Deadly Slipper Read Online Free PDF Page A

nightmare. In it I see my sister walking along a forest path. I’m behind her. I can make out the details of her jacket and the green canvas backpackshe carried, the barrettes she always wore. She’s walking very fast, and I’m hurrying after her because I have to warn her she’s in danger. I shout her name, but she doesn’t hear me. I start to run. Then, just as I’m about to catch up with her, she vanishes around a bend. I reach the bend, but she’s gone. Now I’m alone in the forest, and I’m very frightened because I suddenly realize that the person behind my sister all along wasn’t
me
but
someone else.
It’s like I’ve been seeing her through
his
eyes, and now
he’s
behind
me.
He walks very quietly, but I know he’s there, and I can sense him closing in. I grab a stick, or sometimes it’s a rock, to defend myself, and Bedie, too, because if I can stop him I can save both of us. I scream and swing around to face him. And then I wake up. I’ve had this dream dozens of times since Bedie disappeared. It’s always the same dream, and it always ends like that.”
    He studied her silently for some moments. “Nineteen years of it is a long time.”
    Mara nodded somberly. The fire crackled. Edith whimpered in her sleep.
    •
    The rain had stopped. A strong wind had driven the clouds before it, leaving a half-moon and a sprinkling of stars in command of a clear night sky that promised fine weather on the following day.
    Although her ankle was very stiff, Mara insisted on driving herself home. It was not far, half an hour at most. Julian walked her down the long path leadingfrom his house to the road, shining his torch ahead of them on the wet cobblestones. When they reached her car, parked beneath the dripping branches of a chestnut tree, she touched his arm in a gesture of parting.
    “Thanks again, Julian. For everything. You’ve been really kind.”
    He shrugged. “Least I could do. But”—it seemed only natural for him to place his hand on her shoulder—“if you want my opinion, I’d say forget the photos. Leave your sister where she belongs. In the past. Move on.” Even through the impersonal fabric of her raincoat he felt the shape of her, alive and warm. The sensation was both exciting and deeply disturbing. Easy, boy, he warned himself. Take your time with this one.
    With unaccustomed gallantry, he reached out to open the driver’s-side door. A terrifying, feral snarl erupted from the darkness within. Julian gave a panicked yell and dropped the flashlight, which went out with a sound of breaking glass, as something big lunged out to clamp his forearm with bone-crushing force.
    Mara shouted, “Omigod! Jazz! No! No!”
    There was a confused struggle, ending with a deep grunt, before Julian was freed from an excruciating grip of teeth that stopped just short of breaking flesh.
    “Oh, Julian,” Mara cried. “I’m so sorry. I totally forgot he was in the car. Are you all right?”
    “Just a severed limb.” Julian was still recoveringfrom his fright. “What in the name of hell was that?”
    “My dog,” she said sheepishly as a large, muscular body bounded from the car, fortunately with no further display of hostility. With a brief flash of tail it raised a leg against the rear tire of the car and let loose an urgent, copious stream of urine. “He wouldn’t have bitten you.”
    “Thank you, the effect was just as good. You ought to do something about him,” Julian told her severely.
    “It’s just that he’s very territorial. A lot of dogs are protective about their space when they’re confined, and he gets very cranky if he’s left too long….”
    “Get him under control,” Julian declared angrily. “A dog like that’s a bloody liability.”
    “Touché!”
she acknowledged, laughing softly.

THREE
    April came on fitfully, with windy skies, bright patches, and sudden showers. Julian stood in the open doorway of his kitchen. The sun for the moment shone warmly. Wisteria bloomed on