Secrets Amoung The Shadows Read Online Free PDF

dreamed of murdering another woman besides me?" She wanted to hear his description of the woman he feared he'd murdered.
    "Yes."
    "You're dreaming again about the woman, the last dream you had about her, the one that resulted in her death. Describe to me what you see in your dream."
    His forehead creased. The words came slowly, reluctantly, as though he had to drag them forth. "He's sitting with her at her dining room table. They're eating. She made crab legs for him. He loves crab legs. Tonight they taste especially good because he's anticipating what he's going to do. He's been planning it for weeks. Every time he crushes a shell, he savors the sensation and thinks of how her throat will feel when it crumples beneath his fingers."
    An involuntary shudder ran down her spine at his words. "What does the woman look like?" she asked, reminding herself that she had to maintain her distance, couldn't let herself get wrapped up in her patient's illness.
    "Red hair. Small. Nice body. She's wearing a tight, purple dress. She has long red nails."
    "Tell me about when he chokes her."
    Eliot shifted uncomfortably. A scowl crossed his features.
    "Relax," she soothed. "It isn't happening now. You're only reporting it, like you're watching a movie."
    Slowly the scowl eased. "They're sitting on the sofa now. It's a small sofa with big flowers. They're drinking wine. He reaches over and takes her glass from her. He sets both glasses on the coffee table then turns to her and smiles. He puts his hand on her throat and feels her pulse beating. He's very excited thinking about how he has the power to stop that beating. He kisses her, and he knows she thinks he's going to make love to her, but tonight he's going to satisfy his passion, not hers."
    Leanne involuntarily raised a hand to her lips as if she could feel the treacherous kiss. With an effort she forced her hand back down to her desk and tried to listen objectively.
    "He squeezes her throat tighter and pulls back so he can watch. Her eyes come open now, and he likes that. He likes to see her fear. She pushes against him, but it's no use. He's much stronger than she is. Two of the red tips break off her nails and then she stops pushing. He lets her fall onto the sofa. He can feel the energy from her, and he wants it all for himself. This is only the beginning. When he leaves her, he thinks how she has to stay behind and he's free."
    Eliot stopped talking then, the story at an end, and Leanne realized she was clutching her own throat protectively.
    The murder, related in a detached monotone, had the same strong effect as his description of his dream of her. She supplied the emotion that was missing from his voice.
    She lowered her hands to her desk, spreading her fingers and taking in the familiar, cool solidity of the polished wood.
    Across from her Eliot Kane sat, square jaw eased, long fingers draped over the ends of the chair arms, thigh muscles delineated by the soft material of his slacks. He looked astonishingly inflexible in spite of his relaxed state. He also looked astonishingly normal for someone who had just related such a bizarre tale.
    Though, she reminded herself, one of her case studies in school had been of a woman with the face of an angel who'd calmly hacked up her husband and children when they tracked mud across her newly-mopped kitchen floor.
    "What is the name of this woman you—he—just murdered?" she asked, striving to maintain a clinical tone.
    "Kay Palmer."
    "Where did you meet her?"
    "I've never met her."
    "If you've never met her, how did you know her name?" He could have garnered that information from the news, but she waited to hear how he would answer.
    "I don't know her. He does."
    "Who is he ?"
    "The one who killed her."
    "What is his name?"
    He hesitated, his brow furrowed as he apparently searched for the answer. She held her breath, waiting. Would Mr. Hyde emerge? "I don't know," he finally said.
    "Why did you kill this woman?"
    "I didn't kill