The Ghosts Of New Orleans (A PARANORMAL RESEARCH AND CONTAINMENT DIVISION (PRCD) CASE FILE) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Paul.
    The air was so hot. 
    Eloise opened the flap on her tent to catch any passing breeze.  Her
clothes were dusty and dirty.  Her hiking boots were covered in plaster and
sand.  She was tired, hot and miserable.  There were so many dead – so many
disoriented and confused spirits.  The earthquake had hit Turkey by complete surprise and the structures in the small towns had not been built to withstand
the shock.  Tens of thousands dead and so many of them needed her help.
     She lay back on the narrow cot and closed her eyes.  I just want to
rest for a moment, she had thought, only a moment.  She didn’t know how long
she slept, but the soft touch of a hand on her cheek woke her.
    She looked up into those beautiful hazel eyes and smiled.
    “Hi,” she said shyly.
    “Hi yourself,” he replied with a smile. “I found a genie in a bottle
in one of the ruins.”
    She shook her head. “I don’t think they have genies in Turkey, they’re in Arabia.”
    He grinned. “Well, Miss Know-It-All, I happen to have found a rare
Turkish genie.  What is your fondest wish?”
    Eloise frowned, “All I get is one wish? Aladdin got three.”
    Paul shrugged. “Different countries, different wish limits.”
    She laughed aloud.  “Okay, I want a bath – a hot bath.”
    “Your wish is my command,” he replied.
    Eloise sat up and shook her head.  “You can get me a bath?  Where? 
How?”
    Paul sat next to her on the cot, leaned forward and cupped her chin in
his hand.  “You’ll have to pay the forfeit.”
    Eloise unconsciously ran her tongue along her upper lip. Her breath
was shallow, her heartbeat accelerated, as she hesitantly asked, “What... would
the forfeit be?”
    Paul lifted her head slightly and moved his head closer, his eyes
never leaving hers. His lips were only inches away.  “A kiss, all I want is a
kiss.”
    Before she could reply, he covered her lips briefly with his own. It
was over before she could respond and left Eloise hungry for more.
    Eloise snapped opened her eyes and shook her head to try to erase the
memory. Standing up, she stormed into the tiny adjoining bathroom.  She looked
into the mirror and saw a pale face with large unguarded eyes staring back at
her.  Eyes that were vulnerable instead of professional.  Eyes that allowed the
pain to show.  She took another deep breath, bent over the miniature sink and
splashed her face with cold water.
    Thirteen minutes later she looked into the mirror again. She was dressed
in her regulation uniform, her hair pulled back in a neat and tidy bun, and her
face was devoid of all emotion.  She took a last deep breath, grabbed her hat
and purse and went forth to do battle.
    Paul was seated on a stool at the kitchen counter sipping coffee and
flipping through paperwork when she entered. She walked to the small
kitchenette and opened the refrigerator and pulled out a protein shake.  She
shook the can a couple of times, pulled off the tab and took a few sips before
she turned to Paul.
    “You still drink that crap?” he asked.
    She looked pointedly at his coffee, “You still drinking that poison?”
    He lifted his cup and saluted her with it and smiled, “Touché.”
    She slid on the stool two seats away from him and pointedly placed her
purse and hat onto the one that separated them. He looked down at them and then
up at her.
    “Setting boundaries?”
    Eloise nodded. “I have always felt that setting boundaries is a good
practice.  It avoids
unpleasantries
later.”
    His eyes remained cool and professional, but she could tell by his quick
indrawn breathe that she had scored another hit.
    “Now, let’s get down to business, shall we?” she asked politely.
    Paul considered her for a moment and then nodded.  “Yes.  We should get
down to business immediately.”
    He placed the papers that he had been studying on the breakfast bar.
“These are from General Thompson,” he explained. “The PRCD lost an operative.”
    Eloise dropped her