Blood Passage Read Online Free PDF Page A

side of him.
    “ Martin’s mother mentioned that he liked to come down here,” Josh said lamely. “I just wanted to talk to some of his friends.”
    “ Out, gangsta,” the man in the blue jacket said. “Now.”
    Josh nodded and began to leave. Behind him, Blue Jacket snatched Josh’s card from the waiter and followed Josh up the stairs. Leather Jacket brought up the rear. They went outside and the two men walked on either side of Josh along the sidewalk.
    “ Pretty stupid for one of the Boyz to think he can just walk into a 14K club and start bothering people,” Blue Jacket said.
    Josh frowned, wondering if they thought he belonged to a local gang or if it was just a racial slur. “You don’t understand,” he said. “I’m not in any gang. I’m a student from Thomas Gaines University in Memphis. I’m doing research.”
    “ Yeah, well, research this.” Blue Jacket pushed Josh into an alley. He grabbed the strap of Josh’s knapsack and swung him against the corner of a dumpster. Josh staggered and Leather Jacket stepped up and punched him in the face. He fell to the ground and was kicked repeatedly in the chest, buttocks and thighs. Through half-closed eyes he could see a pair of grey cowboy boots swinging back and forth, striking him with shocking force. A kick in the face drove his head back against the brick wall of the alley and he momentarily blacked out. When he regained awareness he felt his knapsack being pulled away and heard one of them conducting a brisk inventory of its contents. Then he was hazily aware that Blue Jacket was leaning down to peer into his eyes.
    “ Go home, stupid. Don’t come back here no more.”
    The cowboy boot kicked him in the stomach and Josh curled up, retching. After an eternity he realized that he was alone. He closed his eyes and slid down into a black well of unconsciousness.
    “ I was stupid to go there,” Josh admitted, staring at his fork. “I didn’t realize it was a gang hangout of some kind until it was too late.”
    “ You have to understand that when someone’s murdered, people stay upset about it for a long time afterwards. It’s not something you can just show up and start asking questions about.”
    “ Yeah, I get it. With my other case it was just a matter of talking to family and friends to develop a profile to compare to what the child was saying about his previous personality. No crime was committed, and no one belonged to a gang, that’s for sure.”
    Hank finished his club sandwich and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Maybe you can explain to me a little more about what you and Dr. Walsh are researching.”
    “ All right.” Josh pushed his half-finished meal aside.
    “ You okay?”
    “ Yeah. My stomach isn’t ready for too much food yet.” Josh folded his hands. “The Division of Supplementary Studies is the name of the area I’m in. It was created at TGU to study the phenomenon of reports by children of memories of past lives. You’d be surprised how many cases have been investigated in the last forty years, starting with the first program at the University of Virginia. Over two thousand from all over the world, and those are just the ones that have been documented. Anecdotal evidence suggests there are hundreds of other cases that have never been researched.”
    “ You’re talking about reincarnation?” Hank said. “That a person’s soul or whatever moves into another body after death to start all over again, and then the child starts talking about his previous life as that other person?”
    Josh nodded. “I know it sounds sketchy and New Age, but bottom line, yeah. There are many possible explanations for past life statements by young children. Paranormal causes have to be considered among them.”
    Hank raised his eyebrows. “And your university actually gets funded for this kind of work?”
    “ You’d be surprised. Over the years we’ve received a number of huge endowments from very wealthy people with an interest