This Blackened Night Read Online Free PDF

goes by the name of Michael.”
    “You’re going to have to give me more than that, m’dear.”
    “He’s black. Close to six feet tall.”
    The waitress started shaking her head before Lori finished the sentence. “Sorry, m’love. Haven’t seen no one hereabouts by that description. But you let me know if you find him.” With a wink, the waitress sauntered down the counter to serve another customer.
    Lori stifled a sigh. No use trying to explain her true purpose. And asking after the Spenta Michos seemed to be a waste of time, too. But what else could she do? She scooped a pair of fries into her mouth. The soft, chewy potatoes tasted like charcoal. How could she sit here eating when the Spenta Michos could be nearby? Someone had to know something. Lori stood, ready to leave and try another tact.
    A uniformed police officer barreled through the door, looking shaken. He rested a hand over his paunch as he caught his breath. His face was ashen. He waved the waitress over.
    Lori slowly settled back onto the stool as she eavesdropped.
    “The devil took Mary,” he wheezed.
    The waitress swayed and looked like she might faint. Instead, she choked out, “When?”
    “Last night. Found her body just blocks from here, behind her house.”
    “Which house?” Lori nearly cringed when she realized she’d spoken out loud.
    The officer barely glanced at her. He rattled off an address as he turned his attention to the waitress.
    Lori pressed a hand to her mouth. Her meal swished in her stomach, threatening to climb out. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. The officer.
    “Did you know her?”
    Lori nodded, then shook her head. She didn’t know how to answer. She swallowed against her suddenly parched throat. “I spoke with her last night. She warned me not to be out after dark.”
    The portly man nodded. “Words to be livin’ by, missy. The devil takes who he wants, these days.”
    When the officer had first cited Satan, Lori had thought he spoke metaphorically. But it didn’t sound that way. “The devil? What do you mean?”
    The officer’s mouth flattened. “Mary was found with two punctures in her neck.” He moved his fingers over his own collar, spacing them two inches apart on his throat. “The devil sucked her dry.”
    Moving off, the officer patted the waitress on the shoulder and exited the diner.
    Lori tossed a bill onto the counter and hurried after him. “Officer!”
    He paused. Twilight had gathered outside, deepening the shadows spawning along the eaves. Dirt squelched under her boots.
    As she caught up, Lori said, “You can’t really believe Satan is behind this. You, an officer of the law…”
    The man looked weary. No, exhausted. He ran a hand over his balding pate. “Missy, I’ve seen a lot in my day. But this…there’s no other explanation. There’s no way to combat him.”
    Lori chewed on her lower lip. The officer might insist, but she knew better. The devil hadn’t killed that woman. A vampire had.
    Terrence? The woman had seemed to be warning Lori away from something…or someone. Maybe the woman had known about Terrence. About what he was really capable of.
    “Can you tell me what’s been going on around here?” Lori was no detective, but she held her shoulders straight. A bluff. Like maybe, she might just be important enough to stop this.
    The officer rolled his shoulders. “I’m working late tonight. Someone has to file the paperwork about what happened to poor ol’ Mary. Come by the station around nine o’clock. I should be done by then.”
    Lori nodded. She tugged out her cellphone to check the time. Three hours to kill.
    “What was that about?”
    Terrence’s cold, sharp voice startled her. She turned, spotting him wedged into an alcove between two buildings. She could barely make out his form, but it was him.
    “Nothing,” she said. “Let’s keep looking.”
    This time, she led Terrence in circles. She went to the same bar as yesterday–and, again, Terrence