The Love of the Dead Read Online Free PDF

because she didn’t understand how such a thing could be, just as she knew it was true.
    She swept the cards into a pile. Only when they were safely away did she call the police. It took a while, but she got through to the fat policeman.
    “Coleridge.”
    “He’s got black eyes. Dark skin, pocked, like acne scars.”
    “Go on.”
    No doubt, just taking the facts. She liked that about him.
    “Wavy hair, also black, and thick eyebrows. No other scars, but he...”
    “Something else? Anything. Please. Anything else.”
    Desperate.
    She ran her finger around the rim of the tumbler and licked it clean.
    Had he seen her? Really? Was she in danger?
    “No. Nothing else. I didn’t get anything else.”
    “Well, Mrs. Willis. Ah, thank you. Thanks.”
    He sounded disappointed.
    “If we get another, can I call you?”
    She wasn’t sure. Maybe it was time to get out. She was already worried. Maybe it was time to take her money and run. What the hell was she doing messing with this? This was way too heavy for her. She wanted a drink. She wanted a cigarette. Most of all she wanted some easy money and to be left alone.
    What she said was, “Yes.”
    “Can I come to yours? Get the pack? I shouldn’t leave them with you...”
    “I know. I’m in for the rest of the day. Anytime you like.”
    Just a thoughtless invitation, and Beth let more than the policeman in. But then, as soon as she’d spoken to Coleridge, her warrant had been signed. As soon as she’d seen the killer’s face, he was in already. Like an unwanted rider in the body of a drunk. An unwanted spirit in a medium.
     
     

Chapter Eleven
     
     
    “Coleridge,” he said, holding out his hand. It was a meaty hand. It swallowed hers whole, so she couldn’t even see it.
    He was huge. Maybe six foot and some, but fat. Not baby fat. This fat had taken dedication. His neck and face were overly large, but the fat wasn’t all in his face or gut. He had thick shoulders and chest. He looked strong, but like he was about two flights of stairs from a heart attack.
    She pulled her hand back. It was clammy, but she couldn’t wipe it. He was conscious of his fat, conscious he was with a small woman. She didn’t want to offend him. She just wanted to get the damn deck out of the house.
    She was spooked, and she didn’t get spooked. Not easily.
    “You want to come in?”
    “If that’s okay.”
    “Sure. Cup of tea?” she said as she led him down the hall to the kitchen.
    “No. I better not. I just wanted to say thank you. Anything we get is helpful at this stage.”
    “You weren’t supposed to give me that deck, were you?”
    He looked uncomfortable, but to his credit he didn’t waver. Truth, straight up.
    “No. If my boss found out...well, I don’t suppose I’d get fired, but reprimanded, probably. I could do without it, Mrs. Willis, to be honest. But I won’t lie. I’m desperate.”
    “I suppose so,” she said. She held the deck in the plastic bag out before her. She just wanted them out of the house. She could feel eyes on her. She was being paranoid, she knew, but she had to get rid of them. Maybe his spirit could smell them. Find her, through them. He’d marked her. She knew it. This man couldn’t protect her. No one could.
    But she couldn’t tell him that.
    The murderer’s a dead man...
    No. Not that.
    “I wanted to thank you. That’s all.”
    “And get your evidence.”
    He blushed. “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Beth.”
    “Beth. Anyway, I hope I won’t be in touch again.”
    “You will.”
    “You know something?”
    She laughed. “Not everything’s a message from a spirit, detective. Just common sense. Whatever it is that he’s after, I don’t think he’s going to stop until he gets it.”
    “I don’t suppose you have an idea? Not got anything else?”
    She thought about what she could tell him.
    “It’s not for me to tell you your job, detective.”
    “I wish someone would,” he said with a smile. She returned the smile. He actually