Dead Man's Rules Read Online Free PDF Page B

darkness—strange and sinister. Even the misshapen trees around it appeared monstrous. Now they were simply stubby juniper trees.
    Freeda tapped the pages. “Kids still go looking for the ghost. We thought we heard him. Remember?”
    Cere shivered, and for an instant she was in the claustrophobic room on the second floor of the Palladium. She stood with the small group as they gathered around the handprint. The only light came from a flickering flashlight trained on the spooky, smudged outline.
    “When we saw the handprint, those noisy guys shut up,” she recalled.
    “Total silence,” Freeda agreed in a soft tone as though she could feel the quiet too.
    Audrey looked from one to the other. “You’re freaking me out.”
    “It was spooky,” Cere said. “Then something happened. A creaking? What was it?”
    Freeda thrust up her arms in a dramatic gesture. “More of a groan. Maybe a gust of wind made the building creak. Whatever it was, we ran like bats out of hell and all the doors slammed shut.”
    Cere’s throat constricted. She hadn’t escaped with the others. The slamming doors closed with her inside that room.
    The noise of the bar fell away until she was alone in a space darker than night.
    For an instant she feared she was locked inside forever with the ghost. Her shaking fingers felt for the door and found the big round knob. She twisted, but it refused to turn. She shouted, but the footsteps beyond the door faded. In fear she stumbled around the room, feeling the walls for a way out. As she neared the wall where she knew the handprint was, the door behind her swung open with a squeaky sound. A flickering light guided her.
    She ran down the stairs well behind the others, hurtling through the open front door. As she dashed toward the car, nearby dark, fat shapes transformed into animated monsters marching toward her. Something grabbed at her legs and she tumbled to the ground. She rolled onto her back, staring up at a star-filled sky. Was that the last sight she would ever see? She looked to the side. The walls of the building towered over her as though reaching out to claim her. To the other side, those dark shapes moved closer.
    What was that rustling sound she heard? Chanting?
    Fear snatched at her, telling her she was going to be captured. Heart thudding, she waited for the ghost and his unearthly army to claim her...
    “I was so damn scared.” Cere shivered and shook her head to clear it. She hadn’t recalled that awful night in years. She realized her fingers were shaking and put down her tilting glass so the others wouldn’t notice.
    “Hell, we all were,” Freeda agreed. “I still don’t know how you got back to the car first.”
    Cere didn’t know either. She’d closed her eyes and kept them shut tight when strong arms lifted her. “Someone carried me. I think it was that stupid kid who took us out there. I was surprised to open my eyes and find myself staring at the car door.”
    Freeda turned to Audrey and laughed. “Needless to say, we rode back to town in total silence.”
    “Quite a story.”
    Freeda pounded on Cere’s shoulder. “She’s been dreaming of the ghost. He’s asking for help.”
    Ignoring her, Cere pulled the pages closer and began to read the story.
    Convicted of burglary as a teenager, Marco Gonzales claimed he was wrongfully accused and promised revenge on the town of Rio Rojo. While in prison he joined an activist group, and when he returned, he preached peace and tolerance as he pushed for civil rights.
    However, when a rash of vandalism and burglaries hit the town, Gonzales became a suspect. Businesses were looted and small fires set to cover the thefts. One fire flared out of control and several businesses burned to the ground. Official reports indicate that following the fire, Gonzales was tracked to the Palladium where he killed himself with a shotgun. According to current Sheriff Rafe Tafoya, he was never charged with the final round of crimes, but the