Unfinished Death Read Online Free PDF Page B

outside after exhausting himself sexually? Jane crept cautiously to the front door. The only illumination in
the living room was from the microwave oven clock that glowed green across the room. She checked the front door. It was locked but not dead-bolted. Yes, he could have easily staggered out onto the patio and locked himself out. It wouldn’t be the first time.
    Jane swung open the door, Glock relaxed at her thigh. “Chris,” she said, with more irritation than fear. “Get your ass back in the house.”
    Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement coming from the front of the house. Her heart raced. The damn buzz still compromised her perception. “Who’s there?”
    The sound of heels clicking on the cement pathway that led to Jane’s house broke through the ebony stillness. Jane tensed.
    “Jane Perry?”
    Jane recognized the sultry voice of Cath Bashir. Cath flicked on a small sapphire flashlight. The violet light lit up the pathway and Cath’s face with startling clarity. She observed Jane’s abbreviated outfit with a slight smile. “Did I interrupt something?” she asked in a comfortable, relaxed cadence. She wore a heavy white coat with deep front pockets and blue jeans.
    “How did you find where I live?” Jane said, feeling the air thick and tight around her.
    “I followed you home from the police station. I figured you paid me an unexpected visit, so I owed you one.” Cath moved a few feet closer to the steps that led up to the Jane’s porch.
    Yes. Right. Jane’s muddled memory kicked into gear. There was somebody behind her when she drove home. In
a weak attempt to remove the alcoholic residue that was clouding her acuity, Jane blinked hard. But the more she blinked, the more her perception became fractured.
    “You’re drunk,” Cath declared, with a half-smile. “Is alcoholism a requirement for all Denver detectives? I mean, Detective Miles was half in the bag when he arrived at my humble abode.” She smiled at the recollection. “You know, other people in my position would be really pissed off by that behavior, but I just figured I hit the jackpot.”
    Jane knew this was going in a bad direction. “Sure. Old addled, alchy cop is easy to mind fuck. Almost too easy, eh, Cath?” Jane heard herself slur her words. The Glock hung at her side and the thought crossed her mind that she wasn’t sure if she removed the clip when she came home. She circumspectly rubbed her thumb against the bottom of the grip and sunk her finger into open space. No clip. But did I leave the lone round in the chamber, or did I eject it? Her memory was like Jell-o. Think, Jane, she screamed in her head.
    Cath took another step toward her, stopping just shy of the bottom step. “I don’t know why, Jane, but I feel like I can’t trust you.” The woman’s voice was calm—way too calm.
    The buzz prevented the oral censorship that Jane would normally choose at this point. “Funny. I feel the exact way about you. Too bad Devinder didn’t see the light before you turned it off. You and your fucking dick of a boyfriend.” Cath coolly stayed in place, looking up at Jane with absolutely no fear. “I wonder if the little prick is aware that when you tire of him, you’ll chuck his sorry ass
to the trash heap, too. I mean, like, actually in the trash. Can’t leave a trail of co-conspirators, can you?”
    “My gosh,” Cath said with wide-eyed interest, “you really are perceptive, aren’t you? But I don’t think I can kill again. That’s not to say it wasn’t a rush.” Cath’s demeanor shifted. Her psychotic eyes glazed over, as they bored into Jane’s soul. “I thoroughly enjoyed the preparation as much as the execution. Watching Devinder die was… like… the most powerful Kundalini arousal in my body. I’ve never experienced anything so dark and erotic at the same time.” She tilted her head. “You know the funny thing, Jane? I utilized the meditative tenets of the Hindu faith to center myself and