Book of Stolen Tales Read Online Free PDF

I’d lost my focus so much I couldn’t remember where I’d left the car. The place was completely deserted, the cars ranked like silent rows of sentries. Shadows loomed across my path every time I passed a pillar.
    I located it on the third level, a steel-gray Toyota Corolla. About ten yards away I hit the button to open the doors but stopped dead at the sight of the destruction. The dash panel had been pried loose and dumped on the front seats. Sticking out from the exposed underside were criss-crossed wires, neatly severed. “Fuck.”
    The radio and CD player hung by one intact wire. Random violence from kids with nothing better to do? Hardly. Alessio wanted to scare me into submission and stop me from pursuing him.
    Back out in the deluge, the gutters rushed with water, the waste of a busy London day carried along like little boats on the tide. Plastic water bottles, a half-eaten piece of pizza, and a chip bag floated along beside me to form a little dam at the storm drain. Rare for London, the city was so pristine. Every time I lifted my head to glimpse a street sign, rain stabbed mercilessly at my eyes. A car slowed down behind me and as I glanced around in the hope it might be a taxi, it sped up and turned a corner.
    Thoughts of Evelyn pummeled my brain. Not of her brutal end but how, though she hated winter, she took delight in the rain. The one time I remember her mentioning her homeland she described the end of winter. “When the rains in spring came to my village our world turned green again. So beautiful, you didn’t care about getting wet. You wanted to stay outside and dance.” I began to weep then, and let the downpour wash away my tears.
    A while later I spotted a cab. By some miracle his for-hire sign was lit up. I waved and he pulled up alongside me. “Where to?” he said when I got in.
    â€œHeathrow,” I mumbled.
    He slid back the divider window and handed me a paper towel. “Think you might need this, mate,” he said.
    My cell chirped. When I checked the sender and saw Evelyn’s number, I stared at the screen, almost missing the call out of sheer astonishment.
    â€œHello,” I said tentatively.
    â€œJohn, you keep calling me. Is something wrong?”
    The sound of her voice spun me into a delirium of joy and it took me a minute or so to calm down enough to speak. “Evie? Have the police been in touch with you?”
    â€œNo. I was next door and when I got back, your friend Corinne was waiting for me. She’s here now. Why did you want her to come?”
    I didn’t want to alarm her so I told her only half the story. “Those coins I left with you were stolen.”
    She gasped on the other end of the phone. “John! I have not touched them since you gave them to me. I should have hidden those things away.”
    â€œIt’s all right. There’s nothing you could have done. Listen, Evie, if Corinne’s willing, I’d like you to stay with her for a while—until I can get back to New York. The robbery concerns me. I want to make sure you’re safe.”
    â€œOh, I don’t know.” She paused and I knew she was fretting. It would be a major disruption in her life and Evelyn wasn’t adventurous.
    â€œCorinne loves poker,” I added. “And I’m sure she’d like the company. Can you put her on the line for a sec?”
    A minute or so of silence and then Corinne’s voice sailed through the line. “Everything’s fine here, John. No worries.”
    â€œThanks for going over, Corrie. I have another favor to ask. Some rare coins were stolen from Evelyn’s apartment. She wasn’t home at the time, but if there’s another attempt I’m concerned about what might happen to her. I know it’s a lot to ask, but is there any way she could stay with you?”
    A moment passed and then she said, “How long for?”
    â€œA couple of days. Until I can get