Page 56 of Too Hot to Sleep
"Yep—555-6252—I've sure as hell dialed it enough. It's Ken's home number."
The floor fell out from under her feet, leaving her in a free fall. A week's worth of seemingly disjointed events fell into place with mocking ease, like a preschooler's puzzle. Running into him at the hospital, then seemingly at every turn. At the hospital… at the mall… at the blood bank… at the church. He'd looked her up and hunted her down. He'd played her for a fool. Taking her phone calls and taking her for a ride. She covered her mouth with her hand to keep from crying out.
"Is something wrong?" the man asked.
Oh, sure, Ken has mentioned you to anyone who'll listen. He thinks you're just about the hottest number in Birmingham.
Georgia lunged to her feet, stumbling backward before she gained her footing. Bile rose in her mouth. "I... have to go," she whispered, then ran blindly toward the exit.
* * *
KEN WASwhistling when he walked back to his desk. The woman's lost dog wasn't Crash, and Georgia was waiting for him—
He frowned at the empty chair, then panned the adjacent area looking for her. "Klone," he called, threading his way through people to their desk area. "Where's Georgia?"
The older man shrugged. "Took off, like someone set her on fire."
"Just like that?" He narrowed his eyes. "Did you say something to her?"
"Maybe a little good-hearted teasing, but nothing to send her off like that."
"Think, man. You must've said something that upset her."
The man shook his head. "Nope. Cal over there delivered more mail from your fan club and was cutting up about what alady killer you are. Then I cracked a joke about you making up business cards so you wouldn't have to write down your phone number so often."
Dread pooled at the top of his head and oozed downward. "My phone number?"
"Yeah, she had it written on a piece of paper. Guess you wore her down for a date?"
He leaned forward and gripped the sides of his desk. "You told her that wasmyphone number written on the piece of paper?"
"Well, wasn't it?"
Ken closed his eyes and swallowed.
"What the hell is going on?" Klone asked.
He straightened. "I'm going on break."
"For how long?"
"I don't know."
Ken jogged to the front of the building and burst through the double doors. A hundred feet away, a city bus had stopped for passengers. He caught the flash of a pink blouse and took off sprinting. But the bus lumbered into motion and pulled away just as he ran up next to it. He searched the windows for her face and when he saw her, his stride broke. Tears streaked her face, and she looked at him with such loathing, he was rooted to the spot. He opened his mouth, but knew it was too late for words.
He watched the bus carry her away from him and felt like the piece of trash that lay on the sidewalk at his feet.
Chapter 23
"MAYBE Icould move to Denver," Georgia said, wiping her nose. "I'm sure my brother-in-law would help me find a job." She tossed the tissue into the garbage can next to the kitchen sink and grabbed a fresh one for a hearty blow.
For the first time since Georgia had known her, Toni was speechless and had been since she'd divulged the shocking truth. Her friend could only shake her head, which Georgia feared would come off from all the wagging.
"Jesus, Toni, say something."
"I'll help you load the moving van."
Georgia's face crumpled as a new wave of stinging tears assailed her. Her shoulders shook from abject shame and humiliation and something worse—disappointment. Disappointment that she'd started to think that Ken Medlock was a decent guy, maybe even someone she could love. Maybe even someone who could love her back.
