Better Read Than Dead Read Online Free PDF

Cathy?”
    Milo closed the file he’d been reading and placed it, without looking, behind him on the desk. He folded his arms and regarded me. “She’s in rough shape.”
    “What happened?” I asked, taking a seat in one of the folding chairs in front of Milo’s desk.
    “As far as we can tell, Cathy met with her boyfriend at a restaurant to celebrate a job offer, and she left the restaurant around eight thirty. She told her boyfriend she had to stop at the grocery store to pick up some items, and she would meet him back home. They live together in a house on Glennwood. By ten o’clock she still hadn’t come home, so her boyfriend drove over to the Farmer’s Market to look for her. He found her car in the parking lot, but no sign of her. The store closes at nine, and her car was the only one in the lot. The boyfriend called nine-one-one. The police came to the scene and found her half-naked and unconscious behind the store, lying near one of the Dumpsters.”
    For the first time I noticed how fast my heart was beating, and how dry my throat felt. I started to feel a little light-headed, and Milo got up off his desk and came to squat by my chair. “Hey, you okay?” he asked gently.
    “I think I need some water,” I said, my voice no louder than a whisper.
    Milo quickly got up and retrieved some water for me from the nearby watercooler. I took the paper cup and downed it in two gulps. Milo retraced his steps to the cooler, this time bringing two full cups to me. I emptied one of them again but set the last one on his desk. After a moment I felt better. Finally I asked, “How did you know she was my client?”
    Milo picked up a familiar cassette tape from his desk. “We found this in her coat pocket.”
    “Deja vu,” I said, smiling ironically. This past summer similar cassette tape of mine had been found on another woman. Unfortunately she hadn’t survived her attacker.
    “Kinda freaky, don’t you think?”
    “Milo, I don’t think there’s anything ‘kinda’ about it,” I said seriously. “Have you listened to it?”
    “Yep. Right before I called you.”
    “So that’s why I’m here?”
    “Yep.”>
    “Okay,” I said searching his face. “How can I help?”
    “Here’s the thing—unlike like my former partner, Dutch the cynic,” he said, grinning, “I’m an absolute believer. I mean, it’s hard for me not to believe you’re a real psychic after winning the lottery. I’ve got to work this case alone because unfortunately the department’s really stretched these days. I could use your skills to help me get a line on this bastard. That is, if you’re willing?”
    My heart began beating rapidly again. The last time I’d lent my skills to solve a major crime I’d come very close to becoming a victim. I didn’t want to go through that again, but on the other hand, if I walked away, how could I still look myself in the mirror every morning?
    After all, Cathy was my client. She’d been put in front of me for a reason; didn’t that obligate me somehow? I played seesaw with myself for a minute, when my crew tickled my conscience. Fine, they wanted to weigh in? Go for it. Should I get involved in solving this case? Immediately my right side felt light and airy—my sign for yes. “Okay, Milo,” I said more firmly than I felt. “What do you want me to do?”
    Milo beamed his beautiful smile at me and sat down at his desk. After pulling out a pad and pen he looked at me and said, “That’s great, Abby. I appreciate it. Now, is there any way you can tune in on this guy’s name?”
    I sighed audibly. Names had never been one of my fortes. “Sorry, Milo, names just don’t translate well for me. I’d hate to guess and risk pointing you in the wrong direction. Maybe we can try another angle?”
    Milo nodded and glanced at the cassette tape. “Okay, maybe it would be good to talk it through first. You told Cathy that she had to go to the grocery store before her interview. We know she blew