Modern Sorcery: A Jonathan Shade Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

mine, Mr. Shade.”
     
    “Look, David’s an asshole.   No question.   But he did love his wife, so this goes against everything about his character.   He claims not to remember anything, so I’m just asking if it’s possible that someone else—a stronger wizard perhaps—forced him to kill her.   It might not be plausible, but is it possible?”
     
    “No, it’s not.   As you’re a mundane, I’ll explain this simply.   Magic, Mr. Shade, is dying.   There is simply no way that any wizard, no matter how experienced, could possibly harness enough magic to control another wizard.   A mundane, perhaps, but definitely not a wizard.   I don’t know why David Miller killed his wife, but I do know that it was not a case of possession or a doppelganger or any other silly notion you may have concocted.   He did it and he’ll have to face the consequences of his actions.   Are we clear here?”
     
    “You bet.”
     
    “Can I be rid of you now?”
     
    “Just one more question,” I said in my best Columbo.
     
    Al just glared at me.
     
    “Why was Mrs. Miller shopping over by D.U. instead of out in Castle Pines?”
     
    He sighed.   “I was the one shopping, Mr. Shade.   Kathleen was with me because she wanted to discuss a private matter.   That, of course, is none of your business.   Now get the hell out of my office, or I’ll forcibly remove you.”
     
    While I’d love to see him try that, I figured enough was enough.   I didn’t really come here to badger him.   He hadn’t told me anything I didn’t already know.   I knew magic was dying.   That was something David and Kathy always complained about.   They wished they’d lived hundreds of years ago, when magic was stronger.   I pointed out that indoor plumbing was a nice trade-off for the lack of magic, but they were not amused.   Wizards are a tough crowd.
     

 
    As I left the building, my cell phone rang.   The caller ID read O’Malley.
     
    “Shade’s Morgue,” I answered.   “You kill ’em, we chill ’em.”
     
    “You need to get new material,” O’Malley said.
     
    I climbed into my Firebird.   “This from a man who tells the same lame cop jokes at every party?”
     
    “Yeah, yeah.   Look, I just thought you’d want to know that David Miller killed himself twenty minutes ago.”
     
    “I thought he was on suicide watch.”
     
    “Maybe they watched him commit suicide.   Someone really wants to off himself, there’s not much anyone can do to stop him.   Just thought you’d want to know.”
     
    “Does Naomi know yet?”
     
    “Yeah.   They made the call to her fifteen minutes ago.”
     
    “Shit.   Thanks, O’Malley.”
     
    I ended the call and just sat there.   It made sense, of course.   David was so guilt ridden over the murder that he killed himself.   It happens all the time.   Be that as it may, I felt terrible about it.   What if it was something I said that made him do it?   I know I couldn’t be held responsible for his death, but knowing and feeling are two separate things.
     

 

     

     

     
    CHAPTER FIVE
     

     
    As I approached the door to Naomi’s house around five o’clock, I felt lost.   What do you say when someone’s folks pull the old murder/suicide?   “Sorry” just didn’t seem to cut it.   So when she opened the door, I didn’t say anything; I simply embraced her.   She held me tightly, and for a few seconds, there was nobody in the world but us.
     
    “Come in,” she said when she let go.   She wiped tears from her cheeks.   From the smeared mascara and swollen eyes, I could tell she’d been crying a lot.   It hurt to see her like that.
     
    Her house was tastefully decorated with an Oriental flare.   We sat on the sofa in her living room beneath two paintings of Chinese symbols.   I don’t read Chinese, but I knew they meant peace and tranquility because I’d given them to her when we were a couple.   I remember that when she hung them up, she