A Game of Murder Read Online Free PDF Page A

do?”
    “My day job is as an art teacher in a middle school. However, since the contract is for three days a week, I’ve been looking for something to fill in with.”
    “We ought to talk,” Faith said. “I might have some work for you.”
    Lorna returned with the last two plates, one for herself and the plate of greens for Mira. Mira examined the tiny cup of oil and vinegar, sniffed at it, then poured the dressing over the greens.
    “Everything okay?” Lorna asked as she took her seat.
    “Perfect. I don’t smell any herbs or spices in the dressing, so I should be fine.” She turned toward Faith. “I have to be very careful of what I eat. I can get seriously ill. Several times I’ve been rushed to the emergency room because my throat closed up. I brought an EpiPen with me, so that shouldn’t be necessary tonight.”
    Before Faith could respond, Derek’s voice roared from the other table. “I can’t eat this. There’s meat on my plate. There’s feta cheese in the vegetables. I’m vegan!”
    Hope stood next to him, wearing a look of dismay. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t know you had special dietary requirements. I’ll be right back with something else.”
    “It better not be contaminated with any animal products.”
    Hope scooped up the offending plate and headed for the kitchen. Derek gave Lorna an evil glare.
    Faith wasn’t sure she wanted to belong to this club as long as Derek was a member. Being vegan was okay. Shouting at people because of a simple mistake wasn’t.
    With all the stress, Faith was losing her appetite. What could possibly happen next?
    She didn’t have to wait long. The sound of retching from the other side of the table made her wince, and she twisted her head to locate the source.
    Mira had turned pale, even as she made choking sounds. The retching turned into projectile vomiting, green liquid spraying over the table as Mira tried to rise to her feet.
    Faith pushed her chair back from the table, getting out of the way of the noxious stream. Cathy screamed and leaned back, raised her hands as if to ward off the sight of Mira’s distress. Adam jumped up to try to help.
    Despite the care Lorna had taken in preparing Mira’s food, something was wrong. Adam grabbed Mira as she was about to collapse. Unconscious now, she started convulsing.
    Faith whipped her out her phone and dialed 9-1-1 with trembling fingers. Please don’t die!
    Adam lowered Mira to the tile floor while Cathy scrabbled in Mira’s purse. Cathy pulled out the EpiPen and tried to find a place to inject it, but Mira’s body jerked so violently she couldn’t make contact long enough to get the needle in. “Hold her legs still, Adam.”
    Adam pressed Mira’s legs down, then grasped her thighs just above the knee. Cathy pushed up Mira’s skirt, jabbed the device into her thigh, held it for a few seconds to let the medicine pass into Mira’s body. She pulled out the needle and massaged the injection site. A moment later, Cathy rocked back on her heels to watch the results. The convulsions didn’t stop. Mira’s skin paled, took on a bluish cast. Her breath came in short gasps as she writhed on the floor.
    A prickling started at Faith’s spine, crawled across her shoulder blades, the tingle creeping down her forearms, leaving her fingers weak and trembling. A voice pleaded inside her head: No, no, no.
    By this time, most of the club members stood in a circle around the stricken woman. Hope returned, carrying Derek’s replacement meal, then stopped. Her face turned ashen. “I’d better call the paramedics.”
    “I already did,” Faith said, but even as she heard sirens, she knew it was too late. Mira’s convulsions had stopped. So had her breathing.

CHAPTER THREE

    The door to the Prickly Pear swung open once more, this time admitting a pair of paramedics pushing a stretcher. As soon as one of them saw Mira, he dropped to his knees, opened the large case he’d been carrying, pulled on a pair of latex