Room At The Inn (The Jeff Resnick Mysteries) by Bartlett LL

Author:Bartlett, LL [Bartlett, LL]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: USA
Publisher: Polaris Press
Published: 2012-09-04T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

"Jeff—hey, come on, wake up."

I squinted up at Richard looming over me. My head ached. Every muscle in my body protested at the slightest movement. I closed my eyes, burrowing back under the covers. "Go away."

"They're shutting down the kitchen in fifteen minutes. If you don't get up now, you won't eat."

"I don't care."

"Yes, you will. Besides, Maggie will be waiting for us.”

That, at last, made an impact on me.

I remembered Maggie's frightened, crystal blue eyes boring through me with such trust back in the emergency room the night before. I promised to be there for her—that I'd bring her some clothes. I'd felt like a heel at leaving her.

I managed to rouse myself, feeling hung over and sick to my stomach. The thought of greasy eggs and bacon made my stomach roil. "I can't eat."

"Yes you can. Listen, I'll go down and get you a muffin and some fruit. Get in that shower, or I'll throw you in when I get back." His voice was stern and I had no doubt he'd carry through with his threat. The door closed behind him.

Richard was right. I needed to eat; I needed to take my medication. I had to get rid of the headache or I'd find myself cowering in a dark, silent room all day, and I couldn't afford to waste that kind of time.

Straightening, and then walking, proved an ordeal. Evidently Richard had gone up to my room, for I found a clean change of clothes on the vanity in the bathroom. It took nearly ten minutes in the shower before the hot water eased the aches down to my bones. I'd hoped the cloud of steam would clear my head as well, but things were still a muddle when I emerged.

Richard waited for me in the bedroom, flipping through an old copy of Smithsonian magazine. As promised, a breakfast tray sat on the coffee table in front of the loveseat, along with a muffin, a banana, and a small carafe of coffee. Richard's prescription was simple: "Eat."

"Thanks. Thanks for getting the clothes, too."

He moved to sit on the chair adjacent to me. "The police really did a number on your room."

"My God, that's right. It'll take me an hour to straighten it out."

"It's okay. I got most of it back in order."

"What time did you get up?"

"About seven. You were dead to the world. I was the first down to breakfast, too. I apologized to Zack for coming in so late last night, and explained what happened to Maggie. Susan seemed quite concerned."

"She's probably worried the article won't get finished."

Richard frowned. He isn't half as cynical as me.

"Thanks, Rich. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't here."

"Until we got to the hospital—until I knew she was okay.... I was worried that I'd made the wrong decision, that I—"

I started working on the muffin's paper wrapper. "What are you talking about?"

"The way we got Maggie out of the car wasn't exactly by the book."

"We had to get her out.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.