The Adventures of Gravedigger by Barry Reese Read Free Book Online Page B

bodies dripping with gore. A man dressed all in black was
standing nearby, his face hidden beneath a placid ivory mask. Another figure
was there, as well, a shadowy male presence that seemed vaguely familiar to
Max.
    Hovering over all was a vague foreboding, a sense of
imminent danger, as if all of Sovereign – if not the world – might be at risk.
     
    ***
     
    Charity was wearing a turtleneck sweater and beige
skirt, accompanied by calf-high brown leather boots. She looked beautiful and
young, though Max saw in her eyes that she had what his mother would have
called ‘an old soul’. She was standing in the same study where Josef Goldstein
had been murdered, her hands clasped behind her back.
    As Max stepped into the room, followed by
Mitchell, she moved forward and extended a hand. “Mr. Davies. It’s an honor.”
    Max smiled, accepting the handshake. “Perhaps I
can be of assistance?”
    “I’m sure you can.” Charity offered him a seat and
Max noted that she took the one that Josef had preferred. He’d seen that same
chair in the old man’s German home. “I think that Josef was killed by a man
named Arthur Meeks. My first inclination is to go to his home and question him
– harshly. I know that he’s involved in terrible things. I found… a creature…
in his home.”
    Max leaned forward, amused that Charity had cut
immediately to the chase. She wasn’t exactly being rude but it was obvious that
she wasn’t looking to make friends – she needed Max to make her job easier. “So
why haven’t you?”
    “He’s not at home,” Mitchell said, drawing up a
chair and sitting backwards in it. He rested his arms across the back of the
chair. “I asked a friend of mine who drives a taxi to go by – there’s no sign
that he’s been back there since last night. Given what’s in the papers this
morning, I’m not surprised.”
    Charity reached down into a small magazine holder
beside her chair. She passed a copy of The Sovereign Gazette to Max, who
studied the headline: CURATOR’S DAUGHTER ATTACKED! MUSEUM RANSACKED! Then in
slightly smaller print: LOCAL BUSINESSMAN WANTED FOR QUESTIONING. The article
recounted the stories given by Kelly Emerson and the security guard,
identifying Arthur Meeks as the man who had stolen a priceless Roman urn.
    “I’m sure he didn’t want this to happen,” Max
said. “All this publicity totally ruins his ability to operate in the open.” He
looked up at Charity. “You were in his house last night? Did you find the
book?”
    “I didn’t see it.”
    “Then that makes it very likely that he has it
kept in some secret location – probably the same lair he’s holed up in now,
knowing he can’t return home.”
    “The police have searched his house, too,” Charity
added. “How come there’s no mention of that… thing… that was in his basement?”
    Max gave a shrug of his shoulders. “It may not
have been there by the time they got there. I’ve found that most supernatural
creatures fade away over time – it’s one reason why the whole world doesn’t
believe in them. There’s not enough physical evidence left behind when those
things die.”
    Charity ran a hand through her hair, looking
suddenly tired. “How do I find Meeks?”
    “You used to be a thief?”
    A flush came to Charity’s cheeks. “Josef told you
that?”
    “No. Mitchell did. Is it true?”
    “Yes.”
    “Do you still have any contacts who might be good
for sniffing out a missing person?”
    “I can’t go to them,” she said. “Charity Grace is
dead, remember?”
    “No reason you have to visit them without your new
face on.”
    Charity considered that and nodded. “I know
someone.”
    “Then get started on that.” Max set the paper
aside and stood up. “Tell them to keep their ear to the ground. Nobody can
vanish completely. If Meeks is still in the city, someone knows where.”
    Charity reached out and grabbed his arm. “Wait. I
want you to teach me some things before you leave