The Hazing Tower Read Online Free PDF Page A

spinning again. Nikki turned the pages of the file. Honors. Medals. He was one of the best. Top of his squad. Died helping a jumper, a bridge rescue. They never found his body. He fell into the water and the jumper lived.
    She looked at the picture again. It was surreal. His eyes. She had looked into those eyes, she was sure of it. But it was impossible. Even if he hadn’t died in the water, he would be dead from old age. The man she saw on the ledge couldn’t have been more than thirty years old.
    Nikki focused in on the tattoo. “Do you have a magnifying glass?”
    “I thought you might want one.” Dianne handed her one and smiled.
    It was the same tattoo, it matched in every way. What was happening? Nikki loved mysteries. She felt a deep sadness surge through her. She realized she wouldn’t have the time to unravel this. She had maybe a month left, if that.
    Dianne stood up and walked to the kitchen counter while Nikki was staring at the folder. She hadn’t even noticed.
    “Nikki! I am your best friend! You didn’t come to me? You are doing drugs? Damn, girl! What is this, heroin?”
    Nikki shook her head. “It’s not what you think. I was going to tell you, Dianne.”
    “Are you crying?” She walked over and sat next to her.
    “Dianne, my cat Zoey, you remember her, right?”
    “Ya, sure, Zoey. Oh! No. Is she sick, she gonna die?”
    “No, no. Dianne, can you take her? Can you take care of her for me?”
    “What? You love Zoey, why? I mean, I don’t understand. Where is she anyway?”
    “Hiding,” Nikki said. “She gets scared when people visit.”
    Nikki paused as she stared at the floor, tears rolled down her cheeks. “Dianne. I’m dying.”
    “You’re what?” She looked stunned beyond reason.
    “I don’t have long now, maybe a month or two—. That’s why Jake left me, Dianne. I haven’t told anyone else. Well, I told this guy. She pointed to the photo of the mystery man.”
    “No way! Nikki, why didn’t you tell me before?” She started to cry, then sob.
    “Wait! Jake left you when you needed him the most! I will kill that asshole!”
    “No, no, Dianne, really, it doesn’t matter anymore. He is scum, I know that now; he isn’t worth wasting time on. Trust me, I wasted enough of mine on him already.”
    “Listen, Dianne. I don’t want anyone else to know. You know how people get around ESU. Dianne, I’m not coming back.”
    Dianne hugged her and the tears soaked her shirt.
    “Of course I will take Zoey,” she said between sobs. “I will treat her like a queen.”
    “Thank you, Dianne. I’m ready now. I’ve been in a lot of pain. It’s just my time, you know. I want to keep Zoey here with me for a week or so, then I will call you to pick her up.”
    Dianne looked around again.
    “You know what?”
    “What?”
    “You sleep. I want you to get a good rest for once. I am going to clean this place up. Make it look like new.”
    “You would do that for me?”
    “Of course! I’m not letting you die like this. Not here, not with this mess.” She was crying hard now.
    “That would be nice. It really stinks in here.”

    Dianne helped Nikki get to bed and tucked her in like she was her own child. She shut the door and got to work.
    This really sucks, Nikki thought as she tried to sleep. Dying sucks.
    • • •

Goodbye
    Nikki felt a bit more energetic the next morning. Dianne had cleaned her apartment to perfection; it looked like new, just like she said. It gave her a burst of energy to wake up to that. She decided to make one last stop, one last thing on her to-do list before the end.
    She had the cab drop her off at the medical center. There was a very short list of people she wanted to say goodbye to. Catherine was one of them. She had really cared about her, didn’t fake it like most of them did. All the tests. She was just a number to doctors, not to Catherine. She was going to make a great doctor someday.
    Mostly bad memories went through her mind as she walked down