Murder 42 - A Thriller (Sarah King Mysteries Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

if this was a pain she carried every day alone. But Kelly wouldn’t understand. Even Sarah didn’t understand.
    “I’m fine. It’s nothing. Just migraines I get sometimes.”
    “That seems like a pretty big deal, Sarah. We should go to the hospital.”
    “No, no it’s fine. Let’s just go in. I’ll have some water and be all right. Really.” Sarah took her arm, ignoring the throbbing that lashed out inside her head every few seconds. “What were you saying? Something about having a lot of fun tonight?”
     
     
    The night dragged on about as Sarah expected. Kelly and the girls got drunk, flirted with boys, and danced, while Sarah sat at a table away from everyone else and tried to look as unwelcoming as possible. She didn’t want to speak to anybody and hoped a stern face was enough to ward people off.
    But the men still came and tried to talk to her. She had to brush them off—politely at first and then rude and to the point. The more who approached her, the more it aggravated her. Though she knew she wasn’t unattractive, she didn’t believe herself to be stunning, either. She wondered what it was about her that drew men in.
    After several Diet Cokes, she checked her watch: it was only ten thirty. She wasn’t going to make it to two or three in the morning.
    “Kelly,” she yelled over the din of the music at the bar, “would you guys mind calling a cab? I think I’m just going to go.”
    “No, no, stay here,” she said, her speech slurred from the countless shots.
    “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Just either call me and I’ll come back, or please call a cab. Don’t go home with strange men when you’re like this.”
    “Of course I’m going to. What fun would it be going home with strange men sober?”
    Sarah grabbed her arm, staring right into her pupils to make sure Kelly was paying attention. “Because they could hurt you. Call me or call a cab, okay?”
    Kelly lost her smile. Something passed between them, but Kelly didn’t know what it was. She pulled away. “What’re you, my mother?”
    She turned away and took another shot. Sarah had done all she could do. Maybe she’d swing back around closing time and make sure they weren’t going home with anyone they shouldn’t be.
    Once out of the club, she realized how warm it had been in there. The air cooled her skin, and the sudden change from warmth to cold made her skin flush. One of the bouncers said, “You leaving? Aw, come on. Come back in and lemme buy you a drink.”
    Sarah smiled briefly, her teeth clenched so she didn’t snap at him, and turned away without saying anything.
    “Hey,” the bouncer yelled as he chased her down, “night’s just starting. Come back. You too pretty to be sittin’ at home on a Friday night.”
    “I appreciate it, but no, thank you.”
    He swung around in front of her and blocked her path to the parking lot. “Nah, don’t be like that. Come in and have a drink.”
    “I don’t drink anymore.”
    “You wouldn’t be in there if you didn’t want somethin’ to drink. Just come in. My name’s J. J. I’ll take excellent care of you.”
    The bouncer touched her arm lightly, and pain shot through her as if she had been injected with acid. She saw J. J. sitting next to a hospital bed, reading to a man who didn’t move. A machine beeped near him, and with each beep, the man’s chest would go up and down.
    “Is it your father?” she asked.
    “What?”
    “The man in the hospital, is it your father?”
    “What the fuck did you say?”
    “Never mind,” she said, trying to get around him. “Excuse me.”
    “Hey,” he said, sticking his hand in front of her and pushing her back. “What did you say? What about a man in a hospital?”
    “Please leave me alone.”
    “Not until you tell me what you just said.”
    Sarah touched him lightly on the arm. His mouth fell open and his hands gripped his head as he screamed. She jumped back.
    “I’m sorry” was all she could say.
    Sometimes, the pain