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

“Don’t touch it,” he said. “If it’s blood, it’s a biohazard. Plus, we don’t want to contaminate any possible evidence.”
    She looked down where his fingers were wrapped around her wrist. His grip was warm and surprisingly reassuring. His skin was dark against hers, and for a moment Julia couldn’t look away.
    “You’re shaking,” he said.
    “Yeah, well, I’m not used to finding bloody books on my counter.”
    He released her and unsnapped a cell phone from his belt. “The police will be able tell us if this is human or animal.”
    Julia hadn’t wanted the police involved any more than they already were, but she was smart enough to know she no longer had a choice. The situation had just taken a hard turn left into dangerous territory.
    “What will the police do?” she asked.
    “They’ll file a report. A minor crime like this—trespassing and vandalism—doesn’t warrant much attention from PD. We’ll be lucky to get a crime scene team out here to dust for prints. On the other hand, if the blood turns out to be human, they’re going to want to know where it came from.”
    The thought made her shudder. “Let’s hope it’s not human.”
    “I’ll give Mitch a call, see if he can help get a CSI out here.”
    “Mitch as in Mitchy?”
    John grinned. “He’d probably prefer if you didn’t call him that.”
    She smiled back. “He’s a cop?”
    “A damn good one. If we can get someone to dust that book for prints, Mitch can help us cut through some of the red tape. Get the prints entered into AFIS. If our perp’s in the system, we’ll I.D. him.”
    Hope swept through her at the thought of the police catching the stalker.
    John punched keys on his phone and slipped into cop mode as he reported the crime. Watching him, Julia suddenly realized that he had probably been a very good cop. That he missed police work. That he was a hell of a lot more disturbed about what had happened in Chicago than he was letting on.
    He snapped the phone closed. “A unit will be here in a few minutes.” He glanced at the book and frowned. “In the meantime, I thought we’d see what this sick son of a bitch had to say.” Removing a small pocketknife from his slacks, he opened it and used the tip to slide the paper from its nest.
    Julia watched, not sure she wanted to know.
    The paper appeared to be the same expensive linen as the others. Using the knife, John unfolded it on the counter.
    Something went cold inside her when the words came into view. The harlot’s ink is her lifeblood. Bleeding sin onto the page. Words that maim the hearts of the innocent and taint the souls of the weak. Soon the blood will be hers. The world will be purged of her sins. And vengeance will at last be mine.
    “Holy shit,” he muttered, “I think the crazy bastard really did write this in blood.”
    She stared at the perfectly executed red calligraphy, aware that her heart was pounding. She could feel her breaths coming too short, too fast. And for the first time since the letters began, she acknowledged the fear that had taken up residence deep inside.
    “Do you recognize the book?” John asked after a moment.
    Julia closed her eyes briefly, pressed her hand to her stomach against the slow curl of dread. She didn’t want to tell him about her book. She wanted that part of her life to remain private. But there was no way she could continue to downplay the situation.
    “Maybe,” she whispered.
    “What do you mean ‘maybe’?” He looked at her sharply, his thick brows knit with impatience. “If you know something, Julia, now would be a good time to enlighten me.”
    When she said nothing, he used the tip of his knife to open the cover flap of the book and turn to the first page, where the title and author’s name were visible. “Elisabeth de Haviland.” He turned his attention back to Julia. “Are you familiar with this author?”
    “Yes.”
    “Is she a friend of yours? What?”
    “Not exactly.”
    “What do you