Red Tide: The Flavel House Horror / Vampires of the Morgue (The Ian McDermott, Ph.D., Paranormal Investigator Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

yeah right.” After Ian signed his name and the time on the sheet, the officer picked it up and glanced at it. Before Ian could say another word, she said, “So you’re Mister McDermott? I’m going to need to see some identification, Mister McDermott.” Ian quickly retrieved his driver’s license and handed it to the officer. She glanced at it, smiled slightly, and handed it back to Ian as she said, “Thank you, sir. The chief’s been expecting you.”
    Ian was surprised and relieved to hear that. Charlie had come through, as hoped.
    The officer pointed to a bench across the hallway from her desk. “Take a seat over there. I’ll let the chief know you’re here.”
    Ian did just as he was instructed. He’d been waiting for about twenty minutes and had witnessed the beginnings of two separate bookings of arrestees before he heard another officer, this one male, walk towards him and call out louder than necessary, “Hey you, McDermott, come with me.” The sound seemed to echo up and down the tiled halls.
    Ian followed the officer down a short hallway. The officer stopped at a closed door near the end of the hall, then lightly knocked on the door that bore a bronze name-plate that read, “Chief William Mooney.”
    “Come in, come in.” Someone within the office yelled out. Ian’s escorting officer opened the door for him, then pointed for him to go on in. The officer then promptly went on his way back up the hallway.
    Once inside the office of the police chief, Ian quickly handed Chief Mooney his business card. Police Chief Mooney didn’t say a word; he glanced at it, then stared Ian up and down for a moment. Then the chief pointed to a chair across from his desk and motioned for Ian to sit down.
    “So … you’re Doctor Ian McDermott. A Ph.D., are you?” Ian smiled and began to stand back up to shake hands. “No. No need to get up,” Chief Mooney again motioned for Ian to stay put.
    “I got a call from Harmony Falls’ finest that you’d probably be paying us a visit.” Chief Mooney then leaned way back in his chair and put both hands on his knees. He seemed to be less than thrilled about Ian being there.
    “I tell ya, Mister McDermott, I generally don’t take kindly to private investigators of the normal kind – or the paranormal. Poking their noses around in police business. And I’m not so sure what we got going on here fits into the realm of paranormal. But what’s been going on sure as shit isn’t normal, that’s fer goddamn sure.”
    Ian started to reply but was cut off before he could get a word in edgewise. “No, now just bear with me while I complete my little speech. Anyway, like I said, under normal circumstances, I don’t much like private investigators of any kind. Typically, my experience has been they’re not worth whatever anyone pays them. More often than not, they tend to get in our way and often obstruct investigations that are much better left to professionals. That said … I said typically. But unfortunately, what’s been going on here in my town lately has been anything but typical.”
    Ian shifted in his chair just a bit and almost spoke but then realized it was still not the time for him to say anything.
    “Anyway, Mister McDermott … Like I said, I got a call about you from the newly-appointed Sheriff of Harmony Falls. One Mister Charlie Redtail. Now, I don’t personally know Sheriff Redtail from Adam. But I do – or better said, I did know who he used to work for. Bud O’Brien. One of the finest lawmen … Well, just a damn fine man.” Ian bowed his head just a little as he nodded in agreement to that.
    “I met Bud at a law enforcement convention held in Portland a few years back. We got to jawin’ and drinkin’ one night and well … Hell, he was just a good man, and that’s that. So when Sheriff Redtail told me of how you helped bring down Bud’s killer; the same one that killed all those poor people … Well, that speaks volumes to me if you get my