Blood of Eden Read Online Free PDF Page B

the creature responsible. It was all very X-Files .
    But, of course, we didn’t have a profile yet. So, instead of standing there feeling out of place, I turned to look back in the direction the victim would have come from.
    That’s when I noticed the sign. The blue rectangle with a capital H in white.
    â€œExcuse me, Agent Nelson, but is that a hospital?” I indicated the building on the opposite side of the street.
    â€œYep. That’s Good Samaritan.”
    Could that be a coincidence? My mother didn’t believe in coincidences.
    The victim had looked as if she might be sick.
    She’d collapsed within eyesight of a hospital.
    Seemed like the hospital might be a clue.
    I asked, “Has anyone checked to see if our victim was a patient?”
    Nelson nodded. “We checked both the ER and the cashier. Nobody fitting the victim’s description was seen in the emergency room or clinic. Nor was anyone fitting her description discharged this morning. However, visiting hours start at nine. She could have been visiting a patient.”
    â€œI see.” I took a few more notes.
    Chief Peyton gave my arm a tap, letting me know she was back. “There may not have been another death like this in Baltimore, but there has been one in a town close by. Agent Nelson, the rest of my team will stay here with you and follow up. I’m going to take Skye and see what we can learn from the first victim.” She didn’t wait for Nelson to respond before she started toward her Suburban. “Hurry up, Skye, we need to pay a visit to the hospital before the victim’s body is released to the family.”
    â€œAnother death?” I echoed, trying to keep up. For a woman who needed three-inch heels to stand eye to eye with me, Chief Peyton sure could move fast. “Do you think we’re looking for a serial killer?”
    â€œI don’t know yet, but I’m hoping the pathologist can tell us something useful. Let’s go.”

Many have puzzled themselves about the origin of evil. I am content to observe that there is evil, and that there is a way to escape from it, and with this I begin and end.
    â€”John Newton
    3
    Hospitals aren’t my favorite places. I hate the smell, that cloying combination of antiseptic and blood. The sounds of moaning patients, squeaking shoes, and chirping monitors. Certainly, the sight of fresh blood isn’t high on my list of favorite things either.
    So, of course, because hospitals make me uneasy, I had to be dragged to the very bowels of one on my first day on the job.
    Down in the basement, where patients never tread.
    Who would ever think that something surrounded by sand, silt, and clay could be so white? The floors, the walls, and the ceiling of the basement were stark white. The only color breaking the blinding glare were the little signs pointing the way through the maze of identical hallways to such thrilling locations as records. Accounting. And, of course, the morgue. We, however, had no need for the signs. We had a personal escort, a security guard who said very little as he led us to our destination.
    I’m guessing I looked a little pale by the time we reached the morgue. Chief Peyton took one look at me and said, “If you’d rather stay outside, I understand.”
    Bless her.
    â€œHowever,” she continued, “I brought you along for a reason, and I’d like you to at least try to come in.”
    Urgh.
    I’d had one unfortunate episode with a recently deceased person today. Did I really need another one so soon? The answer, of course, was no. But there was this little problem. A job with the FBI, particularly the BAU, was going to involve regular exposure to dead people. Sooner or later, I was going to have to get over the wooziness.
    Sooner was definitely better than later.
    It was decided; I would go in.
    Pulling my lips back in what I hoped was a passing attempt at a smile, I said, “Of course,