Out of Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page B

intermittent drops that always came before a heavy storm.
    Sofia's dead, Mike decided. He'd take the ring from where she'd thrown it in the room, if D hadn't gotten to it first, pawn it, and move West. They had need of a man of his services on the West coast. And there'd be starlets and wannabe starlets all eager for a taste of excitement and a strong, older man. Or at least that's how they showed it in the movies.
    Mike was halfway back down the hill towards the farmhouse, having tripped over two tree roots, stubbed his foot on a rock, and gotten bitten by about fifty mosquitoes when D came jogging and wheezing our of the waist high weeds that surrounded the farmhouse. "Mike, did you get her?" D clutched Mike's prepaid phone, which was ringing Pachelbel's cannon in his left hand.
    "She's dead," Mike said.
    D's eyes widened, making him look like a startled ferret. "That's not good, Mike," he said, rapid-fire. "Not good. We're in so much trouble!"
    "Who's on the phone?"
    "Dunno, they called ten minutes ago, but when I called back it said Lancaster General hospital. Whoever it was left a message."
    "Did you check it?"
    "Police can track that stuff, man."
    And they couldn't track D calling the hospital? D's paranoia could get to be a bit much. Besides, the mention of the hospital brought a horrible, alternate suspicion for Carl's absence. They'd rented the car with cash, and Carl had filled out a bunch of paperwork. Had he listed Mike somewhere as an emergency contact? Mike had gotten his license at eighteen, but never bothered with cars more than that. It was easier and cheaper to bum rides off of people, so how would he know how car rentals went. But if Carl hadn't been caught by the cops, if he'd gotten into an accident instead...
    "Give me the phone," Mike said.
    There must have been something in his face, because D handed it over without argument. Mike flipped the phone open and listened to the message.
    "What's wrong?" D asked, when Mike had ended the call.
    "Carl's been in a car accident," Mike said. "He went into surgery at three."
    "Will he make it?" D asked, nervously rubbing his hands together.
    "God I hope not," Mike said.
    But since the Atlanta job, God had gotten out of the habit of answering Mike's prayers. In a perverse way, it was one of the few things in this world that made Mike a believer.
     

Chapter 4
     
    Abram's hand was warm and a bit damp as he offered his arm to help the Englischer girl onto the buggy. The dress he'd given her was a bit long, and she had to roll up the sleeves and hold up the hem in order to walk around. She couldn't imagine how difficult it must be for Abram to see her, a stranger, in his dead wife's clothes. Still, she was grateful for the bath and to change into something clean. She rather liked how the dress fell over her body. The cut wasn't flattering, but it was comfortable, and she felt somehow safer to be swathed in these layers of cloth, as though the men from her nightmares might look past her if they saw her. She could breathe.
    In fact, only her hair felt out of place, though she had no idea what to do with it nor how to properly cram it under the head-covering. She also admired the color of the dress, a rich, leaf green which suited her. She wondered if Abram had chosen it for that reason, though that presumed a greater attention to her looks than seemed likely considering his at most neutral attitude of helpfulness towards her. And to be honest, the woman hadn't any idea what she would do with that attention if it was focused on her. She wasn't sure of her culture of family background, but in her bones she knew it was very different from his.
    She climbed up onto the front seat of the buggy and he followed. The buggy was narrow, so they had to sit with their legs touching. It was only a casual touch, born of necessity, but it solidified a connection between the two that hummed with an unspoken significance. Abram deftly guided the horse onto the road, the steady clomp