Read Online Aphrodite by Russell Andrews - Free Book Online

then his neck and his thighs. There were no fresh wounds, only raised scars, reminders of the raw, scorched flesh that had once been there. His breathing eased a bit and he resisted looking at the empty half of the bed across from him. Justin reached for the glass of water he’d put on the nightstand. He gulped it down, was still thirsty, didn’t want to move, though, to get more. Didn’t want to disturb the images of Alicia and Lili that were still with him, still so real.
    He looked at his watch. Four a.m. In another hour it would start getting light. He didn’t bother closing his eyes; he wouldn’t be going back to sleep. He never did after the dream. He’d stay up and wait for dawn. Then he’d wait until he could see Jimmy and the girl, the yoga teacher. Then he’d see what they were going to do. They’d hear her story, ask questions, see what was real, what was fake.
    In his own life, Justin knew what was real and what wasn’t.
    His wife and daughter were dead and it was his fault.
    He was alive. And wishing he wasn’t.
    That’s what was real.
    Everything else was fake.

4
    “What were you doing up on the roof?” Jimmy Leggett asked. He was not comfortable with the conversation. It wasn’t going well. He didn’t want to believe what he was hearing because, if it was all true, he didn’t know what the hell he was supposed to do about it.
    “I told you, I was meditating. I go up there a lot late at night. When I can’t sleep. It’s quiet. Peaceful. At least it usually is.”
    “And you just leave your daughter in your apartment?”
    “I leave her bedroom window open. It’s right below me. I can hear if anything happens. And if she wakes up and I’m not in my bed, she knows I’m up there. It’s not like I’m off partying. I’m only a few feet away.”
    “Why couldn’t you sleep that night?”
    She shrugged, starting to look annoyed. “You want to hear about all my problems? I’m single, I’m a mom, I don’t make enough money, what’s going on in the world scares the shit out of me. ….”
    “Did you hear anything?” “Before I went up there? No.”
    Chief Leggett took a deep breath. He looked at Justin. The chief didn’t say anything but Westwood knew him pretty well. So he stepped in.
    “Tell us exactly what you saw up on the roof …uh …Deena.” It took him a second, but she’d finally told him her name last night, when he’d walked her back to her apartment. Deena Harper. He’d watched her look in on her sleeping daughter, then he’d said good night and told her he’d see her at eight.
    “I told you already.”
    “One more time. Sometimes when you repeat things, you remember new facts, little details.”
    “I was up there for about half an hour. It was a little hazy. I was very relaxed, almost in a meditative state. I heard something. I don’t think I opened my eyes at first. Sometimes your imagination kind of takes over when you’re meditating and you hear things. You know, like if you’re thinking about a river, you can hear the water.”
    “The roof,” Justin said. “What did you hear on the roof?”
    “I guess it was the door opening. The door that opens onto the roof from the attic of the house. It’s usually locked. We weren’t supposed to use it to go up there. Some kind of fire hazard or something.”
    “We?”
    “Me and Susanna. The landlord told us both to stay off the roof.”
    “But you went up anyway?” That was Chief Leggett interrupting.
    Deena rolled her eyes and nodded. “Yes, I’m sorry. I’ll do my time and try to make my reentry into society a productive one.”
    “Okay, so you heard the door open,” Justin said.
    “There was this blond guy there. Really handsome. I described him. Blond hair, pale skin …”
    “Pale like no suntan?”
    “Yeah. Hardly any tan at all.”
    “You didn’t tell me that before.” “I didn’t? Huh. Well, he was really pale. Hair was medium, casual but done. Robert Redford kind of hair. Maybe six