The May Day Murders Read Online Free Page A

Mom.
Can I please go to the movies with Amanda?”
    Ann tried to hide her disappointment.
She had hoped that Amy would stay home with her tonight—she didn’t
want to be alone after today. But Ann knew that they would only get
into an argument if she objected, and that was the last thing she
needed right now. “Okay, honey,” she sighed. “Do you need a
ride?”
    “ No, Amanda’s mom is picking
me up in half an hour. I’m going to take a quick shower and change
first.”
    “ Back by ten,” Ann
warned.
    “ Mother! The movie doesn’t
even start until eight-thirty!”
    Ann shook her head in resignation and
said, “All right. But I want you to come straight home when it’s
over. Do you hear me?”
    “ Yes, I hear you,” Amy
whined. She shrugged her shoulders and made a face before storming
out of the kitchen.
    Ann was hurt and angry at Amy’s lack of
consideration. Her daughter had to know that she was overwrought
from the memorial service but Amy’s social life apparently took
precedent over her mother’s emotions. For what had to be the
hundredth time since she and Amy had moved to Columbus, Ann wished
that Sam was there to help her get a handle on their daughter. She
was starting to doubt that she could ever do it alone.
    With a sigh, Ann finished her yogurt
and decided to give Karen a call. Maybe her friend could help cheer
her up a bit. She went over to the phone and dialed Karen’s
number.
    “ Karen, it’s me. What are
you up to?”
    “ Hi, Ann. Just sitting here
waiting for Bill. How did it go today?”
    “ Horrible,” Ann replied.
God, Karen, this is awful. I just can’t believe she’s
gone!”
    “ I feel so sad for you, Ann.
I know how much she meant to you. All I can say is that she’s gone
to a much better place,” Karen declared compassionately.
    “ I guess so.”
    “ How was her
husband?”
    “ Devastated. Cried like a
baby through the whole service. I really feel sorry for him. And
poor little Tommy. He wasn’t even there.”
    “ The poor child. Has he
spoken to anyone yet?” Karen inquired.
    “ No, and Sam informed me
that he’s practically having to be force-fed, too. It’s just awful
… He won’t even speak to Dave! God only knows what that poor
little boy must have gone through that night.”
    “ I shudder to think. Have
the police gotten any more leads on who might have done it? They
mentioned it again on the six o’clock news, by the way, but they
didn’t give any details. They just said that the investigation is
still under way.”
    “ No. Sam’s friend, Roger
Hagstrom, the detective who’s in charge of the case, told Sam that
nothing new has turned up. Apparently, they’ve done about all they
can until they can interrogate Tommy. And that could be a long
time, according to Roger.”
    “ In the meantime, there’s a
psycho killer on the prowl,” Karen said.
    “ It’s frightening, isn’t it?
I told Sam that I hope they hang him by the balls when they finally
catch him.”
    Karen chuckled. “You sure have a way
with words, Ann.”
    “ It just infuriates me!
Marsha was the nicest, most decent woman you could ever know. And
for some crazy bastard to do that to her just makes me want to go
out and find the monster myself and make him suffer.”
    “ I don’t blame you one bit.
Not to change the subject, but how is your ex doing? Did you two
get along?”
    “ I have to admit that I
couldn’t have made it through all of this without Sam. For a while
I almost forgot we were divorced, in fact. Sam’s basically a good
man, and he’s always been at his best during a crisis.”
    “ You miss him?” Karen
asked.
    Ann sighed and paused a moment before
answering. “Well, yes and no. I miss the stability of having Sam
around more than I miss the man himself. And Amy … Christ!
She’s turning into a regular delinquent! I know for a fact that she
drinks because I’ve smelled alcohol on her breath a couple of
times. And she’s smoking cigarettes now—I don’t