Grab & Go (Mayfield Cozy Mystery Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the roof.
    After his friendly warning yesterday about not getting involved in the shooting investigation, I had no desire to bump into him. I looped through the lot several times, then finally settled on a spot between two cars that had thick layers of ice on their windshields — they’d obviously been parked overnight. The spot also afforded me a good view of the Jeep’s driver’s door. I’d know when Des left.
    If I stayed awake, that is. I’d spent the night in a perfectly good bed. But no, I had to wait until I was slumped at an awkward angle in the Subaru’s bucket seat to fall into the deep, comatose type of sleep where your mouth drops open and you get a huge wet drool spot on your jacket.
    Right. And that’s when your weird dream about the sheriff knocking on your window becomes reality.
    I jumped, letting out a most unladylike grunt, and squinted through the fogged-up glass at the olive green blur beyond it.
    I groaned and turned the key in the ignition so I could roll down the power window.
    Des leaned into the opening. “Been here long?”
    I rubbed my eyes and muttered, “I guess.”
    Again that flicker of a smile across his face, and he shifted to peer into the empty backseat. When his gaze returned to me, I knew what he was thinking. Yes, I really had managed to make all the condensation coating the windows all by myself.
    “Whatchya doing?” he asked.
    “Special delivery.” I held up a sheet of paper that had been folded into quarters and was covered with crayon drawings. The artist favored hot pink and purple. CeCe’s get-well card for her dad. Clarice had promised the little girl that it would reach its destination with the utmost dispatch.
    “Non-family visiting hours start at 10:00,” Des said.
    I glanced at my watch —three hours to go — and played dumb. “Oh. You were in there.” I don’t have great acceleration from slumber to full mental prowess.
    “One of the perks of the job. How about breakfast?” He jerked his chin toward the McDonald’s across the street.
    “Already ate,” I lied. Well, unless coffee counts — which it did, in this case. Actually, an Egg McMuffin was sounding really good. The scent of sizzling sausage drifted through the open window — straight from the restaurant’s grill to my nose. I swear they have directional fans on their range hood vents.
    Des chuckled and drummed his fingers on the window ledge. “See you around, then.”
    “Yep.” I tried to sound cheery.
    “He’s in room 215.” Des tossed the words over his shoulder as he sauntered away. “Side door, straight up the stairs, on the right. And he’s awake.”
    I chewed on the inside of my cheek and watched Des as he slowly, carefully, turn-signals-and-everything, exited the parking lot and cruised through the McDonald’s drive-thru. I hadn’t fooled him one bit. He knew I’d planned on sneaking in to see Hank as soon as possible.
    I sighed and popped open my door. No time like the present.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 5
     
    Des’s directions turned out to be perfectly accurate, and they got me to Hank’s door without having to pass a receptionist or a nurses’ station. Des had helped me evade the hospital’s gatekeepers. I wondered about that man. Maybe I should let him buy me food. However, if he thought my company was charming, then I questioned his judgment.
    I softly tapped my fingernails on the partially open door and peeked through the crack. There was some shuffling, and Sidonie’s huge dark eyes appeared.
    “Oh, it’s you.” She grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the room. “Thought that sheriff had come back. He wore Hank out with all his questions.”
    Hank did not look good. Better than dead, but still not good. His skin was pale and waxy and deeply shadowed, almost as though he’d been beaten to a bruised pulp underneath the surface. A gown much too large for him sagged against the lumpy bandages on his chest. He was