Read Online Bullet in the Night by Judith Rolfs - Free Book Online Page B

while Nick reluctantly got the kids off to school. Playing Mr. Mom wasn’t his favorite role. I was out the door for my meeting with Tucker before he and the children woke up.
    Lake Geneva, our upper crust resort town of seven thousand people, has a gorgeous spring-fed lake at its center. The population swells like a pregnant woman every nine months to ten thousand-plus. Fontana on Lake Geneva and Williams Bay are Geneva’s saucy little lakefront sisters, equally charming on a smaller scale.
    I drove past the lake’s vibrant waters that seemed to mysteriously slide into the sky at the horizon. Never did I tire of seeing this natural exquisite beauty. I often praised the Divine Artist who blends the colors of our world with such precision.
    I parked halfway between the rustic Frank Lloyd Wright prairie-style library and the public Riviera Ballroom still touted as the place where big bands appeared during the war. The building now housed shops on its lower level. Together these structures assured continuing public access to the lakefront for locals and visitors.
    My eyes roved the beach where resident ducks hunted for breakfast. There couldn’t be a better place in the world to live. I breathed in the delicious air as I strolled toward Barry’s café, following the smell of coffee.
    Inside the packed restaurant I spotted Tucker in a rear booth. The thick aroma of bacon and eggs brought back memories of my deceased aunt’s kitchen. She lived down the block as I was growing up and fed me every chance she got. How I loved her big breakfasts.
    Tucker sat immobile, staring at an unopened morning paper. His left hand absently rubbed his coffee cup like a genie’s lamp as I slid in across from him. The vinyl seat chilled my legs beneath my short skirt.
    When he looked up his mouth curved partially into a semblance of a smile. “Thanks for meeting me this early. I don’t want to miss seeing Lenora’s doctor when he makes morning rounds. I need to be there by eight thirty.”
    “No problem. How did Lenora’s day go yesterday?”
    “She’s still not out of the woods. We get more test results back today.”
    I searched his eyes, which remained expressionless. “It must be horrible seeing her so helpless—such a vivacious woman.”
    “Yes. Plus going home to an empty house without the energy her presence brings to it is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.” Tucker cracked his knuckles. “I’ve always been okay alone at our Illinois apartment during the week because I’m busy at my job, but I’m not accustomed to being in our Wisconsin house without Lenora.”
    A harried teenaged waitress scurried over, balancing carafes of decaf and regular coffee near each hip. “Coffee, ma’am?”
    “Decaf please.” I slid my cup and saucer closer.
    “Refill?” the waitress asked Tucker.
    He set his palm over his cup. “I’m good, thanks.”
    As a semi-health food devotee, I ordered oatmeal, a bran muffin, and juice, fighting my urge for bacon. I sipped my coffee.
    “Jennifer, it occurred to me yesterday that perhaps the bullet was meant for me.”
    I gulped, swallowed wrong, and coughed. “Does someone have a vendetta against you?”
    Tucker lifted his shoulders to his ears and dropped them. “Not that I’m aware of but I can’t understand why anyone would want to hurt Lenora.” He sounded bewildered and angry at the same time. Who wouldn’t be with a spouse on the precipice of life or death?
    “I agree it doesn’t make sense. Hopefully, she’ll be responsive soon and able to tell us why someone would want to shoot her.”
    “If only… I so long to hear her voice.”
    I rested my elbows on the table, cradling the steaming coffee cup under my chin with both hands. My questions about T. Hartford could wait a few minutes. Brimming with sympathy, I asked Tucker, “Would you like to reminisce about her? I’m a good listener. I know very little about your history together. You met at the university, right?”
    He