Brother Blood Sister Death by Bill Ransom

Author:Bill Ransom [Ransom, Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: WordFire Press

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jean drove Alice and James out to Bluff Road just before sunset so they could meet Diana and talk business. Jean wanted the excuse to visit with Daniel in his home, but she was curious about his sister, as well.

How a man treats his sister says a lot about his relationship with women, she thought. She’d met too many bastards who’d revealed clues too late—kicked their dogs, swerved to the shoulder just to hit a raccoon, cursed their mothers, bullied sisters. Without her own kids, she was “Auntie” to James and Lucy. She liked James for being protective of his sister without being bossy. He’ll be a good one!

James rode in the back, daydreaming out the window and bobbing to whatever streamed through his earbuds.

Alice made notes in her iPad as they approached the property and got out immediately when they parked. She shot a 360-degree series of the property in front of the house while Jean rang the doorbell and James kicked gravel into a pothole. The door opened just enough to squeeze through, but nobody was visible.

“Please, come in,” Daniel said, too far back for them to see. “Excuse my appearance. I’ve been in the workshop.”

Jean led the way as the three of them rushed through the doorway that slammed shut behind them. Daniel was just a dark figure in a dark room, only slightly lit by a red LED nightlight in the far hallway. One large picture window nearly filled the back wall, covered with a double layer of black fabric. Not one glimmer of the last of the sunset bled through.

Daniel flipped on a light and began stripping off his hat, ski mask, scarf, gloves. James took a step backwards, to the door.

“I hope I didn’t scare you,” Daniel said. He hugged Jean and shook hands with Alice and James. He told James, “You looked pretty pale, there. This is just my daylight getup.”

James managed a nervous laugh and said, “I couldn’t be as pale as you. Are you, like, albino?”

Daniel smiled. He’d heard that before. “Not quite albino,” he said, and indicated his light brown hair. “Just pale. My sister, Diana, even more so.”

As if on cue, Diana’s bedroom door opened upstairs and she stood silhouetted in the backlight from her room, her body visible through her floor-length silk dress, the same green as her eyes. She appeared to glide down the stairs, those green eyes watching James’s gaze watching her move. She also wore a white silk scarf at her neck and white gloves. She made quite a contrast when she stood next to Alice’s baggy overalls and sweatshirt. Alice was more circumspect than James in her appraisal of Diana’s body.

“Diana,” Daniel said, “this is my friend, Jean. And her friends, Alice and …?”

“James,” Jean filled in. “Son of Marie, who owns the hair studio that Daniel visited.”

Diana didn’t extend a hand. She offered Jean a curt nod with no eye contact, then smiled and offered a more gracious nod to Alice and James.

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