Against the Sky Read Online Free PDF Page B

to his dad. The breath he had been holding rushed out all at once. “I don’t think my dad had a heart attack. I think he was murdered.”
    Nick’s black eyebrows went up. Jimmy could tell he didn’t believe him. Nick was looking at Jimmy with pity.
    â€œHey, I know losing your dad was hard,” Nick said. “Especially since you’ve already lost your mom. But dreaming up stories won’t make it any easier.”
    Jimmy’s heart was pounding. He could feel it pumping beneath the Aces’ hockey team polar bear emblem on his T-shirt. “I’m not making it up, Nick. There was a man . . . he came to see my dad the day before he died. I heard them talking in the study, arguing real loud. I don’t know what they were fighting about but I know it was bad. The man said, ‘You made a mistake, Alex. Now you’re going to pay.’”
    â€œMaybe they were fighting about business,” Nick said. “Both of them were angry, so it sounded like the man made a threat.”
    Jimmy shook his head. “I think it was business, but the man really meant it. When I went into the study, my dad looked like he was going to throw up. His face was pale and kind of blotchy. He pulled out the bottle of whiskey he kept in a drawer in his desk and filled a glass to the brim. His hands were shaking, he was so scared.”
    â€œHe had a heart attack, Jimmy. There was an autopsy. Maybe the argument triggered it. The stress of his job—who knows? You need to deal with the fact your father’s gone and nothing you do is going to bring him back. Maybe you should talk to a counselor or something. I’m sure your school could arrange it.”
    Jimmy’s chest was beginning to hurt. Maybe he was going to have a real heart attack instead of a fake one like his dad. “There are ways to kill people and cover it up, you know. I’ve seen it on TV. They could have poisoned him or something. You’re a cop. You could find out the truth. I don’t want some guy murdering my dad and getting away with it.”
    â€œJimmy . . .”
    â€œAfter the man left, my dad asked me if I’d heard anything. I lied and said I didn’t. Dad said even if I had, I couldn’t tell anyone. Not ever. He made me promise. I would have kept my word, too. But not now. Not after they killed him. Please say you’ll find the man who did it.”
    Nick came out of his chair and Jimmy stood up, too. “I’m not a cop anymore and even if I were, I wouldn’t ask them to reopen the case. There isn’t any real evidence. You hearing some guy arguing with your dad isn’t enough. I’m sorry, Jimmy. I’ll help you any way I can, but not with this.”
    The beat of Jimmy’s heart turned slow and dull. His chest felt heavy. “I was afraid you’d say no.”
    Nick set a hand on his shoulder. “School’s back in session. You’re a good student. Take on an extracurricular project. Or if you don’t want that, try out for some sport besides just hockey. It’ll be easier if you keep yourself busy.”
    Jimmy said nothing.
    â€œLook, maybe we could go fishing this weekend. What do you say?”
    Jimmy swallowed. He wasn’t interested in catching fish. He wanted to catch a killer. “Yeah, maybe.” Even if Nick wouldn’t help, he wasn’t going to give up. He was going to find the man who killed his dad. He just wished he knew where to start looking.

Chapter Five
    Three weeks had passed since Samantha’s trip to Vegas. Three short weeks and her entire life had changed.
    She blinked and tears trickled down her cheeks. “I don’t want to be pregnant. I’m not ready to be pregnant. We used protection. It was just for fun. This isn’t fair.”
    It was seven o’clock in the evening. They were sitting in the office she shared with Abby at the back of The Perfect Pup, which was closed for the