“She was coherent enough to order the car?” Sam braced his hands against the bar.
Eddie answered, “I helped her when she made it clear she was going home by herself, even though I tried to talk her out of it. You just missed her.”
“Thanks, Eddie. I appreciate it.” Jolene slipped her phone from the side pocket of her purse and called Melody’s number. She listened to three rings before Melody’s voice mail answered.
“She’s not answering—probably because she saw it was me.”
Sam cocked his head. “How many people use rideshare around here?”
“From the bar?” Eddie tugged on his earlobe, elongated with multiple piercings. “A good number. Hey, I gotta get back to work. Hope Melody is okay. I got a soft spot for that crazy girl.”
Sam turned and leaned his back against the bar. “Does Melody live with Wade?”
“No, she has her own place. We should stop by, huh?”
“For sure. When Eddie called you, he didn’t seem convinced Melody could make it home on her own safely. I think it’s a good idea to check in on her.”
“I agree.” She tipped her head toward the band on the stage. “They’re not bad.”
Sam cut a bigger swath through the crowd than she could, so he led the way while she hooked a finger in the back pocket of his jeans.
As they burst onto the sidewalk, Sam dragged in a deep breath. “That smell makes me sick now.”
She stepped off the curb, and he grabbed her arm.
“Hold on. That rideshare car is still waiting.” He strode down the sidewalk and ducked down to the open passenger window of the car. “Who are you picking up?”
The driver pointed at Jolene standing next to Sam. “Are you Melody?”
Jolene put a hand to her throat. “You’re waiting for Melody?”
“Is that you?”
“She’s my cousin. I came to pick her up, but the bartender said she’d ordered a car. You’re telling me she never came out here?”
“I don’t know if she ever came out here or not, but nobody named Melody ever claimed the ride.” He tapped the phone mounted on his dashboard. “I gave her fifteen minutes, so I’m gonna bounce and pick up another ride—unless you need a lift.”
“N-no.”
She and Sam backed away from the car and stared at each other.
“What does it mean?” She licked her lips. “She ordered a car and didn’t take the ride?”
“Maybe someone she knew saw her and took her home.” Sam placed his hand on the small of her back. “Now we really need to go to her place.”
She swept her arm to encompass the people scattered on the sidewalk. “Should we ask them if they saw her?”
“We can try.”
With Sam at her elbow, she questioned the people on the sidewalk, but nobody remembered seeing a woman with pink-streaked hair, although one of the smokers remembered her from inside the bar.
He flicked his cigarette butt into the gutter and grinned. “That chick was wasted—tequila. Had to be tequila.”
“But you didn’t see where she went when she left the bar?”
“Sorry, no. She left before I did.”
Jolene’s heart hammered in her chest as she crossed the street with Sam. “I hope she’s home safe, but why isn’t she answering her phone?”
“You tried again?”
“I can’t.” As she settled in the car, she pulled out her phone and shook it from side to side “It’s dead. Maybe it did get damaged in the accident.”
“Use mine. I think I still have her number in my phone if you don’t have it memorized.” He handed his phone to her and then went around to the driver’s side.
Jolene found Melody’s number in Sam’s phone and tapped it. This time it went straight to voice mail with no ring.
When Sam got behind the wheel, she grabbed his arm. “Sam, I think her phone is off now. It went straight to voice mail without ringing. Why would her phone be off?”
“Maybe it died when she got home. Maybe she turned it off.”
“That girl never turns off her phone. It’s attached to her hand.”
“She’s drunk, Jolene. It could mean anything.” He started the car. “Which direction is her place?”
She guided him to Melody’s apartment in one of the new buildings that had gone up to house workers coming in for the pecan-processing plant.
“She’s on the second floor.” She pointed through the windshield as Sam parked the car near the edge of the parking lot, away from tenant parking. “That’s her place up there. She has a light on.”
“She’s probably passed out on the floor, or maybe she got lucky and made it to her bed. Worst-case scenario, she’s clutching the toilet seat, puking her guts out.”
“I’ll take that worst-case scenario.”
Sam’s mouth tightened as he walked up the stairs to Melody’s. Did he really believe his own worst-case scenario?
When they reached the second-floor landing, Jolene gasped. “That’s her door, the one that’s open.”
Sam put his arm out. “Stay back for a minute and let me check it out.”
With her adrenaline coursing through her system, Jolene pushed past Sam and charged through Melody’s front door.
“Melody?” Jolene tripped to a stop and smacked her hand against a wall to steady herself. “Sam, she’s been hurt. She passed out. There’s blood.”
Sam eased past Jolene and crouched next to Melody. He put two fingers against her throat.
“How bad is it? We need to call 911.” Jolene took a step toward Sam.
“Stop. Don’t come any closer. Melody is dead.”
Chapter Nine
Jolene’s face turned white, and her hand slid down the wall as she collapsed to a crouch. “Are you sure?”
“She doesn’t have a pulse. CPR isn’t going to help at this point.” Sam put a finger on Melody’s chin, her flesh still warm, and tipped her head to the side. Blood from a deep gash matted Melody’s hair. “It’s a head injury.”
Jolene plunged her hand into her purse. “I’m calling 911.”
“Your phone’s dead.” He held out his phone to her. “Try not to touch anything in here, Jolene.”
As Jolene
