A Man Like Morgan Kane Read Online Free PDF Page A

mother."
    "Like her mother is now,"Bethanyadmitted. "I was nothing like Anne Marie when I was her age."
    The thunderous boom took Bethany and Maxine by surprise. They gasped, then cried out and nervously looked toward the sound of the explosion. The dining room.
    "Anne Marie!"Bethanyscreamed.
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    "Oh, my God!" Maxine cupped her hands over her mouth.Bethanyjumped up and ran toward the dining room, Maxine quickly following her.
    "Mama," Anne Marie whimpered from where she huddled on the floor just outside the alcove. "Mama, what—what happened?"
    A large hole gaped in the side of the dining table. Bits and pieces of wood, fragments from the table and nearest chair lay scattered on the rug. Sprawled in an unconscious heap, Lisa Songer's body rested on the floor. Shards of scrap metal that had pierced her clothing hung in her bleeding flesh along her thigh and shoulder. At the end of her right arm, a bloody, torn hand dangled precariously from her nearly severed wrist.
    "What on earth!" Kneeling beside Anne Marie,Bethanywrapped her arms around her child. "Are you all right, honey?"
    "I—I think so." Anne Marie glanced down at her arms and legs. "What happened?"
    "A bomb." Maxine leaned over Lisa's prone body. "She's still alive. I'll call 911. They'll get an ambulance and the police over here."
    "A bomb?" Anne Marie stared at her mother, her eyes wide with shock, tears gathering in the corners.
    "In the package that was addressed to me,"Bethanysaid to no one in particular, suddenly realizing that her dear friend had almost been killed by a bomb meant for her. Did Jimmy Farraday have a crazed fan who couldn't wait for a trial? Had this person passed judgment and sentenced her to death?
    Bethanyhelped a shaky Anne Marie to her feet. She cupped her daughter's pale face in her hands, kissed her forehead and then wiped away her tears. "Go sit down in the living room. You'll be safe there.
    I have to see to Lisa. Do you understand?"
    Anne Marie nodded, hugged her mother and then went straight into the living room and sat in a large, overstuffed chair. She stared off into space, her blue-gray eyes dazed.
    Maxine gave directions to the 911 operator, hung up the phone and turned toBethany. "They're on their way."
    Bethanytook a deep breath. "Toss me a throw pillow off the sofa, then go upstairs and look in the linen closet at the end of the hall. Get a blanket for Lisa."
    Maxine nodded agreement. After tossing the pillow toBethany, she ran out into the foyer and up the stairs.Bethanyknelt beside her badly injured friend. Easing the pillow under Lisa's head,Bethanycaressed her cheek. She wanted to do something—anything—to help her friend. Checking Lisa's pulse in her left wrist,Bethanyfound it weak. But Lisa was still breathing. Still alive. She lifted Lisa's dangling right hand and held it firmly in place. She didn't know what else to do.
    "Mama?" Anne Marie's voice sounded like a small child's.
    "Stay where you are,"Bethanysaid. "Lisa is still alive. The paramedics will be here soon."
    "Is she going to die?"
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    "No. She isn't going to die." She can't die,Bethanyprayed. The bomb was meant for me, not sweet, cute, funny little Lisa. Lisa, who had never harmed anyone in her entire life.
    "Someone meant to kill you, didn't they, Mama?"
    "Don't think about it, Anne Marie. Don't do anything except pray for Lisa." Please, Dear God, let the paramedics get here soon. Keep Lisa alive.
    "You'll let Maxine hire a bodyguard for you now, won't you, Mama?" Anne Marie pleaded.
    "I didn't know you'd overheard our conversation," Maxine said as she hurried through the living room and into the alcove. Unwrapping the soft, cotton blanket, she helpedBethanywrap its warmth around Lisa.
    "I didn't hear your conversation," Anne Marie said. "When I called to check on Nana yesterday, she told me that she'd