Dead Secret by Beverly Connor

crime scene lady,” said the male paramedic, a blond-haired, blue-eyed guy who looked too young for the job, but Diane noticed that he was efficient and sure in everything he did. “Sure you can ride.”
    Diane was surprised and grateful as she climbed in the back that he recognized her. She tried to stay out of the way as much as she could in the tiny space.
    “He’s looking good,” the woman told her.
    She must see how terrified I am, Diane thought. She hoped Mike hadn’t noticed. She reached out and stroked his hair. “Good thing you stay in such great shape.”
    It took under ten minutes to get to the hospital. They carried Mike in, and Diane went to the waiting room.
    The room had a shabby look to it, no doubt from years of use by thousands of people. The vinyl chairs were brightly colored either red, blue, green or orange. A large blond-wood coffee table with a pile of magazines sat in the center. She rifled through the magazines on the table, looking for something that might hold her interest long enough to pass the time. She picked up the same magazine twice and put it down. Her head was starting to hurt right in the middle of her forehead. Finally she went outside and called Frank on her cell.
    “Hey, babe. I was just trying to get in touch with you. My partner’s meeting with a Rosewood detective today. He called me and said someone was stabbed at a funeral. Was it the one you went to?”
    “Yes. It was Mike.”
    “My God. Your caving partner Mike? How is he?”
    “I don’t know. The doctor hasn’t come out yet. Frank, what kind of maniac stabs someone at a funeral, of all places?”
    “I don’t know. I’ll come over when I get home. You doing okay?”
    “I’m fine. All that adrenaline’s keeping me going, but I think it’s about to wear off. I’m getting a terrible headache.”
    “Try not to worry. Mike’s a strong guy. Let me know when you find out something.”
    “I will. I think I see Neva’s car pulling into the parking lot. I’ll talk with you later.”
    Korey, Andie and Kendel pulled in beside Neva. They all piled out of their vehicles and headed toward Diane.
    “I thought I told you guys to go back to the museum.”
    “We were going to, but decided we’d rather be here,” said Andie. “Heard anything?”
    Diane shook her head. “No, but it hasn’t been that long.” She turned to Neva, who was looking at her with wide, tear-filled eyes. “He was conscious and very coherent the whole time. He even joked with the paramedics. He’s going to be all right,” Diane said with more conviction than she felt.
    “If he’s joking, that’s good.” Neva tried to smile. “Mike’s really healthy.” She nodded as if agreeing with herself. “He’ll be fine.”
    “David and Jin arrived before we left the cemetery,” said Andie. “They want us to call when we know something about Mike.”
    “Let’s go sit down,” said Diane. She put an arm around Neva’s shoulders and led them all to the waiting room. With the excitement wearing down, Diane was starting to have more aches and pains. There was a dull throb in her foot as well as her tricep muscle, and her head was getting worse. She was glad to sit. She dug in her purse for a couple of aspirin, spotting a water fountain. The pills were hard going down. She took several more sips of water before she went back to the others.
    “You okay, Neva?” Diane asked, sitting back down in her red chair.
    Neva nodded. “This is just so weird—and scary. Makes me wonder if it’s some serial perp who’s going to start showing up in public places stabbing people.”
    “If he does,” said Korey, “it shouldn’t be too hard to catch him. I mean, how often would he be able to get away with something like that?”
    “None of us saw a thing,” said Andie.
    “We weren’t looking,” said Korey.
    All of them sat in the colorful chairs and did the magazine shuffle that Diane had finally given up on, opting to stare at the rainbow-colored