Ghost House Revenge Read Online Free PDF

sick. Derek quickly pulled the car off the road, got out, and ran to open
     the door. But when he tried to help her out, she collapsed to the ground. Her eyes
     stared glassily, and she made no sound.
    “Jesus in Heaven,” Derek whispered.
    He hesitated, afraid to touch her. All sorts of visions came to his head. Everyone
     would start asking questions, and they might even accuse him of killing this woman.
     She had been in his car—how could they think otherwise? Why should he jeopardize his
     life and career for one crazy addict? He didn’t need that kind of trouble.
    Derek looked up and down the road, surprised at how calm he was. There was no one
     around, no one to see him lift her—why was she so stiff, he wondered?—and carry her
     to a nearby clump of bushes. He put her down there, glad to be rid of her.
    “Sorry, lady,” he said as he hurried back to his car, “but I don’t know you from Adam.
     I don’t need your problems.”
    He thought at first about forgetting the entire incident, but his sense of decency
     got the better of him. He parked his car in the center of town and walked to a phone
     booth.
    “Belle Bay police department,” a voice said. “Bryan Davis.”
    “I—I want to report a body,” Derek said carefully, keeping his voice low so that passers-by
     wouldn’t hear him.
    “A what?”
    “A body,” Derek repeated. “I saw it behind some bushes on Houston Street, near Walher.”
    “Hey, wait!” Bryan cried. “Who are you?”
    But Derek had already hung up. By the time he reached the health spa and signed the
     membership papers, he had pushed the incident with the girl from his mind. He was
     choosing a racket even as Bryan Davis reached the designated intersection.
    “Over there,” Bryan said to the cop with him. “I think I see something, Jack.”
    “It’s just an old towel,” Jack said, kicking it aside to show that the ground beneath
     was empty. “You suppose this is what our caller saw?”
    “I don’t know,” Bryan said. “He sounded pretty upset. Let’s look a little further.”
    As he poked through the clumps of bushes scattered here and there on the roadside,
     Bryan took note of the fact that no cars had passed them. Chances were, no one else
     had seen the body—if indeed there was one. After a few more minutes of searching,
     Bryan straightened himself and sighed.
    “Jack, we’re wasting our time,” he said. “It was just a wild-goose chase.”
    “That doesn’t surprise me,” Jack said. He was looking at some point behind his captain.
     “Nothing surprises me anymore.”
    Bryan turned around and followed Jack’s gaze. He could see the huge VanBuren mansion
     at the top of the nearby hill. Bryan wondered how the family was doing, especially
     Gary.
    “I sometimes see his wife driving him through town,” Jack said, as if reading Bryan’s
     thoughts. “He’s still in a wheelchair, you know.”
    “It was a hell of a fall he had,” Bryan said grimly. He clapped Jack on the shoulder.
     “Let’s get back to the station. Well just assume the caller was seeing things, okay?”
    “If it’s all the same to you,” Jack said, “I’d like to believe we aren’t going to
     have any more trouble here.”
    “I couldn’t agree with you more,” Bryan said as he got into his car.

4
    As soon as breakfast was over, Derek turned to Gary and said, “Why don’t we get started
     now?”
    “Right away,” Gary said. “I’m having some clients here this afternoon, so I want to
     get this done early.”
    Melanie looked over her shoulder. “Honey, I’m going to be taking my new painting into
     town today. Do you mind if I’m not here?”
    “I’m sure I’ll be okay,” Gary said. Melanie often helped him by answering phones or
     bringing coffee when he was with his clients.
    “I hope you sell that painting,” Derek said.
    “Thanks,” Melanie said. “If I do, I’ll probably sell a few more. The mayor’s wife
     is filthy rich.”
    “Then don’t