Her Last Whisper Read Online Free PDF Page B

want to tell me what happened to Dr. Creason back there?” Mindful of the security cameras which were everywhere, and the guards, and the inmates, she ducked her head as she spoke so that no one would be able to observe her ostensibly talking to thin air.
    “Damned if I know. Nothing good. Come on, babe, speed it up.”
    Charlie did her best to focus on making sense of what she had just witnessed. “It looked to me like something … 
possessed
Dr. Creason. And that trustee.”
    “Looked like it from where I was standing, too,” Michael agreed. The pace she was setting had rendered her slightly breathless. He, of course, didn’t breathe.
    “
What
, though?
What
possessed him?”
    “Something I’ve never seen before. Best I can describe it, an evil spirit. For my money, one got the trustee, too.”
    She cut her eyes in his direction
    “Oh, my God,” she said faintly. “This is all my fault. I should have been more careful with Spivey.”
    “Ya think? How’s your hand, by the way?”
    “It’s fine.”
    “I’ll just bet it is.” His voice was grim. “You want to tell me how that bastard was able to grab ahold of you like he did?”
    They were nearing the end of the corridor—a left turn would take them to her office—and most of the commotion was behind them. A quick glance back showed her guards massed by the infirmary entrance.
    “Spivey was able to grab me because I got … distracted.”
    “Distracted?”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “You were locked in a tiny room with a pervert who gets his kicks torturing and murdering women. What the hell could have—” Breaking off, he swore under his breath. “You were hearing those voices again, weren’t you?”
    Charlie had told Michael about the voices. He’d been with her in the hospital the whole time as she’d recovered from her near drowning, mostly pacing the room or sprawled out in the chair beside the bed, so it had been only natural to confide in him when the eerie whispers had started. She’d been so shaken up, so tired and confused, and it had been such a comfort to have someone to tell, someone who understood that there was a whole universe of unknowns out there and believed what she told him and didn’t think she was insane. When she’d gotten stronger and they’d started arguing about her intention of going back to work what he’d consideredway too soon, she’d given him to understand that the voices had gone away.
    “What if I was?” she asked, chin in the air.
    “You shouldn’t be here,” he said, hard. The look he gave her practically blistered her eyeballs. “You realize that once Spivey got his hands on you he could have done anything he wanted to you, right? Break your neck, rape you—”
    “I know, I know. I’ll be more careful in future,” she interrupted hurriedly.
    “Thank you, Michael, for saving my life. Again.” His voice was sardonic.
    Okay, she owed him that. “Thank you, Michael, for saving my life. Again.” As his unsettling eyes continued to gleam unpleasantly at her, she added, “Can we please just drop it? It’s over, and right now we’ve got bigger fish to fry. For starters, I need you to tell me what happened to you. Everything.”
    “You mean after that sicko tried snacking on your hand?” His expression promised way more discussion on the topic later, but as she pounded toward the end of the corridor and he floated effortlessly along beside her he responded to her glare by saying, “What do you think? I got torpedoed straight into Spookville. I’m telling you, babe, you gotta stop messing around with serial killers. You’re gonna get us both killed.”
    “
You’re
a serial killer,” Charlie pointed out acerbically. “At least, you were. Convicted of being one. And I’m messing around with you. Anyway, I can’t get you killed because, in case you missed it, you’re also already dead.”
    “I’ll give you the already-dead part, but you can’t tell me you still think I’m a