Chicagoland by Gail Z. Martin & Larry N. Martin

Author:Gail Z. Martin & Larry N. Martin [Martin, Gail Z.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Falstaff Books
Published: 2021-03-21T22:00:00+00:00

Neither West nor Sarah had returned to the suite yet when I arrived, so I took off my jacket and my shoes, helped myself to hot coffee and some cookies from the freshly stocked goodies in the parlor, and thought about what I’d seen at the murder house. It didn’t surprise me that some kind of infernal taint afflicted Eddie. It probably sank its claws even deeper into Pat Quinlan, and no doubt the imp played a role in keeping Holmes’s victims from escaping. I wondered what effect it had on the storekeepers and their staff in the first-floor rental and how much that kind of evil might have polluted the entire block and the land beneath it.

I didn’t have that kind of expertise, but I had a contact in Charleston who was an even older immortal than myself, and he had knowledge of such things. I glanced at the time and knew he was still asleep in his safe place until sundown, so I promised myself I would give him a call once night fell.

Sarah arrived next, cheeks flushed from a brisk walk in the cold autumn air. Room service followed on her heels with a tray of sandwiches, crudités, assorted nibbles, and mini cheesecakes. Another server made a new batch of coffee and refreshed the creamer, sugar, and cups. Life with Sarah meant never going hungry.

“Oh, you’re here. Good,” Sarah said as she swept into the room, tossed her coat over a chair, and stepped out of her shoes. She washed up, then came back, made herself a plate, and plopped onto the couch to eat with such unapologetic glee I couldn’t help smiling.

“I’m famished,” she announced, and took a bite of a ham and Swiss sandwich, then crunched through a couple of carrots. “Go ahead—fix yourself a plate. I hope West gets here soon—I had a good morning, and I want to tell both of you all about it.”

I fixed lunch for myself and sat across from Sarah in the wing chair. Fancy furniture made me nervous since it rarely looked sturdy enough for my bulk. I’d already tested this chair, but even so, it took me a moment to let it take my whole weight.

“This hotel has good food,” Sarah enthused, jumping up to get a fresh cup of coffee and then curling back onto the couch, this time with a plate of cheesecake bites as well.

“Excellent food,” I agreed. I’d been hungry at times in my life and made do with much less fancy fare. That just made me all the more grateful when a good meal came my way, especially when it was shared with allies and close friends.

“You’re not going to believe what I found out,” West announced as he strode through the door. He stripped off his coat and hat, carried them to the bedroom, and tossed them on a bed—hopefully his and not mine—and then came back to retrieve a sandwich in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, foregoing the plate.

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