Along Came a Demon Read Free Page B

house.
    On her way to school, Gillian had just left her front yard when some jackass plowed into her, then went on his way, leaving her dead in the street. He was still alive and she still waited to pass over.
    “ Tiff?”
    “ Uh? Oh, sorry. I was avoiding a jaywalker.”
    “ So, when are we gonna explore the sheets in your bed?”
    Never. “Um. I’d feel sort of uncomfortable, you know, with my aunt being here.” When I met Colin, I made the mistake of telling him I lived alone, so I invented an elderly, recently bereaved aunt moving in with me. The few times Col picked me up from my house, Aunty was napping, but she was a light sleeper. I know, a pretty lame story, one which Colin would see through in a nanosecond if I let him in the house, but at the time I happened to be looking at a poster for elderly care.
    “ I can understand that. But she isn’t there every minute of the day, is she?”
    I got a familiar sinking feeling. “Pretty much. She’s getting on in years, Col. She doesn’t get out often.”
    He forced a chuckle. “You sure you don’t have a husband hidden away?”
    No, just two nosy roommates . The first time I invited a boyfriend back to what was then my new home, there we were getting down and dirty in my bedroom, when I saw Jack and Mel watching us over his shoulder. Killed the moment for me. Their prying had finished two prior relationships. Now it was his place or a motel, or not at all. No, we can’t spend the night, an evening, an afternoon, a few hours on the bed, couch, rug in front of the fire. I didn’t even dare let anyone visit for a couple of hours lest he turn amorous. Sooner rather than later, they got suspicious. They thought I was hiding something. Which I was.
    As I drove past the McClusky place, the window started to fog up and I wiped at it with a piece of paper towel I kept in the car for that purpose. I therefore had an unobstructed view of Frank McClusky as he chased a small, hysterically yipping Pomeranian around the garden, while Daisy McClusky trundled after them, calling to her dog and wondering what on earth had gotten into it. I once had a conversation with Frank, during which I tried to explain how his behavior distressed his wife, but he only said how much he hated the dog while he was alive.
    I told Colin I had to go as talking to him made me think about last night, and getting all gooey while driving was one hell of a distraction. He accepted this as a valid reason to end our call.
    Frank and Daisy were victims of a home invasion. Frank made a break for it and was shot to death in his front yard. The felons were doing life, but they were young men. Daisy had to put up with Frank terrorizing her pooch until the men or the dog died, whichever came first.
    I know people who insist the dead are all around us, although they can’t tell me why the deceased linger, if there is a purpose to it, or why some remain and some pass on. I see only those who died a violent and unnatural death. They are victims of hit-and-run, innocent bystanders caught in crossfire, or the murdered, and they do not leave until their killer dies; which means there are an awful lot of them in the world just waiting for their killer to pass away, so they can move onto wherever the dead go.
    Sometimes, when they finally have the opportunity, they stay here anyway. They can become so entrenched in their lifeless existence it becomes their reality. I found out the hard way. Had I bought the house a year later, I would have sensed a presence, but my ability was new and, I think, weaker back then in that respect.
    I was furious when I discovered Jack and Mel in my home. Realtors are supposed to disclose a crime on the property they are marketing, and mine told me the previous owner, an elderly man, died in the house, but of natural causes. No mention of a double murder. I tried the psychic ability thing, said I detected a presence in the house, and got the usual weird look. They insisted the only