Murder on the Hill Read Online Free PDF

didn’t come easily. It was like sleeping in a tomb with all the tall cabinets full of vases and dolls staring at me in the dark. Or at least that’s what I imagined.
    It’s weird how the imagination puts evil in the dark. But then I spent many a night sleeping out on the streets and saw… things.
    So anyways, sleep wasn’t forthcoming. My head was still throbbing from earlier, and my mind was turning over a hundred and one plans to get rid of Ivanov. Of course, I couldn’t get the black diamond out of my thoughts.
    My watch, a Disney swatch watch, one of a kind, bought from a boot sale for almost nothing, told me it was approaching four a.m.
    Outside, the birds were tweeting and fluttering about in the cool grey of predawn. The weak light filtered through into the stacked living room, and I got up to see if I could find where Cordi had hidden the gem.
    She had said it was in a safe place, so I thought she might have a lockbox or a safe or something. I heard her snoring upstairs and set about my search.
    Half the crap I found in the cabinets and bookshelves I couldn’t even find a name for. Other than endless catalogues and old books, I found something that looked like a sex toy, or perhaps some kind of whisk, it was hard to tell.
    I shivered at the thought of anyone using it… well, you know. I won’t draw you a picture. My hands were covered in dust and the motes were floating about the air by the time I reached the rear of the room, stepping over an ancient pyramid of automobile repair manuals.
    There, I found the tallest bookshelf going from floor to ceiling and some three meters wide. The shelves bowed under the weight of the triple-stacked books. On the shelf at about head height, I saw a gap—an area of little dust.
    Almost as though it had recently been disturbed.
    Feeling like a total boss, I reached into the gap, expecting to find the gem, when my foot slipped on a glossy magazine and I tumbled forward into the bookcase.
    With my stomach in my mouth, I regained my balance only to find the case creaking toward me. Holy crap, I was going to be entombed! And given the state of the place, I doubted anyone would find my rotting corpse anytime soon.
    I leapt back, tripping over the pyramid, and cursed Cordi’s utterly shambolic decor arrangements and hit the ground on my back, knocking the wind from my lungs. Above me a shadow loomed as the case continued to topple forward.
    Books tumbled from the shelf and it gained speed. I tried to scramble free, but it was too late. The bookcase crashed down on top of me. I managed to get my hands in front of my chest and gripped the edge of the bulky piece of furniture, but still, the force made me wheeze. The weight of it pinned me to the ground.
    Great. Just perfect.
    And looking down at me from my right side was a glass cabinet full of dolls.
    “Stop staring and help, you satanic little freaks,” I said, struggling to free myself.
    I couldn’t shift the damn thing. It was too heavy and had got caught on the edge of a table that held some weird bronze-looking statue. It was like Dali had melted an elephant over a lampshade.
    As much as I pushed, nothing moved.
    Before I could call for help, I noticed a dark shadow dart by me on the left. My heart raced. What the hell was that?
    A second later something moved past my face. Something furry…
    Monty !
    The cat was purring and rubbing its backside against my head.
    “Get your butt off me,” I said.
    But that only made it curious. It turned around and sniffed me and then licked my face. Urgh, the breath!
    I turned away, but it seemed to like my taste and licked my neck.
    It was then I realised I would likely die here and my body would be eaten by Monty.
    Of all the ways to die I had imagined, this one was the most embarrassing.
    Luckily, I didn’t have to worry for too long.
    The light flicked on, burning my retinas. I shut my eyes against the glare and heard Cordi suck in her breath.
    “Oh my God. Harley, what