Witch of Christmas Past Read Online Free PDF

productive.
    For the next couple hours, I searched for any similar grave robberies over the last few years, but there was nothing in the area. Not even the theft of funeral flowers.
    That was a good thing. It told me that most people had some respect for the dead. The problem was, there was obviously someone in the area that didn’t.
    According to my research, London had seen its share of body snatchers during the early nineteenth century, but the practice died out after more cadavers were made available for medical school dissections.
    It was the rash of grave robberies in the Highgate Cemetery during the early 1880s that caught my attention. All of them were fresh burials, just like when they were stealing bodies for medical school, although it was no longer necessary by 1880.
    By that time, grave robbery was no longer a profitable endeavor, so the bodies had to have been stolen for a different reason. Even so, there was no way it could be connected to our case.
    A sudden blast of cold air broke my concentration. I looked up to see Muriel sitting in the chair in front of my desk.
    This time she looked like the old Muriel, instead of a corpse.
    “Since you are not doing much of anything, maybe you could start working on my case?” she suggested in her usual forceful, pouting way.
    True, it was phrased as a request, but I knew it was anything but. Although Muriel was a ghost from the 1950s, she was just as demanding as any teenager.
    “Well, I am kind of working on something.” I pointed to the computer monitor.
    Muriel waved my words away with a swipe of her dainty hand. “Anyone can do that.”
    “Maybe, but it isn’t anyone’s job. It’s mine.”
    A storm of negativity settled over her features. “You promised!”
    She was right. I had promised. “Okay. Tell you what … I’ll call the sheriff and ask if I can pick up the file on my way home today.”
    “Don’t forget.” Her voice echoed as she slowly faded from view.
    I didn’t have the heart to tell her that there was very little chance of solving a murder that happened over sixty years ago. Not just that, but there was a good chance that her murderer was no longer among the living. If that were the case, earthly punishment wouldn’t be an option, and I had no idea how Muriel would take that kind of news.
    “Muriel?” Ayden asked, sitting back in his chair.
    Tim decided to answer for me. “Yeah … she wants Izzy to work on her case.”
    “If you can see her … why doesn’t she ever get on you about it?” I asked.
    Tim shrugged. “She must trust you more.”
    Suddenly, I remembered the Halloween Ball, and how Muriel had shown up, but Tim hadn’t been able to see her.
    “Why do you think you couldn’t see Muriel at the Halloween Ball?” I asked.
    Tim drank down the last of his coffee and tossed the cup in the little trashcan next to his desk. “I don’t think that was Muriel you saw that night. It was something else disguised as Muriel.”
    “Nice of you to share that bit of information.” I frowned. “Did this just come to you, or is it something you’ve known all along?” I asked, unable to keep my snarky attitude from coming through.
    “I suspected later, when I came in the office that night and saw Muriel hovering in the doorway.”
    “Then what was it I saw?” He had me a little worried. If there was something on the island, disguising itself as the dearly departed, it could mean trouble.
    Tim shook his head. “I don’t know, but I can tell you that the darkness I saw around you that night, wasn’t good. Whatever it is, it is certainly a dark energy.”
    For being an angel, Tim wasn’t exactly comforting.
    I was about to tell him as much, but then the lights started flickering. This went on for about thirty seconds before the power went out completely.
    A small amount of light made it through the tiny windows, but not enough to actually see much of anything.
    Sighing, Ayden looked at me. “Will you call the electric company