The Crucifix Killer Read Free

was movement next to him on the bed.
    ‘Hi, does that phone call mean you have to go?’ The woman’s voice was soft and sexy with a hint of an Italian accent. Hunter’s surprised eyes fell over the half-covered body lying next to him. Through the little light coming into the room from the lamp posts outside the window he could just about make out her outline. Quick memories of last night flashed through his mind. The bar, the drinks, the flirting, the cab ride to a stranger’s apartment and the long dark-haired woman whose name he couldn’t remember. This was the third woman he’d woken up next to in the past five weeks.
    ‘Yeah, I do have to go. I’m sorry,’ he sounded casual.
    Hunter got up and started looking for his trousers; his headache was more prominent now. His eyes quickly got used to the dimly lit room allowing him to see the woman’s face better. She looked to be thirty or thirty-one years old. Her silky, dark hair hung about four inches past her shoulders framing a heart-shaped face with delicate sculpted nose and lips. She was attractive, but not in a Hollywood-movie-star way. Her uneven fringe suited her perfectly and her dark-green eyes carried an unusual and captivating sparkle.
    By the bedroom door Hunter found his trousers and underwear – the pair with blue teddy-bear prints.
    Too late to feel embarrassed now, he thought. ‘Can I use your bathroom?’ he asked zipping up his trousers.
    ‘Sure, it’s the first door on the right as you come out of the room,’ she said sitting up and resting her back against the headboard.
    Hunter entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him. After splashing a handful of cold water onto his face, he stared at his reflection in the mirror. His blue eyes looked bloodshot. His skin paler than normal. His face unshaven.
    ‘That’s great, Robert,’ he said to himself, splashing some more water onto his tired-looking face. ‘Another woman who you barely remember meeting, never mind coming back to her apartment. Casual sex is great. It’s even better when you can recall having some. I have to cut down on this drinking business.’
    After squirting a little toothpaste on his finger he tried to finger-brush his teeth. Suddenly, a new thought entered his mind. What if she’s a hooker? What if I owe her money for something I don’t even remember doing? He quickly checked his wallet. The little money he had was still there.
    He hand-combed his short blond hair and returned to the bedroom where she was still sitting against the headboard.
    ‘Were you talking to yourself in there?’ she asked with a shy smile.
    ‘What? Oh yeah, I do that sometimes, it keeps me sane. Look . . .’ He finally managed to find his shirt on the floor next to the bed. ‘Do I owe you any money?’ he asked sounding breezy.
    ‘What? You think I’m a prostitute?’ she replied clearly offended.
    Oh shit! He knew he’d blown it. ‘No, look . . . It’s not like that, it’s just . . . It’s happened to me before. Sometimes I drink too much and . . . I didn’t mean it as an offence.’
    ‘Do I look like a hooker to you?’ she asked in an annoyed voice.
    ‘Definitely not,’ he replied firmly. ‘It was stupid of me thinking such a thing. I’m sorry. I’m probably still half drunk,’ he back-paddled as fast as he could.
    She regarded him for a moment. ‘Look, I’m not the kind of woman you clearly think I am. My job carries a lot of pressure and it’s been tough the last few months. I just wanted to let out some steam and have a few drinks. We got talking. You were funny, nice, quite charming even. You could actually hold a decent conversation. Unlike most of the other jerks I meet when I go out. One drink led to another and we ended up in bed. Obviously a mistake on my part.’
    ‘No . . . Look . . .’ Hunter tried to find the right words, ‘ . . . sometimes I say stuff without thinking. And the truth is . . . I don’t remember much of last night. I’m really