Other People's Bodies

by Amy Cross

  "That's great. You can tell me all about it next week".

  "He was so hot," she continues. "I know it's an awful thing to say, Kate, but I'd do him. I'd totally do him. I swear, I could have climbed up on stage and done him there and then, in front of the whole audience. At one point, Dominic even asked me why I was squirming in my seat. Screw God, Kate; the Devil's the one with the big dick!"

  "That's nice. You should go to sleep".

  "Dominic's gone out again," she says, sounding a little sad. "Probably to one of his whores. What are you doing? You want to come over and help me raid the wine cellar?"

  "Another time," I say, cringing a little at the thought of Bella stumbling drunkenly around her apartment.

  "Come on," she continues, "what the hell else do you have to do with your time?"

  I spend the next twenty minutes trying to end the conversation, although it's never easy to get rid of a drunken Bella. Eventually she starts falling asleep, and I'm able to cut the call. Hopefully she'll sleep the whole night through, dreaming about getting her way with the guy from the play. By the time she wakes up in the morning with a hangover, she probably won't even remember going to see the play.

  Grabbing one of the folders from my desk, I pull out the pile of photos that I've added to my evidence file so far. Every time I go to a church, I end up taking a whole roll of film, and there's almost always one image in which the same man appears. Leafing through the photos now, I find it hard not to shudder a little as I look at him; there's something creepy about the way he stares at the buildings, as if he's desperate to get inside but can't use the door. He almost seems nervous, as if he's scared to get too close to the building itself but also can't bring himself to move away. When I get to the last photo, I feel my chest tighten a little: it's Mark, holding the baby, and I have such a vivid memory of the moment when I took that photo. It was only seconds later that everything changed. Not even seconds; less than a second, perhaps. I run a finger-tip over the image as I remind myself that I need to get some independent verification of all this. I need someone else with me, someone who can tell me that I'm not imagining all of this. Not yet, though. I need more time.

  Checking online, I quickly find a bunch of news reports about the fire at St. Abraham's. It seems to be dying down, but there's no word as to the cause, and most of the reports mention the fact that the flames burned with unusual force. There's a brief reference to the fact that the priest, Father Malcolm O'Dowd, was found dead on the sidewalk outside, although curiously there's no mention of the fact that his body seemed to spontaneously combust as it was being loaded into the ambulance. I guess there'll be updates throughout the night, but for now it's as if the fire is at least being brought under control. I guess it'll be worth swinging past the scene on my way to the library tomorrow, so I can see the damage in the cold light of day. Although the building is mostly made of stone, it looks tonight as if the entire thing might just collapse.

  When the timer rings, I take a deep breath and place the photos back in the folder. With any luck, there'll be a new image to add soon, so I head through to the dark room. It's odd, but at first I used to dread the development of the man's face on my photos. I thought it was a sign of something being seriously wrong with me, and I'd almost get to the point of praying that he wouldn't show up on each roll of film. These days, though, I actually look forward to seeing him. It's as if I've become obsessed with this little mystery, even though I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with the information I've been gathering. Pausing by the bedroom door, I remind myself that I could stop doing this any time I like. No-one's forcing me to keep taking these photos, but it's the first activity that's really grabbed my attention for a while. If I wasn't doing this, what else would I be doing? Just sitting around, waiting for my next tumor and my next course of chemo?

  As soon as I'm in the dark room, I can feel in my gut that I'll find the man's image on the photo. Maybe I'm fooling myself, but it's as if I've got a kind of sixth sense that's telling me he's going to be there. Hell, it's not as if this is some random, possible connection that I've spotted in a few chance images: it's the same man, appearing in the same context each time. It'd be strange not to see him, although this time there's something else on my mind. I can't help thinking back to the way the priest talked about the steps, as if there was something unusual happening around that area. All day, I've been imagining the image of the man being seen by those steps, probably adopting his usual pose of staring at the door. I'm pretty certain by now that the man wants to get into the churches, but something's stopping him. I just wish I knew what.

