’s been in love with Amy his whole life, and you’ll never be able to change that.”
    She cringed now at the thought of saying something so cruel (even if it was absolutely true) to her own sister. Piper had no idea what, if anything, Jason knew about her unwanted relationship advice—but Piper knew, and that was bad enough.
    Jason drove out of the airport parking garage and paid the attendant. His hands gripped the wheel tightly, his gold wedding band glinting in the sunlight coming through the windshield. He stayed silent.
    Piper began to worry.
    “Jason,” she said at last, “is Margot all right?”
    He kept his eyes on the road. “She fainted this morning. I brought her in to the doctor, and they said her blood pressure is too high—it could be dangerous for her and the baby. She’s got something called pre-eclampsia. He’s ordered bed rest until she delivers. And depending on how she’s doing, he might decide to induce her early.” He delivered the news in his cop voice—no sign of emotion:
Just the facts, ma’am.
    “But she’s okay?” Piper asked, her own voice squeaky and panicked.
    “As long as she rests, listens to the doctor. We’re only two weeks away from the due date, so hopefully it won’t be much longer.”
    Margot was one of those people who hated to sit still and always had at least five projects going at once. Being confined to bed must feel like a prison sentence.
    “She must be miserable,” Piper said.
    Jason nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. They came to an intersection with a gas station and a Friendly’s restaurant. Jason turned right, and they passed big box stores and chain restaurants. He eased the truck into the left lane and headed for the highway on-ramp. It hadn’t been like this when Piper was a kid: back then it was all farmland and houses.
    “Piper,” he said, sounding solemn and coplike. “I know this…situation with Amy has got to be a blow. The whole town’s reeling, and Margot’s taking it really hard. I remember how close you three were when you were kids.”
    Of course. Of course you do,
Piper thought, unbidden.
Because you were there, watching from the shadows, spying, always trying to catch Amy’s eye. But you never really did, did you?
She shook off her own cruel thoughts, realizing that he had paused and was waiting for an answer. She nodded, not knowing what she was expected to say.
    “I don’t want you upsetting Margot with any talk about Amy. I don’t want her to read anything more about it in the paper or watch the news.”
    “Okay,” Piper agreed. “Before we get there, is there anything you can tell me? Anything about what happened?”
    “It’s an ongoing investigation, so no.”
    “Is there a chance Amy didn’t do it? Any chance at all?”
    Jason sighed. “I don’t want to believe it, either. But all the evidence points to her.”
    “It’s just so hard to imagine—you know?—that Amy was capable of doing something like this.”
    He shook his head, glassy eyes focused on the road ahead. “I guess you never know what someone’s capable of.”
    “The little girl,” Piper said. “Amy’s daughter? Is she okay?”
    “As okay as can be expected, considering we found her hiding out on the roof, her whole family dead inside.”
    “God, how awful,” Piper said.
    “She was just like a statue out there in her pajamas, blood on her feet. God, she looked so much like Amy out there—like Amy back when we were kids.” Emotion finally began to creep into his words—his voice rose and cracked. “Anyway, when I found her out there, she wouldn’t move. I had to carry her back inside. She could barely talk at first, couldn’t stop shaking. A state of shock—that’s what the doctors said.”
    “Poor thing,” Piper said, trying to remember the girl’s name. She’d never met her, but had gotten updates about Amy’s kids from Margot, seen the pictures and news Amy posted on