Read Online Cry For Tomorrow by Dianna Hunter - Free Book Online Page B

this rogue reaper until it started killing prominent citizens .” Scowling, I got to my feet. “Come on, this is our stop.”
     
    It was almost noon, and we were nearly sold out when a pair of elderly, but obviously very well-to-do women approached our booth. One was dressed in blue satin and pearls, the other in orange and cream gingham, and each was sporting a large, floppy hat adorned with some nauseating combination of chicken feathers and artificial flowers. An armed guard strode two paces behind the flouncing ladies.
    “Aw, here they come now,” sighed Jennie. “I was being to think Agatha and Mildred had forgotten us.”
    “Me, too. I worked for three days on that bowl I etched special for them, just so they’d have it for this big party they’ve been jabbering about for the last couple of weeks.”
    “Yes, the old girls each ordered a new necklace to impress their friends, too.” Jennie gritted her teeth and fixed her best salesman smile on her face.
    “Oh dear, we were soo worried that you’d already left,” sighed Mildred.
    “Yes, yes, but it was just dreadful, what happened,” puffed Agatha.
    Trying to be polite and mildly curious, I couldn’t help but ask, “What was so terrible?”
    Jennie gave me a nudge and rolled her eyes to tell me what a fool I’d been to let the old girls lure me into one of their silly and pointless discussions, but it was already too late.
    “Why, what happened at that house on the corner of Vine and Oak streets. It must have been just a short while ago too,” trilled Mildred.
    “Oh yes, you could see it even from the street. There was blood just everywhere,” added Agatha.
    I was un-wrapping the bowl for them and wasn’t really paying attention until the names of the streets sank in. I dropped the bowl and grabbed the hand reaching for it.
    “ Which house? What happened there?” I demanded in a low voice.
    “Oh, my,” the old woman gasped as she pulled her arm back. “I-I believe it was that red one with all those strange symbols painted all over it.” When she saw the look on my face, her voice took on a tone of sympathy. “I am so sorry, dears, I had no idea friends of yours lived there.”
    “Do you know what happened? Were the people who live there hurt?” Jennie asked when she saw that I was too afraid to ask.
    “Oh, yes, I am afraid so,” fluttered Mildred. “You could see blood on the sidewalk out front, and there were policemen just everywhere.”
    Jennie was already grabbing up our things and stuffing them into the packs until she realized that dragging this stuff around with us was going to slow us down. Turning, she shook my shoulder to make me pay attention.
    “Halie, you’ve got to go without me. I’ll take care of things here and follow.” Seeing the glazed look in my eyes, Jennie gave me a little shove. “Go. Hurry!”
    “Thanks,” I gasped in a hoarse whisper. I left my backpack and everything else that might slow me down for Jennie to take care of and raced toward the street. The house was only a few blocks from here and I could get there faster by foot. I didn’t even notice the dog running at my heels.
     
    Rosa and Jack had chosen the large, rambling Victorian home on Oak Street because of the beautifully landscaped yards surrounding it and its location on the edge of the hundred acre city park. The neighborhood was run down, and most of the old houses were empty, but they loved it here because of the illusion of privacy it presented while still being so close to the hub of the business district and all of its activity.
    But today I wasn’t interested in the scenery. I sprinted the last few yards down the cracked sidewalk and leapt over the low picket fence. I was nearly to the front porch when a large, burly police officer grabbed me by an arm and jerked me to a stop.
    “Whoa there, young lady! Where do you think you’re going, now?” he demanded as he spun me around to face him.
    Dusty immediately lunged and snapped at