Pestilence: A Medical Thriller Read Online Free Page B

eventually to a Bloody Mary every morning for breakfast.
    Howie didn’t remember how old he’d been when he uttered those words that every child does—I won’t be my parents. He was rich, sober, and full of confidence. Everything his father hadn’t been. He dated beautiful women… but his relationship with his only daughter was no better than his relationship with his own father. Despite all his effort and all the different roads he’d taken, in a lot of ways, he had become his father. And a part of him hated himself for it.
    Howie changed into a polo shirt and Dockers shorts, then put on Italian leather shoes and no socks. He went to his dresser and chose his watch, opting for the silver Rolex his ex-wife had bought him for his thirtieth birthday.
    His ex-wife. Howie remembered that it was Friday and his one weekend a month to take his daughter, Jessica. He hadn’t seen her for two months. Her mother and her mother’s new husband, David, flew her around the world, took her on cruises, and kept her busy with private schools, cheerleading, and whatever else Jessica was into. David had two boys of his own, and they, from what Howie could tell, were as happy as could be.
    He checked his cell phone and saw a text from his ex. Where the hell are you????
    Replying that he would be right there, he head ed to the fridge and got a bottle of cold water before dialing the girl he was supposed to see that night. He’d been dating Brandi off and on for over three months, which was a personal record since the divorce. It went to voice mail.
    “Hey, Brandi. Um, listen, can’t make it tonight . I’ve got my kid. I mean, my neighbor, Sandy, might be able to watch her, so I’ll see if I can dump her off, but if Sandy’s got plans, I’m kinda stuck. If you want to come over here and watch a movie or something, that’s fine.”
    He hung up and headed out the door.
    It was a forty-minute drive to Bel Air, and that was pushing it. Howie didn’t want to rush, but the traffic was actually light compared to how it had been on his way home. Maybe it was just because it was three in the afternoon on a Friday. He called in to his company, an advertising firm, and asked his secretary to clear his schedule for Monday and Tuesday. He was going to take Brandi to Mexico as soon as he dropped Jessica back off at her mother’s on Sunday.
    His phone rang , and it was Brandi.
    “Hey,” he said.
    “Hey. So no show? Sarah’s one of my best friends, and this is her first gallery, Howie.”
    “I know. I’m sorry , but what do you want me to do? It’s my weekend, and her mom said she had something planned that she couldn’t get out of.”
    “This is disappointing. I’m very disappointed right now.”
    Howie thought she sounded like a four-year-old, and he wasn’t sure if he found it cute or stomach-churningly disgusting. “I’m gonna make it up to you. How ’bout we go down to Cabo on Sunday?”
    “Really? You can get out of work?”
    “I own the place. What’s the point of being the owner if you can’t play hooky sometimes?”
    “That sounds amazing. I’ve been itching to get out of the city. I have a shoot on Thursday , though.”
    “We’ll be back before then. Pack that little outfit I really like. The one with the garters.”
    “Oh, I got something new for you. If you’re a good boy.”
    He grinned. “Come over and watch a movie with us tonight.”
    “I can’t. I have to be there for Sarah. She would have a panic attack if I wasn’t.”
    “All right, fine,” he said sluggishly. “I’ll see you Sunday then.”
    “Okay, see you then.”
    The home in Bel Air was immaculate, and a gardener was tending to the rose bushes. Howie pressed on the horn rather than bothering to go to the door. No one came out at first, and he laid on it again. Eventually, the door opened, and his ex, Kaila, was there with ten-year-old Jessica. Kaila kissed her, said something to her, and then shut the door as Jessica walked across the lawn