Read Haunted Shadows 1: Sickness Behind Young Eyes for Free Online

in. There was no wonder Murray
didn’t spend much time in here.
     
    “Should we ask Murray?” I said.
     
    Jeremiah shook his head. “Wouldn’t
surprise me if it was him.”
     
    “What do you mean?”
     
    “This was torn out on purpose, Ella.”
     
    The door opened. Murray walked in,
red-faced as though he’d been on a run. His shirt sleeves were folded even
further up his arm so that his little muscles peeked out. He glanced over at
the deaths register, and a flicker of disgust registered on his face. In less
than a second it was gone.
     
    “Find what you were looking for?” he
said.
     
    “Do you ever let people take pages of
the book home with them?” said Jeremiah.
     
    Murray looked incredulous. “Why would
I ever do that?”
     
    Jeremiah turned to the table. He
picked up the book and shoved it toward Murray. “Either the 19 th of
February didn’t happen, or someone’s been taking cuttings from your register.”
     
    Murray flicked back and forward
through the book, his eyebrows screwed up in a way that had to be exaggerated.
Murray was a bad actor. If there was a local drama society and he was a member,
there was not a chance in hell I’d go and see their plays.
     
    “What are you hiding?” I said.
     
    Murray glanced at me without turning
his head, making it look like he sneered at me.
     
    “It’s a simple mistake, nothing
more.”
     
    “This was torn out, Murray,” Said
Jeremiah.
     
    “Accidents happen.”
     
    “What are you hiding?” I said again.
     
    “Probably a relative who wanted the
record for their family.” The words strained out of his mouth, as though he’d
just thought of them and didn’t believe in them.
     
    “Cut the shit,” said Jeremiah. “This
was torn out on purpose for a good reason. I think you know who did it and why.
How about you tell me before I report you? This is a public record and I’m sure
your bosses would like to know that you let it be used as a scrap book.”
     
    He looked up. The colour drained from
his cheeks like oil leaking out of a barrel. The whites of his eyes seemed to
spread out and threaten to wash over his pupils. His fingers curled tight
around the edge of the book.
     
    “You don’t know what you’re doing,”
he said.
     
    “Then tell us,” I said.
     
    He stared at me. There was something
behind his eyes that made them wide and hollow. Something that sucked the blood
out of his cheeks and left  them white as chalk. Seeing him look like this sent
icy fingertips tapping down my spine. Suddenly I didn’t want to know what had
happened with the book. I felt like it was information I shouldn’t listen to,
like I should put my fingers in my ears and run.
     
    Murray slammed the book shut and
dropped it to the floor. The thud echoed across the room and drifted out into
the hall. A spray of dust kicked up from the carpet and then drifted back down
to the ground.  Murray put his hands on his hips. His cheeks started to flood
red again.
     
    “Thank you for bringing the problem
to my attention,” he said.
     
    Jeremiah breathed in and straightened
his back. Standing with good posture he was six foot four inches tall and
towered over most men. His large frame seemed to fill half of the room. If this
intimidated Murray, he didn’t show it.
     
    “As a matter of public record,” said
Jeremiah, “I’ve got a right to know what happened to that page.”
     
    The blood pumped back into Murray’s
face at a rate that made him look like a swelling balloon. His shoulders shook,
and it was only through great effort he kept his arms at his sides.
     
    “As a matter of public record,” he
said,” I suggest you get the fuck out of my office. Our doors are shut to
strangers who go where they’re not wanted.”

 
    8
     
    The  hearth of the pub hissed like a
snake and spat fiery venom across the room. Usually a roaring fire would be
pleasant, but this one looked angry. The flames burned with an intensity I had
never seen before,