Last Grave (9781101593172) Read Online Free PDF Page A

you haven’t realized it yet, appearances mean everything in this big, bad world,” Jada said, casting a disparaging glance at Samantha’s attire.
    Samantha flushed, realizing she’d walked into that one. She had learned that Jada wasn’t trying to be catty with comments like that. She just really believed in always being at her best. Which was ironic, since she saw people only at their worst.
    â€œAnyway, I was just telling Detective Garris that I’ve never seen anything like this.”
    â€œSo, any idea what could cause it?” Lance asked.
    â€œNo. This is a new one. I’m going to have to do some research, ask around, and find out if
anyone
has ever seen this.”
    Samantha was willing to bet the answer was going to be no. She had been raised a witch and she certainly couldn’t remember seeing anything like this before. Of course, that didn’t mean she hadn’t. The holes in her memories of that life were still staggeringly large, the gaps in her knowledge numerous.
    â€œWell, let us know when you have something,” Lance said.
    â€œReally? Because I was planning on keeping that information to myself.”
    â€œIf we’re done here, I found something else,” Samantha said.
    Lance nodded and stood up. “Lead the way.”
    Not sure where the museum employee had gone, Samantha borrowed a flashlight from Zack. She led both of them into the rain forest and then shone the light on the message.
    â€œâ€˜The last grave’? What is that supposed to mean?” Lance asked after a second.
    â€œIt’s probably a prank—kids, a disgruntled janitor,” Zack chimed in.
    â€œI don’t think so. I thought I heard someone in here, but I couldn’t find anybody. It would have been a great place for the killer to hide out while we were all busy in the Swamp,” Samantha said.
    â€œOkay. Zack, get the lights on in here. Grab a couple of guys and sweep this place. If there’s even a remote chance our killer’s still here, I want this place torn apart,” Lance said.
    Zack nodded and dashed off. Still using the flashlight, they looked around the area some more. “So, this is where you disappeared to?” Lance asked.
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œMind telling me why?”
    â€œI don’t know. Hunch, I guess,” Samantha said, striving to be vague.
    Lance turned to look at her, and in the light from the flashlight he was holding, his face looked demonic. She forced herself to stand her ground, reminding herself it was only a trick of the light.
    â€œWhat’s the matter, spooked?” Lance asked.
    â€œSomething like that,” she said.
    The overhead lights flooded on, and she breathed a silent sigh of relief that it had nothing to do with her and that the darkness had been driven away. She helped Lance do a preliminary search of the area even though she knew they wouldn’t find anything else.
    She traced the paths through the rain forest. Had it been a witch hiding in here when she was here earlier? She was sure it had to be. But why leave the bizarre message on the ground, especially since it was nowhere near the body? Janitorial staff could have easily mistaken it for a joke and cleaned it up without the police ever seeing it.
    She walked for another fifteen minutes, peering into dense copses of trees, but seeing nothing. When she returned to the beginning of the trail, she still had no idea why the message had been left with the leaves or what it meant. Some uniformed officers joined in the search, and a few minutes later she and Lance conferred.
    â€œI think it’s time we head out,” Lance said.
    â€œAgreed. I don’t think there’s anything else we can do here tonight. If the others find something, we can come back.”
    â€œYou need to get some sleep?”
    She shook her head. “We need to tell Winona’s daughter what happened to her before she wakes up and realizes her