Beneath the Tombstone (The Tombstone Series) by Martin Cogburn Read Free Book Online

opposite sidewalk, he
raced along it, charging past several gift shops and startled tourist. After
chasing his accomplice for several blocks, Jason saw him pause for a moment and
look back before disappearing into a dark alley. Jogging over to the entrance
of the back street, Jason came to an abrupt halt. Waltzing into a dark alley at
night was not on his list of heroic things he planned to do. What he’d asked
the doctor for was some good, clean, safe danger… This wasn’t it.
    “Yep,”
Jason heard a voice beside him state. “I’d say you’re right. That’s an alley.”
Jason turned and saw a man standing by his side, staring down into the dark
side-street. There was a witty grin on his lips and a gleam in his eye. “ Y’all got alley’s back where you come from?” he asked,
looking over at Jason.
    “Uh,
yeah, yeah,” Jason stammered. “I was just meeting someone here.” He looked
around. “I guess he’s not coming. Better go find him.” With that he marched off
into the alley.
    The man
behind him gave a laugh before disappearing on down the sidewalk. Once the
antagonist was gone, Jason slowed down and began creeping his way along. Broken
glass lay scattered on the gravel, and dark, empty window frames stared blankly
at him. What a spooky place. There was an old blue dumpster sitting on one side
of the alley, at the far end of it. When Jason reached it, he noticed a pile of
old blankets, trash, and empty bottles all heaped up against its side. Turning,
he observed his surroundings. A chill ran up his spine. He had an eerie feeling
he was being watched.
    Spooked,
Jason moved forward with a brisker pace, walking towards a backstreet that the
alley intersected into. As he rounded a building on the corner, he spotted his
accomplice. The man was standing faintly illuminated by a street lamp. Upon
seeing Jason, he gave a little nod, set the purse down then turned and walked
away, soon to be consumed by the darkness.
    After
retrieving the purse, Jason walked back over towards the dumpster and stood for
a few moments at the mouth of the alley to plan his dramatic return. That’s
when it dawned on him – The thing about heroes is they rarely do a heroic act
without getting their clothes torn and dirty.
    Now
directly in front of the dumpster, Jason lay down and began rolling around in
the grimy alley. The small amount of sweat he had managed to work up during his
run came in handy for creating a convincing costume. “A little dirt here and a
little dirt there,” he quietly mumbled to himself as he rubbed his shirt
against the oily, greasy surface of the asphalt.
    After
taking care of the messy part, Jason remembered that no self-respecting hero
dared go home without at least a hole or two in his clothes, so he grabbed a piece
of glass off the ground and ripped a few holes in his pants and shirt. He
dropped the piece of glass and as he walked past the dumpster, headed back to
what he was sure would be the gracious arms of his wife, he stuck fingers from
both hands into the hole in his shirt. If he could widen it slightly, his
costume would be complete.
    “Why!”
a drawn-out, disoriented voice behind Jason squalled.
    Jason
whipped his right arm around to fend off the attack he thought was coming, and
in the process ripped the small hole in his shirt open from his chest all the
way down to his bellybutton. He tried to yell, but the only sound that came
from his mouth was just frightened gibberish. But he saw no attacker. The alley
seemed as desolate as before.
    “Why’d
you torin ’ your clothes up?” the voice asked, and
movement drew Jason’s attention to a whiskered, grungy man wrapped up in the
pile of trash beside the dumpster. He held a bottle in one hand and a rose in
the other.
    “If yooou di'nt like ‘ em you coa ‘ ave put ‘ em in the ‘ oor ‘ox. I
mean tha poor box,” the drunk said, laughing at his
own drunkenness.
    Jason
just stared, unsure of what exactly to do. For a second or two, he