More Deaths Than One Read Online Free PDF Page A

the building. He stood in the shadow of the old
stone church, breathing deeply. The cooling air had an earthy
smell, like mushrooms.
    Scott joined him. “Are you all right? You
look green around the gills.”
    “I’m fine.”
    Scott gave him a dubious glance, then
gestured toward the door they’d exited. “I guess you didn’t expect
that. If you want, I can put you in touch with other groups that
are more into healing than history, ones that will actually let you
air your problems.”
    Bob watched a single brown leaf falling from
a nearby oak tree. “I’m not much of a joiner.”
    “Well, if you ever need anyone to talk to,
I’d be willing to listen. I’m in the phone book, or you can check
here at the church.”
    “Are you a minister?”
    Scott laughed. “No. I help when I can—mow the
grass, supervise various activities, whatever needs doing. I
believe belonging to a church extends beyond Sunday attendance.” He
peered at Bob. “You don’t look very good. Maybe you should come
back inside.”
    Bob felt himself warming to this genial man,
but he didn’t want to hear any more talk of the war. As he tried to
pluck polite words of refusal out of his aching head, he heard the
sound of voices coming nearer and the clump of many pairs of
shoes.
    “The meeting must be ending early,” Scott
said. “My family will be pleased. They’re waiting for me. This is
Monopoly night. What about you? Do you have family?”
    Bob shook his head. He hadn’t considered
Jackson family for a long time now, and he doubted the other Robert
Stark qualified.
    “Friends?” Scott queried.
    “Not here in Denver.”
    “Are you new to the area?”
    “Yes and no.” To his surprise, Bob found
himself explaining he’d grown up in Denver, but had spent the past
eighteen years in Southeast Asia.
    “Welcome home, Bob,” Scott said with a smile.
“Tell you what. Why don’t you come to my house for dinner tomorrow
evening. Say, six o’clock? You’ll like my family. They’re nice
people.”
    Bob shifted his weight to one foot, preparing
to leave. “I wouldn’t want to impose.”
    “No imposition. We’d love to have you. My
wife enjoys fussing over company. Besides, you’d be doing me a
favor. My children have never met anyone who’s lived in Thailand.
It would be good to broaden their horizons.”
    Bob finally agreed. Tucking Scott’s address
into his pocket, he headed for the car he had purchased earlier
that day, and drove to the Golden Pagoda for dinner.
    ***
    Bob dreamed he wandered in the jungle. A
numb, helpless feeling permeated his body as he pushed against
foliage too dense to allow passage. He could feel menace all around
him, but it was nebulous, without form or reason. He let out a
wordless cry. No one heard.
    When he awoke, his heart pounded, his lungs
heaved, his head throbbed. He stared wildly about him.
    Wide-awake now, he remembered who he was,
where he was. He sat up and buried his face in his hands until his
heartbeat slowed and his breathing returned to normal.
    He rose from the bed, pulled on his clothes,
and slipped out into the predawn world.
    ***
    “Do I know you?”
    Bob glanced at Kerry, wondering what game she
played now. “I’m the hot chocolate.”
    Her eyes brightened. “That’s what I thought,
but I didn’t know for sure if you were you or your other self.”
    She hurried off in answer to the imperial
summons of a business-suited woman with a pinched face, but
returned a few minutes later with Bob’s drink.
    Setting the cup in front of him, she asked,
“What have I missed?”
    “Nothing. I’ve been busy and haven’t been
able to check on the other Robert Stark, and anyway, it’s hard to
tail someone if your transportation is buses and cabs. But I bought
a car, so we’ll see.”
    “What color?”
    “Originally? Blue. Now it’s so faded it looks
gray.”
    Laughter sparked in her eyes. “You bought a
junker. Why am I not surprised? What kind?”
    “A 1969 Volkswagen bug. It runs