Demon Demon Burning Bright, Whisperings book four Read Online Free PDF Page B

room and read, then drank hot chocolate floating with
marshmallows before going to bed. He took a marshmallow from the
packet and flicked it at me; hit me dead on the end of my nose.
Naturally, I retaliated. We went upstairs laughing. It was a good
evening.
    Then he left without saying good-bye.
    Things change the longer two people are
together. Maybe this was our first silent parting. Still, I didn’t
fret at first.
    I called him when Clarion PD contacted me
about the plant. He didn’t answer his phone so I supposed he must
be out of calling range. No big deal; he’d call me back.
    But he didn’t.
    Now it seemed I had reason to worry.
    None of this made sense. Unless. . . .
Unless someone took Royal by force and he just had time to toss his
cell in my drawer so they didn’t take it away from him.
    But that didn’t explain why his call logs
prior to yesterday afternoon were erased, and there was no evidence
of a struggle.
    I scrubbed at my scalp with frustration,
shut down the computer, went through the living room and pushed my
feet into my boots. Locking the door behind me, I tromped up the
steps to Royal’s bedroom again.
    With a twinge of guilt, I sat at the
roll-top desk, turned on Royal’s laptop and went through his files
and address book. I did the unthinkable: I checked all his e-mail
folders, even the spam, but apart from a few saucy notes from me,
they were business related and no mention of Cicero.
    I closed the laptop and sat staring at
nothing, panic rising in my chest. I had no idea what to do next,
if I should do anything. I do not deal well with helplessness.
    I left the bedroom, jiggled the doorknob to
make sure it was locked and went down to the street, locking the
gate behind me.
    As I paused outside Bailey and Cognac, I
spotted Royal’s pickup truck across the street in the residents’
parking lot. Intent on the slippery sidewalk, I didn’t look that
way when I approached his apartment. Now I couldn’t miss the big
red machine.
    Relief flared for a brief moment. He was
here, somewhere on the street, in one of the stores, having lunch
in one of the restaurants.
    Hope blinked out like a blown light bulb -
he would have showered this morning if he were here. He was not in
the apartment overnight.
    But maybe he recently got back from wherever
he rushed off to? Royal enjoyed his food and never missed a meal by
choice, maybe he went for breakfast or early lunch before returning to his apartment.
    My head started to spin as I ran options
through. But I knew, deep down, I clutched at straws.
    I dashed across the street, earning a honk
from two sedans. The truck was locked and powdered with snow.
Scratching at the crisp white coat, I found ice beneath. Snow from
three days ago had partly melted then frozen overnight; then
yesterday’s light snowfall covered the ice. The truck sat here for
at least three days.
    Did Royal drive here from my place three
days ago, park, do God knows what for two days, then erase his call
logs and dump his phone in my desk drawer yesterday morning? Was he
still around? If he took off, where did he go, and by what
transportation? I couldn’t see him catching a bus or train, or
taking a taxi instead of his pickup.
    Standing in the parking lot, looking across
at Royal’s apartment, I wanted to scream with frustration.
    I spent the next hour going door to door. He
did not go to the bakery for a breakfast Danish, or eat in any of
his favorite restaurants. Royal is popular on the street and people
notice him, but no one recalled seeing him in the last few
days.
     
    I drove home with my mind buzzing, taking me
along paths which led nowhere.
    I noticed the flag up on my mailbox as I
left the Xterra at the curb and plodded up the driveway, so
detoured across the lawn to check it, making slushy footprints in
the snow.
    Two bills and a cardboard mailing
sleeve.
    I suspiciously eyed the sleeve with a
feeling of déjà vu. A similar package led to a mess of trouble
three months ago.