Read Online Death By Drowning by Abigail Keam - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Abigail Keam
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in me screamed – the game was afoot.
“What’s the unspoken truth here? And don’t say it is my imagination. One thing my accident has done is made me hypersensitive to my surroundings. Right now, both your auras are dancing around the rooms. What is it?”
“You were supposed to have been told in Key West,” growled Matt, staring at Jake, “but the kid got called away on that Amsterdam case . . . and no one else had the nerve to tell you.”
I think even then I knew what he was going to say, but I didn’t want to hear it; yet I couldn’t turn away. “You tell me, Matt.” I could feel the hair on my arms begin to stand at attention.
“O’nan’s body was never recovered. Neither the police nor your daughter’s team could find him. In fact, the ferry was broken into that night. Its rowboat was stolen and was found across the river where a car was stolen from a driveway on down the road from there. He might have survived the fall. Being high, he may have been relaxed enough to have hit the water at the right angle . . .”
I swung around to Jake. “Is that why you were assigned to me . . . to take on O’nan if he showed up?”
“I was assigned to you because I’ve had special training in severe trauma like yours. You know that.”
“What else did my daughter tell you to do?”
“I was to keep you from danger.”
“Meaning?”
“I’m an expert in combat triage, small weaponry and martial arts. We figured if he came at you again, it would be at close range with a small pistol or knife . . . even his hands.”
“You were the first line of defense. So if he got to me, you could patch me up long enough to get me to a hospital?”
“Something like that,” agreed Jake. His eyes never wavered from mine.
“And Cody is the second?”
“He is the first line of defense. I’m backup.”
“My life gets weirder and weirder. Why was my expensive electronic gate taken down?”
“Those things provide no real security for someone who really wants to get in, besides Matt said the gate would scratch the tour buses.”
I started laughing. “God forbid we mar the paint on the tour buses.” I rubbed my temples. I was getting a headache. I jerked my head up “Hey, what tour buses? What tour?”
“Yeah, yeah. I need to talk to you about that,” said Matt giving Jake an annoyed look.
“Let’s get back on track, guys. I’m sorry, Josiah,” said Shaneika, “but this issue about O’nan was tough to call.”
“No, I’m sorry. Sorry for all the unpleasantness I’ve brought into your lives. I’m sorry for the drama and the extra work; the fear I’ve brought into your existence. Shaneika, I haven’t even visited your horse yet. And the thing is I don’t know when things will get back to normal.”
I leaned back in my chair. My left arm started to tremble. I placed my right hand on it, holding it down. “I knew. Deep down, I knew he might still be alive. No one mentioned the findings of his autopsy. I couldn’t find anything about his funeral in the obits when I searched the computer. I knew. I just didn’t want to face it.”
Matt impatiently untied his tie and unbuttoned his collar. He took a deep breath. “I think I can speak for Shaneika too when I say that dealing with unfortunate circumstances is what we do. Without tragedy, we wouldn’t have jobs.”
“This is a little closer to home than I would like,” interrupted Shaneika, “but I can handle it. After all, I have ancestors who were war heroes in every war since the Revolutionary War. They’d be ashamed of me if I couldn’t handle one little white boy who acts like he’s got no people.”
I smiled at the southern expression for no ’counts. No one to teach him right from wrong. No one to stand up for him. No one to love him. That’s what it means. A loner. Even though we Kentuckians have our share of kooks, a loner is still something to be mistrusted. People in Kentucky are family and clan-oriented.
We spent another
“What’s the unspoken truth here? And don’t say it is my imagination. One thing my accident has done is made me hypersensitive to my surroundings. Right now, both your auras are dancing around the rooms. What is it?”
“You were supposed to have been told in Key West,” growled Matt, staring at Jake, “but the kid got called away on that Amsterdam case . . . and no one else had the nerve to tell you.”
I think even then I knew what he was going to say, but I didn’t want to hear it; yet I couldn’t turn away. “You tell me, Matt.” I could feel the hair on my arms begin to stand at attention.
“O’nan’s body was never recovered. Neither the police nor your daughter’s team could find him. In fact, the ferry was broken into that night. Its rowboat was stolen and was found across the river where a car was stolen from a driveway on down the road from there. He might have survived the fall. Being high, he may have been relaxed enough to have hit the water at the right angle . . .”
I swung around to Jake. “Is that why you were assigned to me . . . to take on O’nan if he showed up?”
“I was assigned to you because I’ve had special training in severe trauma like yours. You know that.”
“What else did my daughter tell you to do?”
“I was to keep you from danger.”
“Meaning?”
“I’m an expert in combat triage, small weaponry and martial arts. We figured if he came at you again, it would be at close range with a small pistol or knife . . . even his hands.”
“You were the first line of defense. So if he got to me, you could patch me up long enough to get me to a hospital?”
“Something like that,” agreed Jake. His eyes never wavered from mine.
“And Cody is the second?”
“He is the first line of defense. I’m backup.”
“My life gets weirder and weirder. Why was my expensive electronic gate taken down?”
“Those things provide no real security for someone who really wants to get in, besides Matt said the gate would scratch the tour buses.”
I started laughing. “God forbid we mar the paint on the tour buses.” I rubbed my temples. I was getting a headache. I jerked my head up “Hey, what tour buses? What tour?”
“Yeah, yeah. I need to talk to you about that,” said Matt giving Jake an annoyed look.
“Let’s get back on track, guys. I’m sorry, Josiah,” said Shaneika, “but this issue about O’nan was tough to call.”
“No, I’m sorry. Sorry for all the unpleasantness I’ve brought into your lives. I’m sorry for the drama and the extra work; the fear I’ve brought into your existence. Shaneika, I haven’t even visited your horse yet. And the thing is I don’t know when things will get back to normal.”
I leaned back in my chair. My left arm started to tremble. I placed my right hand on it, holding it down. “I knew. Deep down, I knew he might still be alive. No one mentioned the findings of his autopsy. I couldn’t find anything about his funeral in the obits when I searched the computer. I knew. I just didn’t want to face it.”
Matt impatiently untied his tie and unbuttoned his collar. He took a deep breath. “I think I can speak for Shaneika too when I say that dealing with unfortunate circumstances is what we do. Without tragedy, we wouldn’t have jobs.”
“This is a little closer to home than I would like,” interrupted Shaneika, “but I can handle it. After all, I have ancestors who were war heroes in every war since the Revolutionary War. They’d be ashamed of me if I couldn’t handle one little white boy who acts like he’s got no people.”
I smiled at the southern expression for no ’counts. No one to teach him right from wrong. No one to stand up for him. No one to love him. That’s what it means. A loner. Even though we Kentuckians have our share of kooks, a loner is still something to be mistrusted. People in Kentucky are family and clan-oriented.
We spent another
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