She straightened a moment, searching for another tact. “Theodore, I’d—we’d—like to ask you a few questions, would you mind? Just quick ones, only take a second!”
She unslung her shoulder bag, pulled out a yellowed clipping, held it before the sightless eyes: a snapshot from one of the society columns in Adam’s newspapers—a tintype really—in a formal setting. A young man and woman in stiff turn-of-the-century Sunday best, forgetting to smile for the camera, their tow-head three-year-old nestled starry-eyed between them.
Katie pointed at the child. “That’s you, Theodore! As a little boy! Do you remember this--sitting for this picture?”
The pale blue orbs gazed into space.
“I don’t think he remembers last week,” I offered gently.
The turkey neck turned slowly in my direction, milky eyes almost struggling for focus.
Katie handed me the clipping quickly, nodding encouragement.
I took it from her, held it again before the old man. “Theodore? Do you know who these people are? Take your time. Try to remember…take all the time you need.”
Nothing.
Then, like a slow-poured glass of gin, the lidded eyes began to fill.
The thin white lips parted in a pink maw.
Katie and I bent closer in tandem. “Who is it, Theodore?” Katie insisted softly.
For just an instant the sunken features seemed to fill-up along with the eyes—along the cheeks, the jawline—fill and shift a pink fraction…revealing a smoother, younger face beneath.
The old man mumbled something.
We bent closer still. “What--?”
The sharp, shovel jaw trembled till I thought it would come free.
“An…An…Animal…People…”
Gooseflesh swept my forearms.
The clipping twitched in my fingers as a blue-veined, palsied hand rose by increments, a cracked, yellowed nail depressing the newsprint face of the man in the portrait.
“Peh”–something, the old man muttered.
I shook my head, looked up to Katie for help. “What did he say?”
My partner’s face was whiter than the tightly made sheets behind her.
She had to swallow once to get it out.
“It was Papa…” she whispered.
THE END
PUBLISHED BY ROVER PRESS
Copyright Bruce Elliot Jones and April Campbell Jones 2012
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the writer’s imagination or are fused fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Art Copyright April Campbell Jones
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
CAMPBELL JONES is the pen name for writers April Campbell Jones and Bruce Elliot Jones. Together they have written twelve novels in four different series over the last two years exclusively for Kindle.
Previously, April Campbell Jones was a screenwriter in Hollywood for many years and husband Bruce published several hardcover and paperback books as both Bruce Jones and Bruce Elliot. Together they created several graphic novels and worked as staff on television shows. They are both accomplished artists as well, and spent time in front of the camera in their younger days, April as an actress/model, sometimes posing for Bruce’s artwork.
They have also somehow managed to produce three talented and brilliant children in their spare time, and currently reside happily in the ethers between Los Angeles and the Midwest…
OTHER NOVELS BY CAMPBELL JONES:
THE VAMPIRE POODLE MYSTERIES
MITZI MAGEE: VAMPIRE POODLE
MITZI MAGEE: BLOOD SCENT
MITZI MAGEE: A NIP IN TIME
THE BRACKEN AND BLEDSOE PARANORMAL MYSTERIES
FEVER DREAMS
NIGHT CHILLS
DARK VISIONS
THE BREE AND RICHARD MATTHEWS MYSTERIES
LIE LIKE A WOMAN
DIE LIKE A MAN–coming soon!
THE TARN CREATURES TRILOGY
THE TARN
BOOKS OF TERROR BY BRUCE JONES!
THE DEADENDERS
SHIMMER
SOMETHING WAITS (TWISTED TALES): Horror Short Stories
DIRE HOUSE
ONE LAST THING:
When you turn the page, Kindle will give you the opportunity to rate the book and share your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter. If you believe the book is worth sharing, would you take a few seconds to let your friends know about it? If it turns out to make a difference in their lives, they’ll be forever grateful to you. We know we will.
All the best,
Bruce Elliot Jones
April Campbell Jones
NIGHT CHILLS: A Bracken and Bledsoe Paranormal Mystery Page 28
