Dead Corse Read Online Free PDF Page A

laughed.
    Rhonda looked upset, then she looked pissed off.
    The nib of unburned wick smoked, sputtered and then a three inch
blue flame shot out of it. Second later it winked out and a long thin wisp of
smoke streamed from the doused flame.
    Jemmy looked over at the candle and then at Rhonda’s shocked face.
“Yeah she’s got it—but she’s got a lot of anger too. Need to work on that
first, little bender, or all your wants will eat you alive.”
    “I did it…” Rhonda said in a soft voice. “I actually did it.”
    “Yes, and you did it without touching it.”
    She looked at mom. “Can you do that?”
    Watching mom’s face I caught something there I didn’t like. It was
the same flicker of sadness she always gave me when I asked her about my dad.
“No Rhonda. I can’t. But I think we all know you have the potential. I will
agree to give you custody of that book when you find it on one condition. But I
will talk to you about that in private.”
    My jaw dropped. “Hey, I’m being paid to get that book for that
guy.”
    “I don’t trust him Zoë. In fact I don’t trust either of your
present clients. For now, I suggest the two of you should work together to find
the book. And quickly. Halloween is tonight and that house will be crowded.”
    “Then I suggest more dumplings,” I said as I pushed the chair out
and grabbed up my bowl for another helping. Rhonda nodded and followed me into
the kitchen to help herself.
    I wasn’t sure I wanted a partner to do this, but I did need help
when it came to timing.
    I just couldn’t get the image of that exploding wick out of my
mind. I would hate to imagine that as someone’s head.
     
    • • •
     
    I sent JGrayson an email telling him that I hadn’t found it yet
but I had a few more rooms to explore tonight. If I couldn’t find it by then I’d
be refunding him his money. After that I showered, snacked again and then got
into Rhonda’s car.
    “What is this thing?” I had trouble getting my knees out of my
face.
    “It’s a Rav4. It was my brother’s car and I inherited it when he
died.”
    “When did he die?”
    “Last year,” she started it and pulled out on the road. “I don’t
want to talk about it so let’s just say it’ll do for now. But I’d like to get a
Volkswagen Beetle.”
    Ick. Another tiny person car. “So, you always wanted to be a
witch?”
    “Yes and no. I liked it in the movies and I think I kind of
romanticized it. Didn’t realize the reality was a bit more complicated. I also
didn’t think I could do anything magical until I saw you the other day and I
really thought I’d exorcised one of the ghosts at Dead Corse.”
    “Dead Corse? Shouldn’t that be dead  
corpse
?”
    She stopped at a red light. The day was overcast, which made the
changing leaves on the trees even prettier. They looked like they’d been spot
colored on a monochromatic background. “Corse means corpse. Just a
fancy-schmancy way of saying it. Dead Corse is the name of the Haunted House
for the company, but the house itself was owned by the Durgans, old Irish
family. Allegedly the matriarch was a witch from Cork. She disappeared a decade
ago. Rumor is she had a book of Book of Shadows that had its own legend in
Ireland. It contains the secrets of a hundred years and its cover is made from
the skin of of a Durgan warrior.”
    Ew. “And you want it why?”
    “Because it’s supposed to have spells in it. Secrets of a hundred
years? Doesn’t that just scream  
want
?”
    “No,” I made a face. “It screams gross, human skin, Purell.”
    Rhonda laughed. “Either way this guy you got the email from to
find it? Jack Grayson? He’s the missing matriarch’s grandson and he’s been
trying to get his hands on the book since she disappeared.”
    “So—why not just go into the house himself and look for it?”
    “Because he went to jail for a while and the house went into
foreclosure right after she vanished. The guy that bought it has been in