Read Online Evil Ways by Justin Gustainis - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Justin Gustainis
Tags: Fiction, Occult & Supernatural
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the cutlery she removed the wand she kept there for emergencies, which this clearly seemed to be. It had been charged with a general-purpose spell that would give Andrea a wide variety of options, once she knew what she was dealing with.
Although she could not harm people with it, magic did allow her to protect herself, and a variety of non-lethal responses were possible. She could, for instance, freeze the intruder in place for the time it would take the police to arrive. But before calling 911, better be sure that this wasn't another squirrel that had gotten in to wreak havoc.
Andrea McKinnon walked softly to the doorway that led to her living room. The sounds were coming from her right, so she turned that way immediately on entering.
A man was going through her desk, presumably looking for money or valuables. He was tall and heavyset, and wore glasses.
"Hold it right there!" She was uttering the first words that would allow her to launch the freezing-in-place spell when the other man stepped up behind her and looped the wire garrote around her neck.
There was no prolonged struggle, like something out of one of the Godfather movies. Unlike the cord garrotes employed by fictional Mafia assassins, piano wire is quick, if messy, and the killer had chosen it precisely for that reason. He wanted the witch to have no chance to work some hocus-pocus on him, or his partner. Wire doesn't just constrict the victim's flesh —it cuts.
The killer was strong and skillful. Within four seconds, the piano wire had sliced through Andrea's throat to sever her windpipe, as well as both her carotid artery and jugular vein.
As soon as the blood began to spurt, the killer, whose name was Kittridge, released his grip on the garrote's handles and let the woman, already unconscious, fall forward to the floor. Within a couple of minutes she would die —either from choking or bleeding out, and Kittridge didn't care which.
The other man, who had a youngish face and prematurely white hair, stepped out from behind the desk and approached the still form, careful to avoid the spreading pool of blood. His name was Winter.
"Nice work," he said to Kittridge. "She didn't call the cops, did she?"
"Nope, didn't use the phone at all. Guess she thought her little stick, here" —he nudged the fallen wand with the tip of one expensive shoe—"was all the help she needed."
"Well, the bitch guessed wrong, didn't she? But we better clear out of here, anyway. Where's the next one?"
"New York. Pardee texted me a few minutes ago. O'Neill and his partner haven't reported in. Chastain must have got the best of them, somehow, so she's our problem now."
Winter snorted. "Should have sent us in the first place. O'Neill's a pussy."
"Well, he's probably a dead one. Or, if not, he will be, once Pardee gets hold of him. Come on, let's go."
As it happened, they were closing the kitchen door behind them precisely at the moment that Andrea McKinnon's heart stopped beating.
Chapter 4
Morris looked at Fenton and said, "I think you've got me confused with somebody else. Batman, maybe. Or James Bond. Somebody like that."
Fenton shook his head, just once. "No, I'm not confused about anything, Morris. I know who you are, and I know what you do. I just want you to do it on the Bureau's behalf. We'll pay your standard rate, which is pretty damn high for a ghostbuster, if you ask me."
"I don't believe I did. Ask, that is. But I am curious how you'd explain to the accountants back in the Hoover Building why you've got a 'ghostbuster' on the payroll."
"There's a budget for hiring consultants. As long as my boss is cool with it, I don't have to be real specific when I file the paperwork."
"And is she cool with it, your boss?"
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, she is. Sue's pretty open-minded for somebody with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago."
"Maybe that means she's also good at handling disappointment. I hope so, because I'm about to hand her some."
"You don't want the
Although she could not harm people with it, magic did allow her to protect herself, and a variety of non-lethal responses were possible. She could, for instance, freeze the intruder in place for the time it would take the police to arrive. But before calling 911, better be sure that this wasn't another squirrel that had gotten in to wreak havoc.
Andrea McKinnon walked softly to the doorway that led to her living room. The sounds were coming from her right, so she turned that way immediately on entering.
A man was going through her desk, presumably looking for money or valuables. He was tall and heavyset, and wore glasses.
"Hold it right there!" She was uttering the first words that would allow her to launch the freezing-in-place spell when the other man stepped up behind her and looped the wire garrote around her neck.
There was no prolonged struggle, like something out of one of the Godfather movies. Unlike the cord garrotes employed by fictional Mafia assassins, piano wire is quick, if messy, and the killer had chosen it precisely for that reason. He wanted the witch to have no chance to work some hocus-pocus on him, or his partner. Wire doesn't just constrict the victim's flesh —it cuts.
The killer was strong and skillful. Within four seconds, the piano wire had sliced through Andrea's throat to sever her windpipe, as well as both her carotid artery and jugular vein.
As soon as the blood began to spurt, the killer, whose name was Kittridge, released his grip on the garrote's handles and let the woman, already unconscious, fall forward to the floor. Within a couple of minutes she would die —either from choking or bleeding out, and Kittridge didn't care which.
The other man, who had a youngish face and prematurely white hair, stepped out from behind the desk and approached the still form, careful to avoid the spreading pool of blood. His name was Winter.
"Nice work," he said to Kittridge. "She didn't call the cops, did she?"
"Nope, didn't use the phone at all. Guess she thought her little stick, here" —he nudged the fallen wand with the tip of one expensive shoe—"was all the help she needed."
"Well, the bitch guessed wrong, didn't she? But we better clear out of here, anyway. Where's the next one?"
"New York. Pardee texted me a few minutes ago. O'Neill and his partner haven't reported in. Chastain must have got the best of them, somehow, so she's our problem now."
Winter snorted. "Should have sent us in the first place. O'Neill's a pussy."
"Well, he's probably a dead one. Or, if not, he will be, once Pardee gets hold of him. Come on, let's go."
As it happened, they were closing the kitchen door behind them precisely at the moment that Andrea McKinnon's heart stopped beating.
Chapter 4
Morris looked at Fenton and said, "I think you've got me confused with somebody else. Batman, maybe. Or James Bond. Somebody like that."
Fenton shook his head, just once. "No, I'm not confused about anything, Morris. I know who you are, and I know what you do. I just want you to do it on the Bureau's behalf. We'll pay your standard rate, which is pretty damn high for a ghostbuster, if you ask me."
"I don't believe I did. Ask, that is. But I am curious how you'd explain to the accountants back in the Hoover Building why you've got a 'ghostbuster' on the payroll."
"There's a budget for hiring consultants. As long as my boss is cool with it, I don't have to be real specific when I file the paperwork."
"And is she cool with it, your boss?"
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, she is. Sue's pretty open-minded for somebody with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago."
"Maybe that means she's also good at handling disappointment. I hope so, because I'm about to hand her some."
"You don't want the
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