Darkness of the Soul Read Online Free PDF

his part, was uncomfortable, though not as uncomfortable as Parker thought. He just didn’t trust the place, the way the clerk’s eyes kept flicking behind him at the shotguns mounted on display or the general odor of the store. To him, it smelled like too many people had come down this street with pockets full of hope only to lose it all in there. He supposed they might have; given the casino across the street and the large number of watches and wedding bands in the display case, it wouldn’t surprise him at all. So he stood near the door, propping it open with his body, in the hopes it might push that smell back, even though he knew it wasn’t something he smelled with his nose.
    Drakanis was occupied picking his mental nits, not really paying attention to the conversation. To him, this was just police procedure shit, nothing at all to do with actually finding this shitbag or tracking down whatever clues might remain. It was just filling out paperwork, and since he was no longer required by some employee’s manual to do it, it bored him to tears. When Parker said something to him, his only response was an intoxicated, “Huh?”
    “Pay attention. I asked you if that sounded right.”
    Parker sighed inwardly. This was going to be a long, hard road. Dragging Drakanis out of his hole wasn’t a job that he particularly relished. Still, it had to be done and better to do it while it was just the boring shit than when something really counted, or so he thought.
    “Erm. Right. Did what sound right?”
    The clerk, a pimple-faced youth, who looked as though he might have more than one rodent ancestor, emitted an unpleasant sound that some might have termed a chuckle. It seemed as though whatever thought had just crossed his mind was deliciously funny, and he gave another snort to counterpoint it.
    “Your buddy, there, he ain’t all there, is he?”
    Parker turned slowly to look the clerk in his ratlike eyes, pulled himself up to his full height, and glared downward. The clerk’s snorts stopped almost immediately; he was still except for the occasional twitch at the corners of his mouth. He raised his hands in supplication.
    “All right, all right. Sorry. Jesus fuckin’ Christ.”
    “Quit with the commentary, Marvin. Just tell him again, and maybe he’ll process it this time.”
    Parker shot Drakanis a look, and seeing that made it almost like old times. It was the look that said, “Wake up, pay attention, and don’t fuck up,” and Drakanis used to laugh when he saw it, since it was usually directed at some wet-behind-the-ears rookie about to flub something that might actually be important. Of course, it stung that the look was now being turned on him, both because his friend would give him that look in the first place and because his skills had atrophied to such a point that he needed that look put on him. He straightened a bit, rolling his hand in a “go on” gesture to the clerk, actually making an attempt to listen this time.
    “Like I said, man, some old dude sold the thing to me. Foreign, I guess. Talked all like those ragheads that wanna give you a slurpee, you know? But nice enough. Trying, at least, which is better than I can say for the—”
    Parker’s disapproving eye had found its way back to Marvin again, and the giant didn’t have to speak to get his message across this time. Again, the hands came up in a “peace, okay, sorry,” gesture, before he continued, “Anyway, right. The old guy sold it to me. I wouldn’t have bothered, except Pops was out, and the guy said he only needed five bucks for it. I figured he just wanted to go try to kill himself across the street some more, since they’re always thinking it’s that last five spot that’s gonna do it. Then he just breezed back out again. I’ve got the receipt, if you wanna see it in a bit.
    “But the painting, that’s what you wanted to know about. There ain’t much I can tell you, except the frame was scratched. Had this weird design