Liquid Lies Read Online Free PDF Page B

head. “So what's in the basket?”
    “A letter from some attorney I got a while ago. I’m giving it to Hazel to look over. Oh, and some cookies for her to sample. I made them with a special ingredient: capers.” Estelle’s broad smile pushed her plump rosy cheeks to a full mound under her bright hazel eyes.
    “Wow.” I was at a loss for words. Estelle thought she was a Midwest version of Paula Deen. I’d never had the heart to tell her that her creations, like her sausage and fish tacos, her jalapeño infused chicken Cordon Bleu, and chocolate carrot cake, although full of enthusiasm and zest, were mostly unpalatable.
    She pushed a chunk of the cookie in my direction. “Open up.”
    I automatically opened my mouth. The salty and bitter taste battled each other. Both flavors lost the war of edibility. I winced.
    “You don’t like it?”
    “The lake water must have screwed up my taste buds. I’m sure they’re great. Listen, I have to run. Mark is waiting to do his makeup magic on me. I’ll see you at home later on. Love you.” I gave her a kiss and patted Skipper’s head. “Oh, I almost forgot. What about this letter you got?”
    “It’s no big deal, I’ll tell you about it later.” Estelle called after me, “Get out of those wet clothes.”
    ***
    I strolled into the locker room, grabbed my dry outfit and went back to the restroom and changed. When I entered the locker room, Mark had the makeup from his mortician school spread out on one chair and he motioned for me to sit in the other chair.
    The locker room didn’t have a mirror, and the restroom mirror was permanently fogged. “I hope you brought a mirror so I can see myself after this experiment?”
    “That’s one thing I don’t have with me.” Mark began with a sponge full of dark orange brown foundation on my face. “Trust me.”
    Glancing at the makeup, I realized none of the colors would match my complexion. Actually, none would match any human’s complexion, dead or alive.
    This could be trouble. Was a free Reuben on rye worth it? As if on cue, my stomach growled. I was here for the duration of the makeover, even though I had a fleeting second thought about going through with this. But, Mark needed the practice, and it’s only makeup. I could always wash it off.
    We chatted while Mark sponged, brushed and rubbed makeup onto my face. An hour later he was done with me. He took a few pictures. “You’ve helped me out so much. Once I show my instructor that I’ve got this down, I get to do the next client myself.”
    “That could’ve been me.” I grabbed a paper towel and began to wipe off the goo. It stuck to my face like cement. I had to get some industrial strength soap. As I left the locker room, my cell rang. I answered.
    “You need to get to the hospital now,” said Ken.
    “Actually I have this horrible makeup on that I have to take off, and then I have some things at work to finish up…”
    I heard him sigh into the phone. “Please? Come here now .”
    “Actually, I want…” He hung up before I was allowed the opportunity to fully respond.

Chapter Four
     
     
     
    “Dr. Kenneth Wilson, please come to floor three,” the unit secretary said over the pager.
    When I saw Ken emerge from the hallway, my heart skipped a beat. As always, his tousled sandy brown hair, light blue eyes, and tall stature had the power to grab my attention.
    “I heard about your accident,” he said as he walked over and kissed me. “I’m ordering a CT scan.” He tugged me into an exam room.
    Deciding not to get up on the exam table, I sat down in a chair. All six foot three and two hundred and fifty pounds of him hovered over me. He reached into his white lab coat pocket and pulled out a penlight.
    I winced as the light blinded me. “Who told you?” I grimaced. “Mark?”
    “Mark. Estelle. Hazel. Damn near the whole town.” He leaned over me, touching the cut above my eye. “It isn’t deep, you don’t need stitches. But you did hit