Cellar Door Read Online Free PDF Page A

to know why.
    That isn’t my only question, either. Why does he dress like my brother, in a gray hoodie that hides his face? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think my brother had escaped from his comfortable room at Our Lady to take a bizarre trip down memory lane.
    Whoever this guy is, he must harbor some fascination with the Riddler killings or he wouldn’t be living in that house. I’ve heard stories about people idolizing murderers and maybe that’s what’s going on here. But it would take one seriously twisted individual to admire my brother.
    I don’t know what to make of any of this. There are too many things about this guy that remind me of my brother—the house, the clothes, and the fact that he’s possibly stalking a woman -- my Madonna.



Chapter Seven
    His Adoration
    I slept like a baby last night, looking forward to today’s visit, knowing I’ll be able to give him what he wants. I so want him to be pleased with me. The guard leaves, locking us in the room -- with privacy that I’ve secured by paying off the guards.
    Lance smirks at me from across the metal table, his hands and feet in chains. I break the silence with the vital information I have for him. “He’s following her now, you know.”
    “I’m not at all surprised,” he replies pompously after an unexpectedly long silence. “She reads to patients at the hospital. It was inevitable they would run into each other. But she’s mine; I saw her first, years ago. Tragically, I’m the reason she no longer reads to patients here . Brinkley didn’t care for the interest I showed in her, even though I was never in the same room with her. Hell, I like story time as much as the next guy, even if I’m just watching it on the video monitor. Anyway, Brinkley encouraged her to find somewhere else to read, that bastard. But, be that as it may, I still say ‘finder’s keeper’s’. My brother can stalk her all he wants, he can try his best to go after my little pet, but he’ll never measure up.”
    My chest swells with pride, knowing I’m the one who found her and told him about her new volunteer assignment. I reply eagerly, “You’re right, he won’t. You’re everything he wants to be but never will. He’s nothing.” I lean in and whisper, “I can kill him for you if you want me to.”
    His malevolent stare sends a chill coursing through me, and I lean back in my chair, chastened. I’ve said the wrong thing. I’ve displeased him.
    Lance’s curt words cut me to the bone, “To kill my twin would be to kill a part of me. You wouldn’t want to do that, now would you?”
    “No. I could never do anything to hurt you.”
    He relaxes and gives me a small smile that doesn’t seem to reach his eyes. “So. Did you bring it?”
    I’m happy he’s changed the subject to something I know will please him. I reach discreetly under the metal table and hand him the item. His posture never hints that he has taken the item and tucked it inside his coveralls. The money I slipped to the guards will ensure he returns to his cell with what I’ve given him.
    I made some serious money in real estate years ago, but I left that all behind. Money isn’t what gives my life meaning now. The Riddler is my reason for living. I was never truly alive until I met him. There is nothing he could ever ask of me that I wouldn’t do. I take care of all his financial needs, from a generous allowance for the commissary to his legal fees. He’s appealing his case and I’m seeing to it he has the best council available, no matter how much it costs.
    Yes, The Riddler and I are one; closer than brothers—certainly closer than that unworthy, unappreciative blood brother of his. I hate Liam Chambers for being his twin, for having a precious connection to Lance that he flagrantly squanders at every opportunity. I should have been born his twin, not that ungrateful son of a bitch. Lance doesn’t talk much about his long lost family, but I will see to it that he has his