Read Online Smoke and Shadows by Tanya Huff - Free Book Online

phone.
    â€œSomeone died at work today.”
    Henry paused at the end of the hall, turning to look at him. “The stuntman?”
    What stuntman? It took Tony a moment to remember that Henry had been at the second unit shoot. “Daniel? No, those guys are hard to kill; knock them down and they just bounce back. Daniel’s fine. It was the victim of the week. On the show,” he added hurriedly as Henry’s eyes widened. “There’s always a body; I mean there has to be, right? The show’s about a vampire detective. But this was a real body.” He swallowed although his mouth had gone so dry it didn’t help. “I sort of found it.”
    â€œSort of?”
    â€œMason Reed was with me. He yanked open her dressing room door and she fell out.” One hand dragged back through his hair. “Dead.”
    Cool fingers on his elbow, Henry steered him over to the green leather sofa and gently pushed him into a sitting position before dropping down next to him. “You okay?”
    â€œYeah . . .”
    â€œBut you don’t think you should be.”
    â€œIt’s not that she’s dead. That’s bad, but it’s not what’s got me so . . . I don’t know, freaked, I guess.” Resting his forearms on his thighs, hands dangling, Tony laced and unlaced his fingers, not really seeing the patterns they made. Trying not to see Nikki’s face. “Just for a moment, before her head hit the floor, she looked terrified. You’ve seen a lot of bodies, Henry. Why would she look terrified? Never mind, don’t answer that. Obviously something frightened her. But she was alone in the dressing room. I mean, of course she was alone; those things are so small most actors can barely fit their egos in with them, but she was alone . . .”
    â€œI’ve left a lot of people alone in locked rooms.”
    â€œWell, it wasn’t you, so you’re saying . . .” Twisting around, he raised a hand as Henry opened his mouth to reply. “Oh, don’t give me that fucking ‘more things in heaven and Earth’ quote. You’re saying it was something like you. Something not of this world . . .” Not of this world. Not this world. Fuck! He almost had it.
    â€œTony?”
    â€œI feel like I’ve put down the last bit of toast and now I can’t find it. I know I haven’t eaten it, but it’s gone and that unfinished feeling is driving me bugfuck!” Unable to remain still, he leaped to his feet and walked over to the window. He laid one hand against the glass and stared out at the lights of Vancouver. “She shouldn’t be dead.”
    â€œPeople die, Tony. They die for a lot of reasons. Sometimes, it seems like they die for no reason at all.”
    The glass began to warm under his palm. “And I should just accept that?”
    â€œJust accept death? I think you’re asking the wrong person.”
    â€œI think I’m asking the only person I have a hope in hell of getting an actual answer from.” When he turned, Henry was less than an arm’s length away. He hadn’t heard him move. “I don’t need more platitudes, Henry.”
    â€œAll right. What do you need?”
    â€œI need . . . I need . . . Damnit!” He tried to turn again, but an unbreakable grip on his shoulder held him in place.
    â€œWhat do you need, Tony?”
    He fought for a moment against relinquishing control then surrendered and sank into the dark, familiar gaze. “I need to remember.”
    â€œRemember what?”
    Impossible not to answer. His mouth moved. He wondered what he was going to say. “Remember what I’ve forgotten.”
    The dark eyes crinkled at the corners as Henry smiled. “Well, that’s a place to start.”

    In a business where twelve-hour days were the norm and seventeen not unheard of, Chester Bane often stayed late at the office. His third wife had divorced him because