Dead Suite Read Online Free PDF

programs on addiction.”
    Sadie glanced down at Osbert, who had wrapped a chubby fist around her necklace and
     was attempting to pull the pendant into his mouth. She unclenched his fingers and
     tucked the necklace inside her shirt.
    “Since when do you wear jewelry?” Maeva asked, narrowing her eyes. “Is it a gift from
     Zack?”
    “No.” Although she sure wished it was. “I began wearing jewelry when clients began
     paying me with vintage gold necklaces instead of cash.”
    Maeva got up and walked over for a closer look. Sadie slipped the necklace off from
     around her neck and handed it to her friend. Maeva squeezed the pendant between her
     fingers, then rubbed it softly against her cheek and pressed it to her closed eyes.
     Sadie didn’t want to think about how intimate one could get with a necklace.
    “Why are you trying to get something off the necklace?” Sadie asked her.
    “I figured it might be worth a shot.” She sighed and slipped it back over Sadie’s
     head. “The only thing that came to my mind were the words
Stone Soup
.”
    “Stone soup?” Sadie’s eyebrows went up. “I’ve got some Campbell’s in the cupboard.
     But probably chicken noodle.”
    “I think it’s an old children’s story or nursery rhyme. This is what happens to mediums
     when they become mothers.” Maeva slumped back into her chair. “And you’d better not
     take payment in jewelry or you’ll end up like one of those small-town doctors that
     take payments in eggs and chickens.”
    “It’s better than no payment at all,” Sadie said seriously. “Look, why don’t you go
     and have a nice bubble bath and then climb into my bed for a couple hours. Me and
     the Ozzmeister will be just fine.”
    “Really?”
    “Sure. I was going to watch a little TV myself before getting a couple hours of shut-eye.
     I’m not ready to sleep yet and you look dead on your feet.”
    Maeva blinked back tears of gratitude and thanked Sadie profusely before taking off
     at a near run down the hall.
    “Now no more tears, buddy,” Sadie said to Osbert. “Auntie Sadie needs to chill out
     and stop thinking about dead hookers.”
    Osbert blew spit bubbles at her in agreement.
    Sadie and Osbert did fine because the baby had tired himself out in the crying jag
     on the way over, and he was soon asleep in her arms. Sadie gently put him down on
     the sofa next to her and prayed he wouldn’t wake up. Then she resumed her early happy-hour
     shift and ate her Cheetos, washing them down with beer.
    Her cell phone chirped that a text came in. She tugged it from her pocket, read the
     message from Zack, and released a string of curse words that would’ve increased Osbert’s
     vocabulary greatly had he been old enough to speak.
    Zack had picked up some extra work on the weekend so now it was going to be another
     ten days before they saw each other. Sadie blinked back tears as she downed the last
     of her beer.
    “Screw him,” she muttered. “If he doesn’t want to be here, there’s nothing I can do
     about it.”
    Even as she said it, she knew that he was just trying to hold down a job and feel
     useful. Sadie herself would’ve worked all weekend if a job came up, so it was unfair
     to expect him to turn down work. It wasn’t the working that annoyed the hell out of
     her. Things would be different if he acted like a boyfriend when he was home.
    She angrily snatched up the remote control and channel surfed until something caught
     her eye. The local news station was announcing another prostitute had been murdered
     at a local hotel, and the anchor was suggesting to the people of Seattle that SPD
     wasn’t doing enough to keep the city safe for the working girls. They’d already labeled
     this as the work of the Seattle Slasher.
    “Huh. Look at that,” Sadie said to sleeping Osbert. “Looks like business is picking
     up. If people keeping killing each other, I might just be able to afford to get you
     a Tickle Me Elmo for your first