How Do I Love Thee? Read Online Free PDF

but now, thanks to you …
God
, if I had to repay you with a smile every time you’ve given me one in the last year, I’d have to copy them and post them to you in bulk!’
    I grinned, relieved and surprised that he could even bear the thought of reading my cartoons again. ‘You know, I havea link for fan mail on my website. You could just cut, paste and spam me.’
    ‘There you go again,’ he said, mimicking my smile. ‘Strange magic happens whenever I’m around you.’
    ‘Oh,’ I said, rolling my eyes. ‘Every damn time lately! Don’t remind me!’
    His smile widened and he winked. ‘Sure, I won’t if you won’t? Let’s face it, there’s no better way to start a peace in this world than with someone you hate.’
    So he did hate me.
    My heart sank to a new low and I stared at the floor, wishing for the impossible—until he touched my hand ever so gently and startled my attention back to his brown eyes.
    ‘Come on, Mrs Hossted. Do we have a deal? That weekend never happened and we can start again from scratch, right here, right now, as if we’ve just met in the stairwell.’
    A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. Any kind of truce, uncomfortable or otherwise, was a moot exercise now that I’d sold my apartment, but if it helped him to repair his self-esteem and quash any malignant rumours that might have stirred about him or his mysterious injury, it was the least I could do.
    I sighed and removed my hand politely from his.
    ‘Sorry, sir,’ I said, still snared by his brown eyes. ‘Do I know you?’
    The next day, I posted him a parting gift from the old me: a set of smiley-faced ice-cube makers.
    ‘So let me get this straight,’ Symes said as if summarising something I’d missed. ‘Three months ago, Dr Cage started a shelf company and used it to secure the purchase of those top four apartments, plus three others on the ground floor on long contracts. Meanwhile, you’d sold your own place on a short contract and started renting it back from the interstate investors who bought it. So while
your
purchase dates for the top floor are still a few weeks from now, Dr Cage doesn’t actually own them himself through his shelf company until precisely the same day as you. Quite clever, actually, because it means he doesn’t need more than a few hundred dollars’ holding deposit for each. But it also means that he’s relying
entirely
on the money from your purchases in order to acquire them all in the first place.’
    ‘And make a hefty profit
from you
,’ Moser added, sounding as if he envied the idea. ‘Dead or alive. In fact dead would be preferable to him, because then your estate could be held accountable and you couldn’t back out.’
    ‘How much profit?’ I asked, fearing the answer. I could already see the cartoon: me and Agatha C—
the neighbour did it in the kitchen with a toaster!
    ‘Well, after he’s paid cash for the three ground-floor units …’ Symes paused for emphasis, so I braced myself. ‘He’ll walk away with roughly three times as much as he paid for them.’
    I shook my head, refusing to believe it. ‘He’s not like that.’
    ‘Tell her the creepy part,’ Moser said, but he couldn’t wait. ‘Last week he also bought your place—the one you’re now renting, so even if the other deals fall through, he could still afford to buy it. So your stalker would be either your killer or your landlord, Mrs Hossted. What do you have to say to that?’
    Nothing
, I thought. I was gobsmacked! Last week, I’d mentioned briefly to Marty that I might have to move out anyway until my penthouse was ready because I’d received a letter from the new owners of my old place, saying that they’d changed their minds about renting to me and were intending on moving in themselves to renovate and make a quick buck with a resale—which meant Marty must have contacted them almost immediately!
    ‘
I
have a question,’ Death asked from his silent corner behind the heart monitor. ‘What