The Second Time Around Read Online Free PDF Page A

crumpled the newspaper, stood up, walked to a nearby trash receptacle, and shoved the paper inside. He started toward the door, but one of the doctors who was crossing the lobby called to him. “Ned, I haven’t seen you since the accident. I’m so sorry about Annie. She was a wonderful person.”
    â€œThank you.” Then he remembered the doctor’s name. “Thank you, Dr. Ryan.”
    â€œIs there anything I can do for you?”
    â€œNo.” He had to say something. Dr. Ryan’s eyes were curious, looking him over. Dr. Ryan might know that at Annie’s insistence he used to come here to Dr. Greene for psychiatric counseling. But Dr. Greene had ticked him off when he said, “Don’t you think you should have discussed selling the house with Annie before you sold it?”
    The burn on his hand really hurt. When he tossed the match into the gasoline, the fire had flashed back and caught his hand. That was his excuse to be here. He held up his hand for Dr. Ryan to see. “I got burned last night when I was cooking dinner. I’m not much of a cook. But the emergency room’s crowded. I gotta get to work. Anyhow, it’s not that bad.”
    Dr. Ryan looked at it. “It’s serious enough, Ned. That could get infected.” He pulled a prescription padout of his pocket and scrawled on the top sheet. “Get this ointment and keep putting it on. Have your hand checked in a day or two.”
    Ned thanked him and turned away. He didn’t want to run into anyone else. He started toward the door again, but stopped. Cameras were being set up around the main exit.
    He put on his dark glasses before he got into the revolving door behind a young woman. Then he realized that the cameras were there for her.
    He stepped aside quickly and slipped behind the people who had been about to enter the hospital but waited when they saw the cameras. The idle ones. The curious.
    The woman being interviewed was dark-haired, in her late twenties, attractive. She looked familiar. Then he remembered where he’d seen her. She’d been at the shareholders’ meeting yesterday. She’d been asking questions of people as they left the auditorium.
    She had tried to talk to him, but he’d brushed past her. He didn’t like people asking him questions.
    One of the reporters held a mike up to her. “Ms. DeCarlo, Lynn Spencer is your sister—is that right?”
    â€œMy step sister.”
    â€œHow is she?”
    â€œShe’s obviously in pain. She had a terrible experience. She nearly lost her life in that fire.”
    â€œDoes she have any idea who might have set the fire? Has she received any threats?”
    â€œWe didn’t talk about that.”
    â€œDo you think it was someone who lost money by investing in Gen-stone, Ms. DeCarlo?”
    â€œI can’t speculate on that. I can say that anyone who would deliberately incinerate a home, taking the chance that someone may be inside sleeping, is either psychotic or evil.”
    Ned’s eyes narrowed as rage filled him. Annie had died trapped in a burning car. If he hadn’t sold the house in Greenwood Lake, they would have been there on that day two weeks ago when she was killed. She’d have been on her knees planting her flowers instead of rushing out of the Yonkers house, crying so hard that she hadn’t paid attention to the traffic when she backed out the car.
    For a brief moment he locked eyes with the woman being interviewed. DeCarlo was her name, and she was Lynn Spencer’s sister. I’ll show you who’s crazy, he thought. Too bad your sister wasn’t trapped in the fire the way my wife was trapped in the car. Too bad you weren’t in the house with her. I’ll get them, Annie, he promised. I’ll get back at them for you.

F OUR

    I drove home not even remotely pleased with my performance during that unexpected news conference. I liked it much better when I