Shallow Graves Read Online Free PDF Page B

phone. “A family just arrived with a collie who’d been hit by a car. The vet’s covering by herself, so she had to go.“
    “So should we bring Renfield in?“
    “The vet said no. She wants me to wait until morning because he might just ‘walk it off.’ “
    I thought about saying, “See?“ Instead, I said, “That sounds like a good idea.“
    “She said to pay a lot of attention to him, to make sure he’s comfortable. If he seems to be in constant pain, though, I should call her back.“
    I couldn’t think of a good way to ask the next question, so I didn’t. Nancy answered it for me by moving forward with the cat. Renfield growled, burrowing his head into her crossed arms.
    “John, I really think he has to sleep with me tonight.“
    “I understand. I’ll take off.“
    “No. No, could you stay here, on the couch? If he has to go in at three a.m., you could drive and I could hold him.“
    “Sure, Nance.“
    “I'm sorry about this.“
    “Same. “
    Nancy carried the cat into the bedroom. Over her shoulder, Renfield snarled at me, his two front teeth like the fangs of his namesake.

- 4 -

    I think the sound of a very light rain woke me up. The digital clock on Nancy ’s VCR said 8:20 a.m. Now 8:21. I sat up, my back creaking. The night before, I moved past her bedroom to the living room and tried the couch. Fine for sitting and cuddling, a tad short for sleeping. I’d taken the seat cushions off and spread them on the floor, covering myself with an afghan Nancy ’s mother had crocheted two years before she’d died. Even so, my kidneys felt as though someone had forgotten to hinge them.
    I got up and put the couch back together, folding the afghan on an armrest. At the bedroom door, I knocked, got no answer, and knocked louder. Opening it, I saw a made bed. I didn’t hear any water running in the bathroom, so I moved all the way back to the kitchen. There was a note propped up between | the salt and pepper shakers:

    John,
    I woke up early and took Renfield to the vet’s. I looked in on you but you were asleep.
    I’m sorry you got the floor and I’m sorry I got mad at you.

    Call me later,
    Nancy

    I read my kidneys the part about the floor, but they weren’t much comforted. Raiding the refrigerator, I had a couple of English muffins and orange juice.
    In the bathroom, the scent of Nancy ’s potpourri was zingy in the air. I weighed myself on her scales. It was an old building, and depending on where I put the scales, the needle moved a little more or a little less. I liked by the sink best, coming in at just under one ninety there.
    I wanted to see the Dani woman’s apartment house before talking with the people at the modeling agency. Given the time, I couldn’t really go home, change, and run for a while first, so I decided to make a short visit instead.

    “I got to Mrs. Feeney’s just as she was putting the carnations out on the sidewalk.“
    But I get roses instead?
    I straightened back up, almost using the headstone to steady myself against the stiffness. “Transference, Beth.“
    Fight with Nancy ?
    “Not exactly.“ I told her about Renfield.
    So, the question is, did the cat jump or was he pushed?
    “Not funny, kid.“
    I’m sorry, John, but if it was an accident, you can’t let it get you down.
    “I know.“
    The rain had turned to mist, the mist curtaining a rainbow that vaulted over Logan Airport across the harbor and down to the foot of her hillside, almost touching two men in a small boat, fishing. The convex edge of the rainbow was red, then yellow, and finally blue-green near the concave edge.
    Is Renfield all that’s distracting you, John?
    I looked back from the rainbow. “No. Remember H Mullen?“
    At Empire?
    “Right.“
    Sure. Is he all right?
    “Sort of.“ In a way I couldn’t do with Nancy , I caught Beth up on the case so far.
    And you smell a rat.
    “I don’t know. I can’t see Harry suckering me, but Brad Winningham was never exactly my rabbi, and Holt