The Perfect Game by Leslie Dana Kirby Read Free Book Online

grilled chicken and apple juice for him. They took seats at a small table in the back corner.
    â€œHave you heard anything from the detectives?” she asked.
    â€œCrickets.”
    â€œI should’ve guessed,” she said. “I call every day. Whenever I get Wallace, he says, ‘These things take time.’ If it’s Boyd, I get ‘we’re making excellent progress.’ Are those guys even on the same team?”
    â€œNo kidding. Are they even in the same league?”
    â€œDo they even play the same sport?” They both laughed, Jake attracting admiring glances from other diners.
    â€œHow’s your job going?” Jake asked.
    â€œFrustrating. Rewarding. Crazy. The usual. We had a guy come in yesterday complaining of breathing problems. We ran some scans and discovered a growth in his lung.”
    â€œCancer?”
    â€œThat’s what I thought, too, but get this…it was a strawberry plant.”
    Jake choked on his juice. “You’re kidding, right?”
    â€œNope. He somehow had inhaled a strawberry seed. It got embedded in his lung lining, which was moist and warm enough for it to sprout.”
    â€œDid you have to operate with pruning shears?”
    â€œSomething like that.”
    â€œExcuse me, Mr. Wakefield.” A young boy was approaching their table. “May I have your autograph?” He held out a paper napkin and a blue crayon.
    â€œOf course you can, but not in Dodger colors,” Jake smiled. He pulled out a wallet-sized photograph of himself in uniform and a red pen. “What’s your name?”
    Jake personalized the photo and chatted with the boy about his Little League team where young Mitchell played shortstop. He sprinted back to a nearby table to show the signed photo to his beaming mother.
    â€œWow. You always travel with photos?”
    â€œI’ve learned to. It saves me from having to sign disgusting napkins or, worse, body parts. Always be prepared. I was a Boy Scout, you know.” He held up two fingers in the scout pledge.
    â€œI’m sure you were.” Sitting in the cafeteria, she was reminded of something. “Jake, I don’t mean to pry, but was Liz pregnant?”
    â€œWhat? No. Where’d you get that? The National Enquirer ?”
    She shook her head. “Just another rumor.” As she polished off her pizza, she said, “I guess I should get back to work. And we better get you out of here so I don’t have to spend the rest of the afternoon treating multiple victims trampled in a quest for your autograph.”
    The hospital corridors resembled a maze so she showed him back to the ER waiting room. “Thank you so much for checking on me.”
    He hugged her tight. “Liz worried about you being alone if anything ever happened to her and I swore I wouldn’t let that happen. It was a promise that I hoped never to have to act on, but now I plan to keep it. Call me if you need anything. I’ll see you soon.”
    Lauren did feel less alone in the world as she watched him walk away.

Chapter Ten
    (Friday, August 12)
    Nearly three weeks after Liz’s murder, Lauren finally received a call from the police.
    â€œWould you be willing to take a lie detector test?” Detective Wallace asked.
    All of the frustration that had been simmering below the surface boiled over. “Why are you wasting your time investigating me? You have some crazed murderer running around the streets, waiting to strike again. And your grand plan after three weeks of ‘tireless investigation’ is to give me a lie detector test? Me, who was waist-deep in ER cases that night at a hospital fifteen miles away, with a dozen witnesses to account for my whereabouts? Me, whose only friend in this entire city was Liz? Me, who had no motive whatsoever to kill her? A polygraph test, which any Psych 101 student could tell you is not even admissible in court? If I’m your best suspect and a