15 Amityville Horrible by Kelley Armstrong Read Free Book Online Page B

Alvarez had disappeared while walking home from her job as a chambermaid.
    And what had I seen in that basement room? A young woman from the Twenties in a formal dress, a girl from the Fifties in a party outfit and one from the Eighties in a maid’s uniform.
    I glanced back at Jeremy again. He stood poised, watching me. I waved for him to stay put. I didn’t need to—he knew not to rush to my side on camera unless I was convulsing on the ground. He nodded and texted me with, “I’ll have Elena look into it.”
    Gregor continued, “These three young women all disappeared, never to be seen again. It would appear they are unconnected cases. How could they not be, spanning nearly seventy years? Yet it would seem there is indeed a connection, for after each, the local newspaper received a letter from a man claiming responsibility. Claiming to have killed these pretty girls. Claiming to have stabbed each one to death.”
    I swallowed and struggled not to look at Jeremy again.
    “Three murders. Decades apart. It could not possibly be the same killer. Yet all signs pointed exactly to this conclusion. Each letter provided details only the killer could know. How is this possible?” 
    Gregor paused and glanced surreptitiously to the side, where his script was displayed on a hidden screen. “That is what we hope to discover tomorrow. When we enter this house—the home of Polly Watson—the second young woman to vanish. We will enter this house, haunted by the spirits of these girls. We will speak to them. We will help them find peace. We will help them find their killer..

Eight
     
    When the cameras turned off, I tracked down Mike. He saw me coming and tried to evade, but I cornered him outside the makeup trailer. Well, actually, Jeremy cornered him, coming out the other side.
    “I need to talk to you,” I said.
    Mike lifted his hands. “I know, I know. You’re not happy with our cast of regular folks.”
    “It’s a reality show that doesn’t even have a prize attached. You risk public humiliation for sub-SAG rates. Of course they’re stupid and self-centered. Who else would apply?”
    “Well, actually, we did have some—”
    “Strike that. Others may apply, but you’re sure as hell not going to cast them. For a haunted house show, you don’t want anyone who’ll stop worrying about their close-up long enough to notice the effects are all faked.”
    “We are not going to fake…” He shook his head and waved us into the trailer.
    “Can’t even finish that sentence, can you?”
    He muttered under his breath. When we were inside, he shooed the one remaining makeup artist out, then collapsed on a chair and motioned for us to do the same. I took the one beside him; Jeremy opted for the one nearest the door.
    “All right, so what do you want to talk about?” Mike asked.
    “The girls we’re supposed to summon—”
    He cringed. “Of course. Yes, murdered young women is a blatant ratings grab and feeds a disturbing cultural psycho-sexual interest. The beautiful victims, brutally murdered and violated. The stabbing only makes it worse, with the obvious sexual overtones. I knew you wouldn’t be happy. I remember the lecture I got after Death .”
    It wasn’t a lecture. Just a forcefully stated opinion, when we’d met to celebrate the success of Death of Innocence . He’d lamented the fact that the victims were children. It helped the pity factor, but also hurt sales, turning off those who found children’s deaths too disturbing. If only they’d been young women…That would have sold much better. Particularly if they were young and attractive. That’s when he got the “forcefully stated opinion.”
    A few years ago, I’d have kept my mouth shut. Hell, I’ve made a career out of using my femininity—and, yes, sexuality—to my advantage. But that doesn’t mean I’m not bothered by movie and television cameras lingering lovingly on half-naked, blood-spattered beautiful dead girls. There’s no law that