Demon Hunts Read Online Free PDF Page A

than I thought those words could be said. “It had to happen eventually. Still, when Morrison comes over here to kill me, I’m putting you between us so I can run. He won’t kill you. You’re not his employee, and he respects his elders.” I didn’t know if that last part was true, but it seemed likely.
    Gary chuckled. “You’re real thoughtful. So what’d you see over there?” He jerked his chin toward the crime scene.
    â€œBigfoot.” It was as good a name for whatever had left theclaw marks as anything else. I looked over my shoulder toward my apartment building, where my bed lay cold and abandoned. “It’s Tuesday. I’m not even supposed to be at work today, but somehow I’m out chasing yeti at seven in the morning.”
    â€œIt’s a great life, innit?” Gary split a broad grin full of white teeth and I laughed despite myself.
    â€œYou have a demented sense of great. Hey! Billy!” I lifted my voice and waved as my partner ducked under the police tape. He crunched through snow turning to slush and joined us, rubbing his gloved hands together for warmth. “Morrison just gave us orders to go study Melinda’s power circle, right?”
    â€œWhat you really want to know is if you can use that as an excuse to get out of here before Corvallis finishes with him and he comes to tear you a new—”
    â€œYes,” I admitted hastily. “Please. I’m trying not to think about my impending doom. Can we go?”
    â€œYou think he’s going to be any less pissed if he has to wait to yell at you?”
    â€œI think if I’m really lucky we’ll come up with something and distract him from yelling.” I pushed away from Gary’s cab, looking between it and him. “I’d invite you along, but you’re covering Mickey’s shift.”
    â€œThink you can handle it without me?”
    That was actually a surprisingly good question. I glanced at Billy, who shrugged his eyebrows. “Mel can pull up that power circle by herself, if that’s what you need.”
    I turned back to Gary, knocking my shoulder against his. “Okay, so probably, if I’m just looking for residue.” I sounded confident. I wished I felt half as certain. “I’ll call if something comes up, okay?”
    â€œArright, doll.” Gary lumbered into his cab and I leaned over the open door as he buckled in.
    â€œLook, Gary, in case nobody else says it. Thank you. You caught us a break here this morning.”
    He gave a dismissive snort, but his eyes were bright with pleasure as he pulled the door closed and drove off. I waved after him and turned to Billy with a smile still on my face.
    My partner had his own smile, smirkier than mine, though there wasn’t any meanness in it. I puffed up, indignant without knowing why. “What?”
    â€œNothing.” Billy’s amusement expanded as I huffed. “I swear, nothing! You’ve changed a lot in the last year, that’s all. Gary’s good for you.”
    â€œOh, don’t you start that, too.”
    â€œNah, that’s not what I meant.”
    â€œThen what did you mean?”
    â€œNothing. Get in the car.” Billy, grinning unrepentantly, herded me toward the minivan, and I went, muttering dire but unmeant imprecations on the way.
    Tuesday, December 20, 7:42 A.M.
    My pique at Billy couldn’t withstand the warm fuzzy feeling I always got at seeing his sprawling house, which said home to me in a way nowhere I’d lived ever had. A new front porch boasted Christmas decorations and colored lights, and a plastic snowman dominated the front yard. Two much smaller actual snowmen flanked him, the larger wearing a winter hat I recognized as belonging to Billy’s oldest son, Robert. He was pushing twelve, old enough to start thinking about looking cool over being cold, and I doubted the hat would be rescued before