Dying Echo A Grim Reaper Mystery - By Judy Clemens Page 0,2
from the shower. She let him in, locked the door behind him, and dropped the towel.
He raised his eyebrows. “And hello to you, too.”
She laughed, and he scooped her up, carrying her to the bed. She held him there for a moment, her hands on either side of his face, and studied him. “You’re so good to me.”
His eyes went serious, and he tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear. “Just returning the favor.” And then he kissed her.
Two hours later she jerked awake. Ricky was getting dressed.
“Where are you going?”
He glanced over, then bent to kiss her. “Would you believe an early morning delivery? As in early early. Four am. Do these people really need to host a breakfast before the break of dawn?”
She frowned. “I was hoping you would stay.”
His face softened, and he sat on the edge of the bed. “I would like to. Believe me. It’s not every day I get the offer. Can I take a raincheck? For tomorrow, maybe? If you can take two nights in a row.”
She laughed. “I think I could manage it.”
He tugged on his shoes and kissed her again. “You’re beautiful when you’ve just been ravished.”
She gave him a weak punch. “You got me all sweaty, you know. Now I have to take another shower.”
He laughed and stood up, pulling on his jacket. “Go back to sleep. There’s plenty of time for a shower in the morning.”
“I guess.”
“Goodnight, love.”
She sighed, snuggling under the covers. “‘Night. Love.”
He ran his fingers gently over her face, then let himself out, with the soft snick of the lock moving into place.
She tried to go back to sleep, but couldn’t. She had to pee. Why did sex do that? Why couldn’t she just fall asleep in the warm aftereffects like they did in the movies? Well, she had fallen asleep, actually, when Ricky was still with her. So it was his fault, for getting out of bed and waking her up. She’d make him pay the next time.
Smiling at the thought of what exactly his consequences would be, she slipped out from under the covers and padded across to the bathroom. She took the time to wash up, rebrush her teeth, and run a comb through her hair. When she was done, she went back out to the living room.
A man she recognized was sitting on her bed.
He smiled. “Hello, Lizzie. It’s been too long. Way, way too long.”
She spun around, but the hallway was blocked by another man. She knew him, too. He was another one of the Three. Which meant….She whipped her head right and left, but saw only the man on the bed. He smiled again, and tilted his head sideways. “You looking for him?”
She followed his gaze to the corner, where the third man crouched on the floor. Just seeing him made her skin crawl. Those blank eyes. The pasty skin. She shuddered. All of her personal belongings—measly as they were—had been spread out on the floor in front of him. A couple of books, some money, the picture of her father. The third man picked up the photo and dangled it between his thumb and forefinger. He held a flaming cigarette lighter under the corner.
“Say good-bye to Daddy,” the first man said.
Alicia closed her eyes. But she didn’t say good-bye to Daddy. She’d done that many years before.
Chapter Two
“Ricky’s in trouble. You have to come home.”
Her lawyer’s words had chilled her, and Casey had had no choice. Two days ago she’d left Florida, where she wasn’t exactly welcome anymore, anyway, and made her journey west. The last trucker to give her a ride had dropped her off outside of town, and she’d walked the rest of the distance. She grabbed some cheap fast food on her way in, but her lack of appetite kept her from eating much of it. How could she eat when her little brother was in who knew what kind of trouble?
She made her way through back streets to Don’s building, hoping he would somehow know she’d gotten to town. But of course he didn’t, and his office was dark, completely locked up. She shouldn’t have expected otherwise, as she hadn’t called ahead, but she’d been hoping to avoid phone calls or late night visits to his house. She was too recognizable in this part of town, close to where she’d lived Before. There were still some tourists around, even though it wasn’t yet the ski season, but they made her more of a