Banshee Charmer (Files from the Otherworlder Enforcement Agency, #1) Read Online Free PDF

didn’t require buzzing, so we walked in without a hitch. An old man sat on a bench reading a newspaper in what passed for the lobby. The dingy room seemed like an odd place to hang out and read, particularly with the moldy scent in the air, but to each his own.
    The elevator had an Out of Order sign taped to it, handwritten in red marker on a sheet of white paper that looked like it had typing on the back. Someone took their recycling seriously. Suppressing a sigh and telling myself exercise did the body good, I waved at Aidan to follow me and trudged up the stairs to the fourth floor.
    I rapped on the door to apartment 404. I heard a shuffling from inside, and the shink of a security chain. The door popped open, revealing a man in his early twenties. Tall, blond, and lean. Definitely a pretty boy, even wearing only a T-shirt and basketball shorts, his prettiness was obvious. He and the redhead must have turned more than a few heads together.
    “Jason Hill?”
    “Yeah?” His bleary eyes peered out at me, as if hoping to see someone else. A faint smell of alcohol flowed from his breath. His hair looked like it hadn’t been combed yet today and he definitely needed a shave.
    “I’m Detective Kiera McLoughlin. You spoke to my partner on the phone?”
    “Oh yeah, sorry.” He backed away from the door and motioned for us to enter. “It’s just. You know, not every day you find out…” He took a deep breath.
    “I’m sorry for your loss,” I said, walking through the doorway that led directly into the living room. A small kitchen sat off to the side, and in such an enclosed space it reminded me of a cave. There was no dining table—or enough space for one really—and a loveseat and coffee table seemed to round out his furnishings. I couldn’t see into the bedroom, but I would bet his mattress sat directly on the floor.
    “Sorry for the mess.” He tossed some clothes off the couch to make room for us to sit.
    “No problem. We just have a few questions for you. Shouldn’t take too much of your time.” Not that you look like you’re going somewhere anytime soon.
    “I want to help.”
    I sat down on one side of the short couch, and he sat on the other end. Aidan remained in the entryway between the hall and living room. He leaned against the wall and watched us, his expression neutral.
    As I pulled out my notebook and flipped it to a blank page, I studied Jason Hill. He didn’t look like an otherworlder, but you couldn’t always tell by a person’s appearance. He didn’t feel like one either. My gut told me he was a plain human. I wished again for the powers of a sensitive.
    “When was the last time you saw Rebecca?”
    “Few days ago. I stayed at her place…most nights.”
    “Why didn’t you stay last night?” Or see her the few nights before?
    “I was supposed to, but she called me last week and said she was doing something for work out of town. Then she called me yesterday afternoon. Said something had come up. She was…” He stared down at his hands.
    “What?”
    “She was different. She said…she’d found somebody else.” He finished in a rush. “But that wasn’t like her. Someone made her say it. I know—”
    “It’s okay.” I patted him awkwardly on the shoulder. I hated this part. “Take your time.”
    Jason pulled in a ragged breath. “We’ve been together nearly two years. She wouldn’t drop me over the phone. She sounded…off.”
    “Off?”
    “Rebecca was a calm person. People who didn’t know her well thought she was cold. She wasn’t! She just wasn’t one to share how she felt with the whole world.” He looked up at me and tears welled in his eyes. “She was elated, almost…crazy in her excitement over this new guy.”
    I frowned. Either she was a real bitch to dump her boyfriend over the phone or she’d been under some sort of influence. Unless Jason here did something to really piss her off, I would be willing to bet on the former.
    “This might sound like