Read Online Life in Death by Harlow Drake - Free Book Online

again.
    “I can’t say.” The officer kept his gaze on the crowd.
    “Listen.” Kari touched his arm and got his undivided attention. She pointed to Mina’s apartment. “That’s my friend’s apartment and this is her dad. Can you please find out if she made it out okay?”
    She didn't care if she sounded desperate and had to beg to get an answer. Mina meant a lot to her.
    “ Please ,” Keith added.
    The officer nodded. “I’ll check.”
    As he walked away, Kari rubbed Keith’s arm. “I’m sure she’s fine. Maybe she’s at the market or with Veta.”
    The police officer returned with another man. “This is Detective Watkins. He’ll be able to answer your questions.”
    The detective, a tall man with a very stiff gait, reminded her of Herman from the TV show, The Munsters .
    “Your name, sir?” The detective took out his notepad and pen.
    “Keith Steele. My daughter is Mina Steele.” Keith raised his hand as he motioned to Mina’s place. “That’s her apartment…. ”
    “Ma’am, what’s your name?” the officer asked as he scribbled Keith’s information onto his paper.
    “Kari Marchant.”
    “What’s your relationship to Mina Steele?”
    “I’m a friend of hers. We work together. Where is she?” She’d had enough.
    “Sir, I need to speak to you over here,” Herman Munster said to Keith and dismissed her completely.
    “It’s okay,” Mina said. “I’ll wait right here.”
    Herman Munster and Keith walked a short distance away. She couldn’t hear what he said. She couldn’t handle much more of this. A wave of dizziness took her mind hostage. All the murders pilling up at her feet, a child, a co-worker, a man she once loved… images of her best friend burning alive in her apartment… Black dots floated in front of her eyes, then darkness. She opened her eyes to the blackened sky. Paramedics hovered above her. They helped her sit, flashed lights in her eyes, and had her follow their finger with her gaze. They must not have been satisfied with the results because they placed her on a gurney and started an IV.
    She felt lightheaded and laid back on the gurney and closed her eyes.
    “Kari.”
    She opened her eyes to find Keith there. She sat up. He tried to speak, but couldn’t. He hugged her as he sobbed.
    Behind him, coroner personnel hoisted a gurney with a black body bag on it into their van.
    Mina was dead.
    ***
    A nurse helped Kari, exhausted and numb, onto an examination table at the hospital. The doctor, a Pakistani man with a thick accent, came into the room ten minutes later. She had elevated blood pressure from the events of the day. He said she needed to rest and prescribed a strong sedative.
    “Stay here. Detectives will be right in to speak with you,” he said as he left the room.
    She sought some kind of distraction in the small room, finally settling on the only distraction… the television. The screen blared to life.
    This just in: Fire crews have contained the blaze at the Windsor Arms Apartments located at 1892 Spruce Street. The fire damaged one apartment. There was one fatality. Police suspect arson.
    Detectives Nicolet and Cobb entered after a tap on the door. No big surprise they were there.
    “I’m sorry for your loss,” Nicolet actually sounded sincere.
    “Four deaths and you’re the common denominator. What do you say to that?” Cobb asked.
    Good cop, bad cop.
    “Are you serious? One of my best friends is dead.” Kari hopped off the exam table and stood nose-to-nose with him. She felt a little dizzy and grabbed the table for support.
    “Cobb, that’s enough,” Nicolet stood between them.
    “No, it’s not enough." He focused his eyes back on Kari. "I think you’re somehow involved in all this. You may have Nicolet fooled, but not me.” He stormed out of the room.
    Kari plopped into a chair and Nicolet sat beside her.
    “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’ll talk to him, but I’ve got to ask you some questions.” He thumbed through