Night of the Living Deed by E.J. Copperman Read Free Book Online

his spine. He shivered, turned to look, then turned back to me. “Chills,” he said. “Maybe you need to fix the furnace first.”
    “I was thinking that, too, but I can look at it myself,” I told him. Paul was right—I had to get Tony out of here before Maxie did . . . something. Oh, damn: I was thinking of my two apparitions as real.
    Maxie licked her lips in a way that suggested something other than hunger. For food.
    “You’d better go,” I told Tony.
    “What? Don’t you want me to look at that wall for you?”
    “No! I mean, yes, I want you to look, but not now. I . . . have to go pick up Melissa at Wendy’s.” Yeah. That was it.
    Tony chuckled. “So go. I can’t look at a wall by myself?” He started toward the living room. Maxie was following him. Closely.
    “No,” I told him. “I don’t ever want you left in this house by yourself.”
    Tony turned and considered me. “You’re serious.”
    “You bet. Insurance. Anything happens and I’m liable. So come back later. I’ll call you.”
    “If you hadn’t stopped me to tell me to go away, I’d be gone already.” Tony turned and, not waiting for a response, walked into the living room despite my protests.
    Maxie tried to follow, but I held my ground in the doorway and hissed at her. “Step back.”
    Surprisingly, she did.
    “Wow.” I could hear Tony from the next room. “You weren’t kidding about this wall. The plaster just fell down by itself?”
    Maxie picked up a small rubber mallet from my toolbox and stroked it. She grinned at me nastily.
    “Yeah,” I said. “Spooky, huh?” I snarled, and Maxie put the mallet down.
    “Could be trouble,” Tony said, walking back into the kitchen. “All the best plasterers are dead.”
    “Who isn’t?” Maxie said.
    “What do you think I should do?” I asked Tony.
    “I don’t see how there’s a choice,” he answered. “You’ve got to take the whole wall down and put up drywall. Maybe in the whole hallway, and possibly into the living room, depending on how it goes.”
    For a second, I forgot about the deceased people in the room, and thought only about my house. “Oh, Tony,” I moaned. “I love the plaster walls. They give the place character. I can’t make that room look like every other one built in the last fifty years.”
    Tony shook his head. “I don’t see an alternative. But let me ask around. Maybe someone knows someone.”
    Maxie licked her lips and moved closer to Tony. She reached a hand in his direction again.
    “Tony.” My mind cleared—I had to get him out of here. “I’m not so sure I should be driving yet. Can you pick Melissa up and bring her home?”
    “You drove over here this morning.” Now Tony was going to argue with me.
    “And I probably shouldn’t have. I’m just a little tired now. Please?”
    Paul nodded silently, as if Tony would have heard him even if he’d screamed at the top of his lungs.
    “Sure,” Tony said. “But I’m calling Jeannie and telling her to check up on you, too.”
    “Yes,” I said, staring in Maxie’s direction. “That’d be nice. Tell your wife to call me.”
    Maxie yawned.
    “ I will ,” Tony answered, matching my tone. Then he left, shaking his head, probably wondering if it was safe to go off and abandon someone as crazy as me in an empty room.
    Empty.
    As soon as I heard his truck pull out of the driveway, I turned to Paul. “Okay,” I said. “Explain yourself. Why did I just hustle my friend out of here so we could talk? What do we have to talk about?”
    “We need you to help us,” Paul said, much in the same tone he’d said it before. Like it was a foregone conclusion, and anyone who questioned his word must be demented.
    “What do you mean?” I asked. I should have known better than to ask, but my head was still a little fuzzy.
    “We need you to find out who killed us,” Paul answered.

Seven

    “Let me get this straight,” I said. I sat back down in the lawn chair, having cleaned off the