Read Online Play Dead by Harlan Coben - Free Book Online Page B

least two months' notice.
    There had been very few deviations from this routine during the last two decades, but the phone call he had received from Laura yesterday was as much a cause for deviation as anything he had experienced during that time. It had left him saddened, confused, so much so that even a man as disciplined as he considered not going in to work. He had just wanted to stay in bed and deal with the harsh blows.
    In the end, he had realized that staying at home would serve no purpose. It would only leave him time to brood when what he needed was to keep his mind and soul busy. He had called Gloria's psychiatrist -- even with her enormous improvement Gloria still needed therapy -- and told her what had happened. Her psychiatrist had wanted to see Gloria right away.
    He pushed his chair away from his desk. There were patients waiting. Mr Campbell was waiting in room five and Mrs Salton was in three.
    The phone buzzed.
    'Dr Ayars?' the box cawed.
    'Yes?'
    'Your wife is on line two.'
    'Thank you.' He swallowed away his fear, picked up the receiver, and pressed the flashing light. 'Mary?'
    'Hello, James.'
    'Where the hell are you?' he asked. 'I was trying to reach you all night. I thought you were staying at the Four Seasons.'
    'They were having some sort of wild convention. Noise all night long so I moved over to the Hyatt.'
    James closed his eyes and rubbed them. He did not mention that there had been no listing under her name at the Hyatt either. 'I have some rather bad news.'
    There was a pause. 'Oh?'
    'It's about David.'
    'What's happened?'
    'He's dead.'
    'Oh my God! How? Was it . . . was it suicide?'
    Predictable enough response, James thought. 'He drowned off the Australian coast.'
    'But he was such a good swimmer.'
    'I guess he misjudged the current.'
    'Or . . . ?'
    'Or what?'
    'How awful,' she continued. 'How's Laura handling it?'
    'I don't think it's fully hit her yet. David's friend T.C. is there with her. He's handling all the arrangements.'
    'She's going to be devastated, James. We have to help her through this.'
    'Of course we will.'
    'She'll snap out of it,' Mary said hopefully. 'She's always been a very strong girl.'
    'I'm sure you're right,' he replied without much enthusiasm.
    'I'll catch a flight back home tomorrow.'
    'Do you want me to meet you at the airport?'
    'No need, James, I'll grab a cab at Logan.'
    'Okay, I'll see you then.'
    He hung up the phone, leaned back and took a deep breath. Mary had never been a very good liar. She had not even bothered to ask why Laura and David were in Australia. James Ayars looked down at his hands. With some surprise he realized that they were shaking.
    Stan Baskin woke up with a start. He tried to remember the dream that had caused him to wake, couldn't, then gave up. What's-her-name in the bed next to him was still asleep, thank God, her face turned away from him. He tried to remember what she looked like, couldn't, then gave up.
    He must have been having a nightmare about last night's Red Sox game. Damn, that had been a sure thing. Stan had studied the match-up carefully and had concluded that there was absolutely no way the Brewers could beat the Sox. Milwaukee could never hit a lefty pitcher with a 7-0 lifetime record against them. Combine that with the way the Sox had been beating up Brewer pitching and then add that they were playing in Fenway Park. It was a sure thing.
    The Sox had lost 6-3.
    Stan had dropped a thousand bucks on that game. And even worse, the B Man (so named because of his fondness for breaking bones) was after him just because Stan had been late on a few payments. Stan knew that all he needed was one more chance. He knew that today's game between the Houston Astros and the Cards in St Louis was a sure thing. Mike Scott was ready to explode. He may even hurl a no-hitter against St Louis today. And there was a horse in the fifth at Yonkers Stan absolutely loved.
    He silently slipped from under the covers, urinated, flushed, then looked