Worse Than Being Alone Read Online Free PDF

end her comp claim and we’re out of it.”
    “ I hate the idea she gets away
with shoplifting and comp fraud. They’ll just close her file. They
won’t be able to prove fraud. She’ll just move on to the next
scam.”
    “ Well, you could follow her one
more time,” Roni offered. “Pro bono, of course. When she’s in the
mall doing her thing, call security and let them know.”
    “ I like it.”
    “ Who is Ho Chi Minh?” Roni
asked.
    “ She’s that Vietnamese woman whose
real name is Nguyan Thj Dung. I got the referral a couple of days
ago. She doesn’t live at the address where they send her checks.
She had a doctor’s appointment this morning, so I decided to catch
up with her there. She left his office and jumped in a car that
sped away before I could follow. She was checking everyone out as
she left. This wasn’t the first time she’s been followed. It’s
going to take both of us to nail her.”
    “ OK, let me know when you want to
do it,” Roni said.
    “ When are you going to see your
new para?”
    “ His name is Brad Henry,” Roni
said. “He’s having some tests for the next couple of days so I’ll
go early next week.”
    “ You do a great job with paras and
quads. I’ve always thought I could handle being a paraplegic. I
mean you’d still have a functioning upper body. That whole below
the neck being gone thing; I’m not convinced I could do that. I
think I’d rather be dead.”
    “ I always think of David Weller,”
Roni said. “He’s a quad I worked with a couple of years ago. He’s
amazing. I helped him get 24/7 nursing care and got him through
rehab. He still runs his construction company. He’s a
multi-millionaire and his injury hasn’t slowed him down one
bit.”
    “ Dinner’s ready,” Harley said as
he appeared in the doorway. “Hey, Kitty, how’s that cyber-dating
going?”
    “ I’m taking it slow,” I said as we
walked in the house. “I’ve been exchanging e-mails with this one
guy. We’re going to have dinner Saturday night.”
    “ You be careful, Kitty,” Harley
said. “The world is full of freaks and perverts and a lot of them
are on the Net.”
    “ I’m touched, Harley,” I
said.
    “ I don’t think I could go on
without you, Kitty,” Harley said. “You complete me.”
    “ Wow, Harley,
are we having bullshit for dinner, too?”
     

Chapter Six
    Against my better judgment, I was
on my way to Roni and Harley’s for Saturday night dinner. A
cloudless sky and temperatures in the eighties allowed shimmers of
heat to glint off the hood of my red convertible. I pulled over
halfway there to put the top up, feeling a nasty sunburn coming
with any further exposure to the sun.
    In order to attend, I had to
cancel my first date with Jack Kyle, a man I met on eLove.com. We
had been exchanging e-mails for the last several weeks and had
planned to take it to the next level, an actual meeting. In all
candor, I wasn’t looking forward to dating again. All I could
remember from my first round years ago was a general feeling that
the process was awkward and usually ended in rejection for someone.
I have never been much of an optimist, and time has only added to
my cynicism.
    Roni begged me to come and finally played the friend
card because her father and his girlfriend were also supposed to be
there. My job was to scope Marian out, looking for any kind of flaw
that Roni missed. I almost felt sorry for Marian. I wondered if she
realized she was about to run the Edelin gauntlet. Roni’s role was
to glare at me in mock horror while I asked Marian all those
horribly intrusive questions Roni would certainly proffer without
her father’s presence.
    Once again, I avoided the Bradford pear trees and
parked closer to the house. Harley was smoking ribs and I realized
I was going to have to eat salads for the next week to make up for
this binge. Harley smiled and waved his huge barbecue fork as I
approached.
    “ Hey, Kitty, how’s it going?” he
asked.
    “ Good. Are you