Abracadaver (Esther Diamond Novel) Read Free Page A

were still arriving. As I stood there, my mouth hanging open, an ambulance and two squad cars pulled up, their sirens wailing and lights flashing.
    And then, without conscious thought—certainly without anything resembling a decision—I dropped Nelli’s leash and ran toward the burning building, screaming, “Max!
MAX!
”
    A policewoman dived out of a squad car and threw herself bodily against me. The momentum knocked us both sideways, so that we staggered against another police car that had just pulled up.
    “No! Stay back!” she shouted.
    Nelli was barking, distressed by my screaming and this altercation. I heard Lucky shouting, but I had no idea what he was saying.
    I fought the policewoman, wailing Max’s name as I tried to get free of her grasp. Another cop joined her in restraining me.
    “You have to get back, miss!” he shouted into my face.
“Stop!”
    I barely saw or heard the two people wrestling with me. All I could see was the burning building that had swallowed my cherished friend. “Max!”
    “Esther!
Esther!
”
    The familiar voice penetrated the panicky roaring in my ears.
    Panting and still fighting the two cops, I called,
“Max?”
    “Esther, I’m here! I’m right here!”
    I looked around—and when I saw Max trotting toward me, I sagged with relief. The cops were shouting stern instructions into my face, but I ignored them.
    “Max!” I flung myself at him, squeezing him tightly and giving a sob of relief.
    “It’s all right, my dear. I’m fine.” He returned my hug and patted my back. “Everyone is fine. No one was hurt.”
    “
God,
you scared me.” I put a hand over my pounding heart as I stumbled back a couple of steps to get a good look at him.
    A short, slightly plump man who looked about seventy (though his true age was well over three centuries), Max had innocent blue eyes, fair skin, a neatly trimmed white beard, and slightly long white hair. He was usually tidily dressed, but he’d obviously had a narrow escape from the fire. From head to toe, Max was smeared with soot and ash. His elegant calf-length Russian coat would never recover from this incident, and his hat was singed and stank of burned fur.
    “Thank God you got out okay!” Lucky, who was holding Nelli’s leash now, put a hand on Max’s shoulder and gave it an affectionate squeeze.
“Grazie a Dio!”
    “We all got out.” As the police loudly urged us to step behind the barricade they were erecting, Max gestured over his shoulder. I looked across the narrow street, and I saw that Lily and Ted were both there, alive and well, though as smudged as Max. After a moment, Max added quietly,
“Grazie a Dio.”
    Standing behind the police barricade now, I watched Ted and Lily arguing on the other side of the street. Two police officers approached them. I could tell from their gestures that the cops were urging them to get farther away from the burning building. Ted and Lily were too engrossed in their argument to pay any attention. The rest of the street was being evacuated, and the police were taking control of the scene quickly, despite the crowds and the chaos.
    Between the festival, this fire, and Susan’s attempt to kill John, this precinct was having quite a busy day.
    I turned my gaze to the burning building, recalling the abundance of retail stock inside the confusing maze of the Yee family’s store. There had been some lovely objects and art in there, as well as some mind-bogglingly expensive furniture and antiques. I mostly had negative memories of the place, but it seemed like a sad loss, even so.
    Watching the building burn, I asked, “Max, what happened?”
    He started to speak, coughed a little, and pulled a bottle of water out of his pocket. I supposed that first responders had given it to him right before we arrived. He took a few sips, then cleared his throat and began explaining.
    “Lily and I went down to the cellar to destroy the workshop where she and her daughter made those curse-carrying