Free Melody Unchained by Christa Maurice Page A

paramedic walked her home.”
    “Why didn’t you call me?” Jerry started for the door.
    “She didn’t want me to.”
    Jerry spun around. “What?”
    Szabo hadn’t moved from the side of his desk. “I asked her as soon as I recognized her and she was pretty firm about not calling you.”
    Jerry’s gut fell through the floor. He’d called her to make sure she was okay. Not yesterday, but the day before. On the phone she’d sounded fine. Making friends and organizing her life. She didn’t sound like she hated him. But to not want to see him when she was in trouble?
    “She was pretty tough about the whole thing. Didn’t get hysterical or anything. She didn’t even want to go to the hospital. Just wanted to go home.” Szabo shrugged. “I just thought I ought to tell you.”
    “Thanks.” She didn’t hate him, she was just being independent like he told her to. Great advice, moron.
    “Sure thing. You want me to make sure I drive past her place and make sure everything’s kosher?”
    Jerry nodded. A drive-by. She didn’t even need to know it was happening. That wouldn’t interfere with her independence. “If you could try to time it for when the coffee shop closes, I’d appreciate it.”
    “I’ll do my best.” Szabo strolled out of the room. “See you around, Howland.”
    Jerry returned to his desk long enough to shut down his computer. Then he headed out. He needed to see Melody and explain. He’d only meant to pull back so she could learn to live her own life. Maybe she’d heard something in his voice that made her think he didn’t want her. What had they said the day he helped her move? He’d explained to her that he couldn’t be the caretaker for another person. Had she misunderstood that? He’d only meant that he wanted her to live on her own for a while, not that he never wanted to see her again.
    But he hadn’t stopped to see her in a week. They had the conversation, had sex, finished moving her out on her own and…
    He’d left. Like a jerk.
    She had been so fucking angry that he wouldn’t forgive her for getting arrested. Why would he need to forgive her? He hadn’t been upset. It was a pretty logical mistake on her part. When they’d donated Billy’s body to the medical school, she’d started to sign the old coot’s name on that paperwork. She’d always signed Billy’s name. Jerry had had to teach her to sign her own.
    He drove to the coffee shop and parked on the street. When he strolled inside, she wasn’t behind the counter so he leaned into the dining room. A couple of guys playing chess. A few people on their computers. A couple more reading while they sipped their coffee. No Melody. He stopped the kid who was wiping down tables.
    “Where’s Melody?”
    “It’s her day off. You want me to tell her you came by?”
    “No, thanks. I’ll stop by her place.”
    The kid shrugged. “Sure thing.”
    He drove to her apartment. Once upon a time it had been a single family home, now chopped up into three little apartments. Her place was on the second floor. It was a nice little place. From the look of things, it had been the master bedroom before the house was divided up. One big room with a little kitchen, a little bath and an enclosed porch that she was using as a bedroom. It wasn’t as nice as Billy Welsh’s, but it was secure and she could afford it. From his car, he called her. The phone in her apartment rang and rang. She refused to have a cell phone. Claimed they were unnatural.
    Jerry sat in the car looking at the house. Knocking at the door would be useless because her apartment door was up a short flight of stairs and down the hall. Even if she did hear it, he’d told her not to answer unless she expected someone to come over. She’d laughed and said that meant she never had to answer the door because she didn’t have any friends to come over.
    If he’d paid attention to comments like that for ten seconds, he’d have known not to leave her alone. She was far