Redemption Read Free Page A

She uncrossed her arms and absently drummed her fingernails on the nightstand. "Just say it."
    "I can't give you my name." The man drew a shaky breath. "But what I'm going to tell you is the absolute truth. You can check it out."
    The struggle to make sense of the call was growing more intense. What was the man talking about? Who was he and why wouldn't he give her his name? And what exactly did he have to tell her? Anger rose inside her. "What's your point?"
    The caller drew another deep breath. "Your husband's having an affair."
    Her heart began a free fall that took her stomach with it. She blinked and uttered a single shallow laugh. "What're you talking 11
    about?" What a terrible trick, calling me at home and malting up a lie that couldn't possibly be ... "You don't know my husband."
    "I guess you don't either, lady." He paused. die thought you deserved the truth.
    I've got to go."
    "Wait!" Adrenaline flooded Kari's veins, pounding its way through her arms and legs and heart, and again she felt herself falling, farther and farther down into a terrifying, dark abyss. She gave her head a fierce shake and tried to hold on to anything that might make sense. The man was lying; he had to be. Tim was in Gary, Indiana, at a conference on freedom of the press. He hadn't even wanted to go; he'd told her so yesterday before he left.
    Kari closed her eyes, and her heart seemed to stop. Tim's voice came back to her again. I hate these things, but I have to do them, honey. She could still see his earnest eyes, hear the sincerity in his voice. The administration expects me to be there.
    A thud pounded in the depths of Kari's chest, and she felt her heartbeat return, this time twice as fast as before. She opened her eyes and fumbled for the notepad and pen she kept in the drawer of her bedside table. Her hands shook so badly that she could barely hold them. It's impossible . . . this isn't happening . . . it's a lie ...
    "Why ... ?" Her voice was low and empty, as if her entire existence had been snuffed out in the time it took the caller to deliver his message. She struggled to find the words. "Why should I believe you?"
    The caller hesitated. "Let's just say I'm doing both of us a favor. He's off campus, at the Silverlake Apartments. He was there last night, and my guess is he'll be there tonight. He's staying at Angela Manning's apartment. She's a journalism student at the university." He hesitated. "Now do you believe me?"
    Kari shook her head, slowly at first and then fiercely. "No, no, I don't." Tears flooded her eyes, and the falling sensation intensified. "You . . . you have him mixed up with someone else."
    "Look, lady-" The caller was getting impatient. "The man I'm talking about is Professor Tim Jacobs. He's your husband, right?"
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    Kari's eyes grew wide, and her stomach locked up. She dropped the receiver as if it were suddenly on fire. Then, without stopping to pick it up, she raced back into the bathroom. She dropped to her knees and barely got her face over the toilet bowl in time.
    Again and again her stomach convulsed until there was nothing left. Not in her stomach or her heart. Weak and shaking from head to toe, Kari struggled to her feet and wiped her mouth on a piece of toilet paper. It couldn't be true, could it? There'd been no signs
    That thought struck an off note, and Kari remembered details from the past few months. Fall was often a busy conference time for Tim, but this year had been the worst ever. So many weekends away that Kari had to struggle to remember exactly how often he'd been gone. Four weekends? Five?
    Another wave of nausea crashed in around her, but she stayed on her feet. She had no time to hover over toilets, fearing the worst, wondering if it was possible that life as she'd known it had just come to a crashing halt.
    Kari looked at her reflection in the mirror and shook her head. "It's all a mistake," she whispered. "It has to be." Her hair had come free from the big clip and now hung in