Ghastly Glass Read Online Free PDF Page B

since I wasn’t technically working yet). “I’ll give Chase a call as we’re going.”
    “I don’t need Chase!” Roger ran out the door before me. “I have years of experience at this kind of thing. Chase is a pretty face they set up here to pretend they have some law enforcement.”
    I’d bet he wouldn’t be willing to say that to Chase’s pretty face.
    Chase finally answered his phone as we ran by Pope’s Pots and veered around the long lines of people waiting at the privies. “Come to the Hawk Stage. There’s another death.”
    “I’ll be right there. Have you called 911 yet? ”
    “No. Roger’s on top of it.”
    “Great.”
    I thought maybe some of the crowd was there to gawk at the dead person, but once we got past the privies, the street was relatively clear. The Hawk Stage was occupied by another bird of prey show where the trainer was trying to get a bald eagle to come down from a parapet. He wasn’t having the best of luck despite holding out some kind of meat in his gloved hand. The audience sat craning their necks, watching the bird. There was nothing unusual going on here.
    Next door, kids were climbing on elephants and camels for a ride around the animal enclosure. A group of teenagers dressed like knights were waiting their turn, laughing as the elephant lifted sand with his trunk and sprayed himself and his riders.
    “I don’t see anything.” Roger turned to the Black Dwarf, who’d come up panting behind us at that moment. “Where did you see this death? ”
    The Dwarf pointed toward the fountain. (I call it the Lady Fountain because the water is gushing up and down some poor Renaissance woman’s gown. Who’d think of such a thing? It makes me uncomfortable every time I see it.)
    “He was right there, big as day. Bigger than the old Death. I don’t think there was anything under his black robe. His scythe was huge . He started to swing it toward me, but I ran away. He could be anywhere by now.” The Black Dwarf seemed sincere in his fright. His little white goatee trembled, and his eyes were huge beneath his black stocking cap, which swept the ground behind him.
    I could see Roger was angry at chasing an apparition rather than finding another dead body. “You might’ve mentioned that, Marcus. We ran here in this heat for a costumed character.” Roger started walking back toward the Glass Gryphon.
    Chase came tearing up at that moment. He could really move considering he had serious muscles and a broad chest. Most runners are skinny, but not him. No wonder everyone said he’d turned down all kinds of scholarships in college to play football. A thrill of pure delight ran through me when I saw his sweaty face. “What’s going on?” he asked.
    “Nothing.” Roger kept walking. “But if there had been, I could’ve handled it. Jessie doesn’t have to call you every time something happens.”
    “I am the bailiff. That’s my job.” Chase smiled at me quickly then turned back to scowl at Roger.
    “I was the bailiff before you showed up,” Roger reminded him. “I’ve had real law enforcement training. What’ve you had? A few weeks riding around with Myrtle Beach’s finest? ”
    The two men, totally unequally matched, advanced on one another. The Black Dwarf went to hide behind a flower cart being pushed by a comely maiden dressed in what looked like cobwebs. Hmm, where’d she get that costume?
    Putting my costume envy aside, I stepped between the two men and held out my hands. They both walked right into them and pushed toward each other. “Come on, boys. There’s no point in fighting over who gets to see the dead body first.”
    Chase’s head jerked up. “Where’s the dead body? ”
    “There isn’t one,” I told him. “It’s a figure of speech. The Black Dwarf told us he saw another death. We assumed he meant another dead person. But I guess he just meant they already gave that poor dead guy’s role to someone else. It’s awful, I know.”
    Roger laughed.