Eve of Redemption by Tom Mohan Read Free Book Online Page B

how crazy that story is, or how unbelievable. Just make sure it’s a true story. Got that? Tell me a true story.”
    Burke licked his dry lips and fought to get his mind to put together a coherent sequence of events. He was about to speak, when Martinez’s flashlight went out and a noise from the back of the house caused both men to freeze.
    It sounded very much like the washer door opening.

 

     
    D ave Martinez’s hand automatically reached for the gun beneath his jacket. Was someone else in the house with them? He held his breath, straining his ears for any sound, but he only heard John Burke’s ragged breathing. Sweat trickled down Martinez’s back as he forced himself to remain calm.
    “What?” Burke asked, but Martinez held out a hand, silencing him. For a moment, all was quiet. Then, another muffled sound came from somewhere in the darkness, and this time Martinez felt certain it was a footstep. He glanced at Burke. Muted moonlight illuminated the window behind him, casting him in shadow. Martinez held up his left hand to indicate Burke should remain where he was, while pulling the gun from his shoulder holster with his right. The door leading to the kitchen was little more than a black hole, but he thought he detected movement. He kept the pistol aimed at the doorway as he slipped across the room to get a better angle. Another shuffling step issued from the darkness, accompanied by shadowy movement.
    Martinez took a couple more steps toward the center of the living room, putting Burke behind and to the right of him. The cuffed man could easily get to the front door, maybe even get the door open, but his primary concern at the moment was the figure lurking in the kitchen. The shadowy form moved clumsily, as though struggling to find his way in the dark. Could he be injured? Martinez wondered if Burke brought more than one of the kids to the house.
    “Police! Come on out here where I can see you!” Martinez’s voice was loud in the confines of the quiet house. He was not one to scare easily, but something gave him the creeps. From the moment he arrived at Burke’s, nothing had felt right.
    He tensed as a light appeared across the room. A flashlight lay on the floor, pointing into a corner. The light shone under an end table by the couch, casting an eerie glow over the room. Martinez assumed the light was Burke’s. He pressed the button on his own light a few times, but it was still dead. Keeping the gun and one eye on the kitchen door, Martinez moved across the room and picked up the working light. He cast the beam toward the kitchen door, but from his new vantage point he couldn’t see into the depths of the room.
    “Get out here, and keep your hands where I can see them,” Martinez said. He felt more confident now that he had the light. Moving smoothly, he crossed the room and aimed the beam of light into the darkness enshrouding the next room. He cried out and jumped back as the light revealed a doorway into madness.
    The headless body that had been stuffed in the washer shambled toward him, as though drawn by the light that it should not have been able to see. It held one hand out before it, the fingers opening and closing. Martinez’s stomach turned at the gruesome sight. The body took another uncoordinated step, like a marionette on strings. The corpse’s other hand rose, holding a long serrated carving knife.
    “Stay where you are,” Martinez said, his voice no longer steady. He knew what he was seeing was impossible. It had to be some kind of trick. Maybe someone really was trying to drive John Burke crazy. “Take one more step, and I swear I’ll shoot.” He took another step back, hand shaking as he gripped his weapon more tightly. The corpse matched his step. It was now in the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room. Another step and it would be in the room with him. “Stop right there, you hear?” Martinez almost cracked up at his own statement. Of course it couldn’t hear.