Read Online A Whisper in the Dark by Linda Castillo - Free Book Online Page A

make out the title on the spine, and a second, deeper chill barreled through her. A Gentleman’s Touch by Elisabeth de Haviland.
    “Oh, my God.” Dread and a pristine new fear unfurled inside her. For a moment Julia couldn’t catch her breath. Pressing one hand to her stomach, she leaned heavily against the counter. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She’d been so careful. How could anyone know?
    “The storage room is clear. The back door was locked.”
    She turned to face John.
    “They must have come in through the front door,” he said.
    “That’s impossible because I locked it.”
    “Are you absolutely certain?”
    “Of course, I am,” she snapped. “I live in the French Quarter. I always lock my doors.”
    He didn’t look convinced, but she gave him credit for not pressing her. “Any idea who might have done this?”
    She glanced at the chilling scene on the counter, then looked away, shook her head. “I can’t imagine.”
    “Who has a key to this place?”
    “Claudia and Jacob. My landlord. My dad.”
    “Jacob again, huh? His name keeps coming up.”
    “You can be suspicious all you want, but there’s no way he had anything to do with this.”
    He removed the pad from his jacket. “I need his contact information.”
    “Why? What are you going to do?”
    “I’m not going to send him a goddamn Christmas card.”
    “John, I don’t think—”
    “Julia, for God’s sake, I’m not going to rough him up. I’m just going to talk to him. Now, give me his phone number and address.”
    Realizing the smart thing to do at this point was cooperate, even if she disagreed with him, Julia walked to her desk, pulled out a memo pad and jotted down Jacob’s address and phone number. She crossed to John and held the piece of paper out. “Be nice to him. He’s a good kid.”
    “Yeah, well, that’s what everyone said about Ted Bundy.”
    “That’s not funny.”
    “Who’s joking?” He took the paper and slid it into his pocket without looking at it. “I need your landlord’s number, too.”
    Making a sound of exasperation to cover the fact that she was still feeling shaky, Julia recited the number from memory while he jotted it on his pad. “Don’t be rude to her. She’s old and sweet.”
    “As long as she cooperates, we’ll get along just fine.”
    Shaking her head, Julia looked toward the counter, the ghastly sight sending a shiver through her. She simply couldn’t reconcile herself to believing someone she knew was doing such a thing.
    She jumped when he set his hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”
    “I’m . . . ticked off more than anything.”
    One side of his mouth curved. “Ticked off is better than hysterical.”
    “Yeah, well, you can relax. I don’t do hysterical.” She couldn’t stop looking at the book. “For God’s sake, is that blood ?”
    He grimaced. “Smells like it.”
    “Where would someone get blood? I mean, he could have . . . It could be hum—”
    “For all we know he could have gotten it at the neighborhood butcher. We can have the police test it.” His eyes narrowed. “It took some strength to get that knife through that book and into the countertop.”
    “It’s almost as if he was in a frenzy.”
    “Or a rage.”
    Unnerved by the thought, Julia rubbed her hands over her arms. “Who would do something like this?”
    “Evidently someone who’s unhappy with something you’ve done. Some perceived wrong.” He tilted his head slightly, as if to get a better look at her. “Any idea what that might be?”
    She forced her gaze to his. “None.”
    He stared at her, his eyes probing with an intensity that unnerved, but she held his gaze. For a moment, the only sound came from the rain pinging against the window and the quickened beat of her heart.
    After a moment, John looked away and focused his attention on the book. “There’s something wedged between the pages.”
    On impulse, Julia reached for it, but he stopped her by grasping her wrist.