Read Online Second Nature by Elizabeth Sharp - Free Book Online Page B

about
to breathe a sigh of relief, she corrected herself. “No, that’s not
right. It was Memphis. How could I forget! Elvis… Now there was a
man I wouldn’t have minded tripping into bed.”
    Gladys’ eyes glazed over, her mind went to a
faraway place as I tried to swallow around the lump in my throat.
It couldn’t be, could it? Is it possible someone had followed our
trail? I wondered if it was related to the rogue Librarian, but
could she have been following us that long? I chewed my lip, my
mind drifted away as well.
    “Ah,” Gladys sighed, calling my attention
back to the garden shop. “That brother of yours. One of these days
I’m going to tear his clothes off with my teeth!”
    My eyes got wide, and I stared at her in a
bizarre blend of amusement and bewilderment. Imagining my brother
having sex was gross enough, but with an old lady to boot? Thanks,
I’ll pass. Instead, I gathered my things from the office and waved
at Mr. Peterson hunched over on the phone.
    “I don’t care what your paperwork says,
ma’am, the invoice here was for pink gladiolas!” I shook my
head, leaving him to deal with the picky gardener. I waved at
Gladys who was still eyeing my brother in a creepy cougar way and
headed out the door.
    I climbed into the Mustang without opening
the door and buckled my seat belt. “Did you know the killings have
started again?”
    “Monica is toast, Lia. No one could put that
bad egg back together again.”
    “I didn’t say it was Monica, but someone
killed a girl in Memphis. And I can’t help but wonder if it had
anything to do with the six weeks we spent there. I think we should
go to the library and look up back issues of newspapers.”
    Xander nodded, but he didn’t take me to the
library. I was furious enough that the wind picked up a little. I
reined myself in—weather working wore me out worse than a
marathon—and tried not to wish ill on my brother. But by the time
we pulled into our driveway, I was livid. I got out, slamming the
door as hard as I could, and stomped my way to the front door. I
slammed it behind me too, nearly taking off his nose, and stalked
to the kitchen to put my lunch dishes in the dishwasher. Once I
took a quick shower and changed, I would drive myself to the
library. I wasn’t a little girl anymore, I had my own damn driver’s
license.
    I was so lost in anger it took me a while to
pick up on Xander and Sariah’s urgent whispers.
    “I don’t think she needs to know. I hate to
add more to her plate when she has enough to deal with.”
    “We promised no more secrets, Sariah. It was
one thing when it was just a suspicion, but now it’s a definite
pattern. It’s time for us all to put the pieces together.”
    “Seriously?” My voice was much more shrill
than I had intended in my anger. “More secrets? I thought we were
past all this.”
    Sariah grimaced and looked appropriately
chastised. “I’m sorry, Lia, but I didn’t want to say anything until
I knew for certain. At first, the news of the killings was
isolated. It wasn’t until today I found out the police have linked
over a dozen deaths together, and all of them trail us across the
country.
    “The first one I discovered a while ago, but
it was isolated, so I hoped it might be someone copycatting
Monica.” The image of Xander reducing Monica into a pile of ash
popped into my head; I didn’t want to go through that again. “It
was in Lincoln, a young candy striper who liked to read to coma
patients. Then a girl in Montgomery was killed the same way. I
looked into it, and there were many differences in the killings, so
I wasn’t sure. Today, I found out there have actually been twelve
young girls, all shot between the eyes. I guess the witchcraft
stuff is what made them connect everything. If someone is on our
trail, I’m afraid it’s Peter Matthews.”
    I forgot how to breathe as fear turned my
stomach to lead. My eyes closed, and I shook my head as if I could
deny the truth, but my sister