Read Online Soul Taker by Karen Michelle Nutt - Free Book Online Page A

they should check Peabody's
hospitals, too.
    Garran walked out of the room, his expression
grim. He lifted his chin with a nod toward the exit. They hurried
down the corridor, trying to look inconspicuous as possible for two
preternatural beings on a mission. They were outside and heading
for the car before Garran spoke. "She's one of his."
    "Will she survive?"
    Garran shook his head.
    "That makes four in Boston and one in Salem
now."
    "Laurie Coontz," Garran said.
    "Who?"
    Garran looked at Harrison. "Laurie Coontz is
the woman's name. She hosts nightly ghost tours in Salem."
    His eyebrows rose. "How do you know
this?"
    Garran held up a nametag with Ghostly
Haunt's logo above the girl's name.
    Harrison didn't bother asking where Garran
lifted the nametag. "So the girl hosted ghost tours. What of
it?"
    Garran shrugged and slipped the nametag into
his front pocket of his jeans. "Something to look into. We don't
have anything else."
    Arriving at their car, Harrison opened his
door and slid in. He waited for Garran to do the same. Putting the
keys in the ignition, he glanced at the digital clock on the dash.
"We have enough time to take in a ghost tour and drive home before
the sun rises." His head swung lazily toward him with a grin. "Are
you game?"
    "They might think we're one of the ghouls,"
Garran joked, his fangs glistening.
    "Speak for yourself, Grim Sith. I charm the
ladies. I don't bite unless asked." He turned the key in the
ignition and the motor roared to life.
    ****
    Johanna had phoned Isabelle this morning,
excited about the shop being a great location in Salem. She had her
new boyfriend to thank for finding it for her. Johanna had signed
the final papers, and she wanted Isabella there to celebrate.
    Nicholas nearly shoved Isabella out the door. "I can take care of the restaurant for a few nights, Izzie," he
grumbled. "Please go. It'll give you a break from the customers
asking you about Marcy."
    She had a hunch he also wanted her away from
Harrison, not that he'd been in the restaurant since the wake. "And
what about you?"
    He waved his hand at her." Emotions don't
bombard me and weigh me down, like they do to you. Go. Have fun.
Besides, I'll have a few days away this weekend when I go to the
food preparation seminar in Orlando."
    She didn't need any more encouragement.
    A few hours later, Isabella dropped off her
suitcase at the Hawthorne Hotel, located in the historic
district of Salem. Johanna had rented a suite with her boyfriend
and assured her it would be all right if she crashed there tonight
on the sofa bed so she didn't have to go home so soon.
    After freshening up, she headed over to Victorian Station to meet Johanna and her boyfriend. About
time she put a face to the… She frowned, realizing Johanna had
never mentioned her boyfriend's name.
    The hostess at the restaurant led her outside
to the patio where Johanna sat at a table facing the wharf. She
wore her hair down and curled. She had donned a flattering flowered
halter and a pair of white slacks.
    As Isabella neared, her smile slipped from
her face. Johanna's aura was off—the blue and pink were muddled
with dark patches, and the yellow was nearly non-existent. Even if
she couldn't see her aura, the dark circles under Johanna's eyes
were a dead giveaway, screaming: I'm not feeling well.
    Isabella tried to keep the concern out of her
voice, but it flowed over into her words anyway. "What's
wrong?"
    Johanna tucked an imaginary hair behind her
ear. "You never miss a thing, do you? And I caked on the makeup."
She let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm a little tired. I've been
having trouble sleeping, that's all. It's all the excitement. I'm a
storeowner," she squealed the last. "I'm fine, really. Sit, sit, Mama Hen ."
    Isabella's gaze shifted to the two place
settings before looking at Johanna. "I thought your
boyfriend—what's his name again—was going to meet us here."
    She chuckled. "He was going to meet us, but
at the last moment, he was called away on