Still Not Dead Enough , Book 2 of The Dead Among Us by J. L. Doty Read Free Book Online Page A

someone might take notice, if they could resist the pull of the spell.
    He killed the engine, rolled down a window, opened a newspaper and pretended to read, as if waiting for someone. He’d carefully chosen the position of the car so he could look past the edge of the paper at the bus stop.
    It was late afternoon and the little Mexican girl’s bus should be along shortly. He actually read a bit of the newspaper while he waited. But when the school bus appeared up the street it had his full attention.
    The bus stopped at the corner, flared out a stop sign on its side and traffic going both ways came to a halt. A half-dozen kids scampered off the bus, some met by their parents, some not. No one met the little Mexican girl, but as she walked up the sidewalk the little Mexican boy accompanied her, the same boy she’d spoken with the other day. Today she wore a colorful dress that flared out at the waist and ended at knee height, and her hair was in ponytails. Lovely!
    She looked at the boy coyly and giggled. It was too far to be certain, but he probably blushed a little as he smiled at her. As they walked she swung a knapsack back and forth carelessly, and danced around him a bit while he marched slowly forward. She never took her eyes off him, clearly wanted his approval, wanted his attention.
    She’s paying too much attention to this boy, the voice said. Way too much attention.
    “Yes, she is. He can’t have her. She’s ours.”
    We may have to do something about him.
    “Yes, we may have to.”

    Chapter 3: An Old Story
    Paul had never been inside Katherine’s practice. He’d briefly stalked her outside her offices, trying to make contact after his first misadventures with the Russians and the big hoodoo demon in the Netherworld.
    Katherine had furnished her reception area with comfortable chairs and a couch, side tables with stacks of magazines neatly arranged, like almost any doctor’s office anywhere. Behind a large desk sat a middle-aged woman, attractive, well dressed, light brown hair cut just above her shoulders.
    Paul said, “I’m Paul Conklin.”
    She smiled. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Conklin. Dr. McGowan’s expecting you, so go on in.”
    Old man McGowan had arranged for Katherine to give Paul his first lesson in protective circles, said she was quite good at it. Paul opened the door to Katherine’s office and stepped in. Seated behind her desk she looked up at him and frowned slightly, not a terribly welcome expression. “Give me a moment, Conklin.”
    She scribbled a signature on something, flipped the page aside, scribbled something on another page, put down her pen and looked at him. “Thanks for being patient, the rest can wait. I’m to teach you about circles, huh?”
    Paul shrugged. “Teach away. I’m a willing pupil.”
    Today she wore a gray business suit, coat and slacks, with a pale blue blouse, one of those blouses ever so slightly translucent so that one could just barely make out the silhouette of the black bra and something else lacy beneath it. She did an awfully good job of making something sexy out of the most conservative business attire.
    She stood, came around from behind the desk, headed for a door in the side of her office. “Let’s go to my workshop.”
    He followed her, tried not to admire the way the slacks gave a nice view of her shape. She led him into a room with a hardwood floor, a small, wooden workbench against one wall with a couple of stools, and next to it a locked storage cabinet. Against another wall were a comfortable couch and a couple of chairs, with the center of the room clear and open. Katherine approached the storage cabinet, pulled some keys out of her pocket, fumbled at the lock for a moment, then opened the doors wide. In it, Paul saw shelves filled with bottles, jars, packages, all sorts of things that meant nothing to him. She pulled out a blue, cylindrical canister.
    “Salt?” Paul asked.
    “Yes,” she said, kicking off her high-heels. She