Past Due Read Online Free PDF Page A

relationship?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ We didn’t. I don’t have relationships with staff.”
    “ Why not?”
    “ Too messy. And, of course, these days employees have a lot more protection than they used to.”
    “ Too many sexual harassment claims?” she asked, an edge to her voice.
    “ I’ve never had one. I don’t need to pay those I sleep with, Miss Wright.”
    Cocky son of a bitch, she thought, “And after she left your employ?”
    “ She was seeing someone. Evan something.”
    “ Someone from here?”
    “ No, she met him through her job at the museum, although she brought him here a time or two.”
    He seemed genuine. The other staff had confirmed this, but he might already know that. “Do you have any idea what killed her?” she asked.
    “ None. I notice you say ‘what,’ rather than ‘who’ killed her.”
    “ I’m not sure it was a ‘who’.”
    “ Interesting.” Alex sat back and considered that statement. “What makes you think that?”
    “ Lots of reasons.”
    He smiled. “You don’t trust me yet, that’s understandable.” He hesitated a moment then leaned towards her, conspiratorially. “I’m going to lay my cards on the table, Miss Wright.”
    “ Fine by me.”
    “ So far there have been two killings connected to my club. You may not be the police but it’s only a matter of time before they make that same connection. My identification is legitimate, of course, but my life still doesn’t bear close scrutiny. In short, I need this killer found before there is another murder and before the police take too much interest in me.”
    Frankie played his speech over in her mind before she replied. “You want to hire me too?”
    Alex smiled. “Come now, Miss Wright, you aren’t a private detective.”
    Frankie licked her lips. Not only was she trained to lie effectively, she was good at hiding things. You had to be good at concealing things if you had a gift like hers, which meant Alex was an expert in reading people. She ignored that for the moment. “Okay, then what are you suggesting?”
    “ We help each other. You believe the murderer to be something other than human and while you obviously know something of the supernatural, you cannot hope to have amassed the knowledge I have over the years.”
    He had a point and so far he’d been nothing but polite. Well, except for trying to vamp her down in the bar. And he was still a vampire, she mustn’t forget that.
    “ You also have to consider,” he continued, “that when we find whatever is killing these girls, it might not go quietly. Depending on what sort of creature it is, you may need my strength.”
    “ The killer is probably a customer of yours,” she pointed out.
    “ And with the owner on side, you’ll have complete access to the club.”
    Frankie pulled her camera from her handbag, deciding to test him. “What do you make of these?” she asked, showing him the photos she’d taken of the symbols on the walls.
    Alex took the camera and flicked through the images. The screen wasn’t huge but with his improved eyesight he could still make everything out.
    “ Symbols are often subjective,” he mused.
    “ What do you mean?”
    “ I mean that they have different significance to different people. The circle here can represent unity, the goddess, the element of fire, the feminine spirit or force, the cosmos or a serpent eating its own tail, a sign of Satan.”
    “ So there’s no way to know what these symbols mean?” she asked. She had expected he would be evasive but found she was disappointed that she was being proven right.
    “ There’s no way to know what significance they have to our killer, no. This swastika, for example,” he held it up and Frankie moved closer to get a better look. “It could either be an ancient symbol for the sun, or we could have a Neo Nazi on our hands. However…” his words tailed off as he looked through a few more pictures.
    Frankie found herself leaning towards him, trying to see