Voodoo Moon Read Online Free PDF

this case, a man who is probably dead."
    "Some people think he's living here right now."
    She grinned. It was a kid-sister grin and it was fetching as all hell. "You sure you're not a tabloid reporter, Mr. Payne?"
    "Not the last time I looked."
    "That's the 'theory' they're pushing. That Renard didn't really die and has come back here. And that he killed Sandy, not Rick."
    Then she looked at Tandy. "But I'll bet you're pushing the supernatural angle, aren't you?" There was an edge in her voice now. "And you'll take your camera along the street and interview people until you find a few idiots who believe in the supernatural theory, too. And there we'll be, on the tube, Brenner, Iowa—or ' Ioway ,' as the hicks say—talking about spooks and demons and nasties ."
    "You've really got me wrong, Chief," Tandy said quietly. She sounded hurt. And looked hurt, too. "I'm not a fake. I'm a serious psychic investigator. You may not believe that, but anybody who has ever worked with me will tell you that. And I'm certainly not here to make fun of your town."
    Apparently sensing Tandy's pain, Chief Susan Charles said, "I'm sorry. I went over the top a bit, I'm afraid."
    "I'm not a cynical person, Chief. I'm really not."
    The chief nodded. "All right. I accept that—if you'll accept the fact that I'm very protective of this town."
    "That means we can't see him?" Laura said.
    "That means you can't see him alone. I want my deputy Bob Fuller in there at all times."
    "All right," Laura said.
    "And I want to see the segment before it goes on the air."
    "That we won't do," Laura said.
    Susan Charles smiled again. "I didn't figure you would."
    Laura laughed. "You're one hard lady to read."
    At just this moment, my eyes happened to be concentrating on Susan Charles's facial scar. I was wondering how it had happened. And when.
    She caught me. Our eyes met. She seemed to be as curious about me as I was about her.
    "Are you going in with them, Mr. Payne?"
    "I thought I would."
    "I need to talk to one of you about the shooting this morning."
    "Listen," Tandy said. "Why don't Laura and I go ahead and get set up and introduce ourselves to the Hennessy boy. You can come down after a while, Robert."
    "Fine with me."
    The chief touched a button on her intercom system. "Would you tell Bob Fuller to come to my office please, Am? Thank you."
     
    D eputy Fuller was a burly, balding, fortyish man who might have passed himself off as just another small-town cop. But the eyes belied that. Sharp, steady, quick in appraisal, full of hard intelligence. He looked us over as the chief explained who we were and what we wanted. He seemed less than overwhelmed. "UFOs, huh?" he said, giving us a haiku version of his judgment. His khaki uniform had been dry-cleaned and faintly crinkled starchily when he moved. His black oxfords were so shiny you could use them for shaving mirrors.
    "Mr. Payne was with the FBI," Susan Charles said.
    "I'll try not to hold that against him." He didn't even try to make a joke out of it. He had the sometimes deserved animus of most cops for the federales .
    He led Tandy and Laura away.
    Susan Charles said, "He doesn't talk much."
    "He doesn't need to. His opinion was loud and clear."
    "He's a very practical man. Doesn't go much for theoretical stuff." Then, "I wouldn't think FBI men would go much for theoretical stuff, either." I liked her euphemism for "crazy." Theoretical. Nice civilized touch.
    "If you mean Tandy, there's nothing 'theoretical' about her. She helped me on two very important cases when I was still with the bureau. In both cases, she found bodies we'd been looking for for weeks."
    "Wow."
    "Is that a sarcastic wow?"
    She laughed. "Did it sound like a sarcastic wow?"
    "I wasn't sure."
    "Well, it wasn't. She just shot way up in my estimation. I'm impressed—with her helping you, I mean. With this thing with Rick...she doesn't really believe there's a supernatural connection here, does she?"
    "That I'm not sure about. I haven't