Never Burn A Witch: A Rowan Gant Investigation Read Online Free PDF Page B

import going on in the back of his mind.
“Sorry ‘bout that. It just pisses me off when assholes like that
won’t listen.”
    “Yeah, Ben,” I sympathized. “Remember, I deal
with it all the time. Not all that long ago, even from you to some
extent “
    “Yeah, well, I got over it.”
    “Yes, you did. Now just give them a chance to
do the same.”
    “Yeah, okay, you’re right… So, anyway, white
man. Enough with that. You ready to grab somethin’ to eat?”
    “Sure. What’d you have in mind?”
    “There’s a great Chinese place not too far
from the morgue. Just gotta make a real quick stop first.”
    “Why do I get the feeling that the stop you
are referring to and the morgue are one and the same?”
    “You tell me. You’re the Witch.”
     
     
    * * * * *
     
     
    “Brianna Louise Walker,” Ben was
reading to me with quick glances from his ever-present notebook as
he drove. In reality, the Saint Louis city morgue was right next
door to the police headquarters, but Ben had expressed extreme
disdain at the thought of walking the short block in the cold only
to have to walk back to get his vehicle. “Twenty-eight years old,
single. AKA Mistress Bree, AKA
The Wicked Witch of the West End. One a’ those dominatrixes.
Regular bondage queen. Charged five bills an hour to use ya’ and
abuse ya’.” He spared a quick glance at me before swinging the van
around a tight arc into the parking lot of the morgue. “Coupl’a
nights ago she took a nosedive off a sixth story balcony at the
Riverfront Hilton wearin’ nothin’ but a studded collar and too much
makeup.”
    “Suicide?” I queried.
    “Don’t think so...”
    Ben urged the van into a snow-packed space,
making a judgment call as to where the yellow demarcation lines
might be and nosed it up against a pile of the freshly plowed white
stuff. The fan on the heater shut down as he switched off the
engine, and we were left in a sudden pounding quiet.
    “...Cause she was also handcuffed. Probably
her own. Best guess at first,” he continued, turning in his seat to
face me while stuffing the notebook back into a pocket. “Maybe she
spanked one of her johns too hard or something. Maybe a dispute
over payment, dunno.”
    “Okay,” I paused, waiting for the other shoe
to drop.
    Ben reached up and smoothed his hair
then began massaging the back of his neck. He looked past me out
the corner of the windshield and let out a troubled sigh. I turned
my eyes from him and looked out across the lot. The snow had begun
to taper off to small flurries, leaving the final accumulation
total somewhere around seven inches. Bitter northern winds sliced
down the frozen streets, kicking up miniature tornados of the icy
white crystals. It just plain looked cold.
    The thump of the other shoe still not
forthcoming, I pressed my friend further. “Come on, Ben. You’ve
been telling me all this for a reason. What is it?”
    Ben exhaled loudly, puffing out his cheeks,
and returned his reticent gaze to me before pressing ahead, “Okay,
white man, it’s like this. She’s got marks all over her body that
obviously didn’t come from the double gainer she took.
Lacerations... Burns... Looks like the sick bastard that chucked
her out the window took time to torture her first.”
    “Go on.”
    “One of the marks appears to be a symbol, and
I was kinda wonderin’...”
    “...If I would have a look at it for you.” I
finished his sentence for him.
    “If it makes any difference, the request for
you came from higher up the line,” he said.
    “All you had to do was ask, Ben.” I told him.
“You didn’t have to get all anxious about it and drag me down here
under the pretense of going to lunch. Did you really think I’d say
no?”
    “Look, Row,” his hand continued working on
the self-induced tension in his neck, “I talked to Felicity the
other day. She said you’ve started havin’ nightmares again...
Ya’know, about Ariel Tanner and all that...”
    “A few.