Read With a Vengeance for Free Online

just below the posterior right ribcage. Barry died within seconds from massive blood loss.”
    “Any bullet fragments?” Baronick asked.
    She shook her head.
    Pete propped one hip on the edge of the table and leaned toward her, resisting the urge to touch her arm. “Any word on Knox?”
    “I called Earl before I left Brunswick. He said Curtis was out of surgery.” She glanced at Baronick. “No fragments there either.” Turning back to Pete, she said, “Earl’s gonna meet me here and we’re driving into the city to see him.”
    “He’s conscious?”
    “Not yet.”
    Pete grunted. “I want to talk to him as soon as he’s up to it. Maybe he can give us something to identify the shooter.”
    Zoe leaned back in the chair. “I wanted to talk to you about that. I was thinking about who might’ve wanted to kill Barry. Or Curtis. And I have a couple of ideas.”

      
    Zoe glanced at the display of primitive medical devices inside one of the glass cases lining the hallway to the South Tower of Allegheny General. They looked more like primitive torture devices to her.
    “Olivia and I would love to have you stay with us,” Earl said, nudging her on.
    “No, you wouldn’t.”
    “Yes. We would. Your cats could entertain our dog. I know I said your horse could sleep in Lilly’s bedroom, but Olivia did put the kibosh on that idea.”
    Zoe bit back a laugh. “My horse still has a barn.”
    “Then it’s settled.”
    “No, it’s not. Rose is letting me stay in Logan’s room until he comes home. Allison loves the cats, so for now, everything’s good.”
    “For now. But the offer stands.”
    They reached the end of the tunnel-like hallway and crossed the large waiting area to the information desk. The woman seated behind it punched Curtis’s name into her computer and gave them his room number.
    As they waited for an elevator, Earl returned to a topic they’d been discussing on the drive into Pittsburgh. “You mentioned Lucy’s ex-boyfriend.” The elevator doors opened. Earl, Zoe, and three others stepped in. “Do you have any idea who he was?”
    Zoe glanced around at the strangers sharing their ride. She didn’t want to discuss her theories about who might carry a grudge against Curtis in their presence, so she answered simply, “No.”
    Seconds later, she and Earl stepped off the elevator.
    She searched for and found the sign pointing them in the direction of Curtis’s room.
    “I only met Lucy one time,” Zoe told Earl as they headed down the hall, “when I sat with her at the picnic this summer. I remember her talking about breaking up with her controlling ex-boyfriend. If she mentioned his name, I don’t recall.”
    “I still think it’s crazy.” Earl shook his head incredulously. “Do you think she’s worth killing for?”
    “Well, of course I don’t. But if the guy is as obsessive as she made him out to be, who knows?” Zoe checked the numbers next to each door as they got closer to the one they wanted. “I told Pete. He’ll find out who the guy is and if he might be the shooter.”
    “I still think it’s a stretch. Now Snake Sullivan? Him I can definitely see ambushing Barry and Curtis.”
    “ Snake Sullivan? That’s his name?”
    “The guy Barry flattened with one punch? Yeah. It’s not his given name, of course, but that’s what he calls himself.”
    “Is he a biker or something?”
    “He wishes. Mostly he just hangs out at Rodeo’s Bar and talks trash. The guys think he’s a big joke.”
    Zoe wished she’d known all this when she’d spoken with Pete. But he’d find out once he asked around.
    “You know, there’s one big problem with both of these theories,” Earl said.
    “Oh? What?”
    “How would anyone—Snake or Lucy’s ex—know which crew was gonna take that call?”
    Zoe realized she didn’t have an answer. “Good point.” She spotted the number they’d been looking for across from the nurse’s station. “Here we are.”
    They passed a patient bathroom