After Midnight Read Online Free PDF Page B

sure he had plenty of opportunities.
    He glanced at the clock on the wall, and even though it was still early, he decided to head for the hospital. He folded the newspaper and tucked it into his backpack, then slung it over his shoulder. There were still a few pieces missing that would elevate this from a great story to
the
story of the year. Hopefully, the cop could help fill in the blanks.
    —
    Dressed in navy blue sweats and a white T-shirt that his brother Rusty had dropped off, Sam reclined on his bed, relentlessly flipping through the TV channels in search of something to keep him from going crazy. Gone were the monitors, tubes, and IV bags. Nurses stopped in occasionally to check his vitals, but mostly to flirt. And Sam was more than willing to return the attention. Cops and nurses were a natural combination, and more than a few of his ex-girlfriends had been so employed. They understood the dedication and attention required of their chosen professions. And they understood that it wasn’t always about love. Sometimes it took quick, nasty sex to get past the ugliness of life and death.
    When his door opened, he glanced up with interest, then slumped in disappointment that it wasn’t his doctor. Sam had been waiting all day, but his doctor had had emergency surgery and hadn’t been by to release him. And even the prospect of another night of hot nurses wasn’t enough to make him want to stay.
    He recognized the gray hoodie before he recognized the man, which triggered a twinge of guilt, especially considering the part the ride-along had played in putting Sam in the hospital instead of the morgue.
    “Hey, come on in,” Sam invited, and nodded toward the chair next to the bed.
    “You look better than the last time I saw you.”
    “I’ll bet.” Sam muted the sound on the TV and swung his legs over the side of the bed. With his right arm in a sling, even the simplest task was difficult and awkward and sent lightning bolts of pain shooting from head to toe. He grimaced, but tried to hide it as he straightened. “I read your article in the
Post
. Front page, huh?”
    “Big story.”
    “Great. And I was there.” Sam shook his head, hating having any part of this or any other event big enough to make the news. Worse than the personal shame of not keeping his focus and anticipating the pimp’s actions was the painful fact that he’d lost his best friend because of it.
    “You
are
the story.”
    “Even better,” Sam muttered.
    “I have a few questions.” Brian took a spiral notebook and a pen out of his backpack. “Had you ever seen the hooker and her pimp before that night?”
    Sam thought back to all the nights he’d patrolled Colfax and the streets around it and all the faces he’d seen and people he’d met. Most were regulars and had spent more than a few nights in jail. Some were even on a first-name basis with him and provided tips that helped solve other crimes. Hookers were out there every night, and they witnessed a lot of shit going down. If they feared the cops more than they feared their pimps, they made great sources. But Sam couldn’t remember ever having seen either the girl or the pimp before last night. “No, neither of them.”
    “So you don’t know who they are…or were?”
    “No, other than what you wrote.” Sam’s eyes narrowed. “You never mentioned that you were a reporter.”
    Brian shrugged. “It never came up. Besides, I was there as a citizen, not a member of the media.” He looked down at his notes and pushed ahead with the interview. “The woman hasn’t come forward yet?”
    “I’m sure she’s afraid to.”
    “What are you going to do to find her?”
    “I hadn’t really thought about it,” Sam lied. Actually, she’d been hovering on the edge of his thoughts since he’d awakened. But there was something about this reporter guy that kept him from sharing notes.
    “What can you tell me about the dead cop?”
    Sam’s hands curled into fists, and he would have