  After busying myself with the roll of film from the fire, and setting it up so that I can develop the photos first thing in the morning, I realize that I've delayed the moment of truth for long enough. I pause for a moment, as if I'm nervous of seeing him again, and then I walk over to where the photo is drying and I take a look. And there he is, except this time he's not staring at the church. He's standing at the top of the steps, exactly where I expected him to be, but he's staring straight at me.

  COMING SOON

  All That You Are

  (Broken White 1.5)

  With Mr. White's words still ringing in her ears, Elly tries to enjoy some time with Mark. Finally, they're able to go out on a date that seems to be absolutely perfect, and for the first time Elly is able to think of a possible future with the man she's starting to love. Everything is quickly shattered, however, by a single act of violence that leaves Elly running for her life. Back in the past, meanwhile, Jonathan Pope faces up to the prospect of his imminent death, while dealing with the fact that a face from the past is haunting his plans. With the dead seemingly coming back to life, can Pope work out what's real and what's not?

  Romance

  (Broken White 1.6)

  Lost and alone, Elly discovers the true cost of her actions. Now that Mr. White is on her tail, she realizes she has to get out of London. Old friends offer little help, and eventually Elly is forced to turn to the one person she never expected to need. With the game starting to close its grip around her, it soon becomes apparent that Elly's fate is in the hands of sinister, unseen forces. Meanwhile, Jonathan Pope makes a shocking discovery that forces him to reassess everything he once thought was true, and soon he's beginning a journey that will lead to a horrific encounter many years later.

  The Letting

  (The Devil's Photographer 1.3)

  Recovering from the terrifying incident at the church, Kate is keen to get her hands on the camera she dropped. John Dagwood, meanwhile, is being strangely elusive, as if he's unwilling to let Kate's work progress too far. Soon, Kate starts to learn more about Dagwood, including his interests in medieval medicine and his involvement with a strange group that has strong links to the events that recently took place at St. Abraham's. Evil is rising across the city, but Kate isn't quite ready to believe that the Devil is in town... until a horrifying image makes her question everything she thought she knew about the world and pushes her to the brink of madness.

  The Promise

  (The Devil's Photographer 1.4)

  Now that she knows a little more about Amin Bell, Kate is certain that she's on the verge of an important breakthrough. Dagwood is still acting strangely, however, and Kate decides that there's only one way she can get to the heart of his activities. Allowing herself to be drawn deeper and deeper into Dagwood's world, however, Kate realizes too late that she might be trapped in a nightmare from which she can never escape. All roads, it appears, lead back to the burned-out church where Amin Bell was last seen, and where strange forces seem to be lingering.

  ALSO AVAILABLE

  Dark Season: The Complete First Series (All 8 Books)

  When Sophie Hart is rescued from a mugging by a mysterious, silent vampire, she discovers that she is part of a dark prophecy. Patrick is the last vampire on Earth, having killed the rest of his species at the end of a bloody war, and he has plans for Sophie. But will she survive? This
volume collects together the first 8 Dark Season books, covering the entire first series. Along the way, Sophie encounters not only a vampire but also werewolves, ghosts, evil maids with sharp teeth, crazed psychiatrists and dream-sucking Tenderlings. She travels to Gothos, the ancestral home of the vampires. She discovers a secret hidden inside the body of an old woman, and later she finds another dark secret hidden inside her own body. Out now - 180,000 words for just $2.99!

  Dark Season: The Complete Second Series (All 8 Books)

  Picking up where the first series left off, the second series of Dark Season follows Sophie's attempt to discover what has happened to Abigail. Meanwhile, the mysterious Nimrod has arrived in town and he's determined to gain his revenge on Patrick. This volume collects together the 8 books of the second series of Dark Season, plus the prequel book 20th Century Vampire. As Sophie tries to find Abigail, she comes up against Nimrod's blood-lust. From old country houses to the sewers of Dedston, and from the bottom of a haunted well to an underground hall filled with spiders, the second series of Dark Season takes Sophie to the brink of death and puts her faith in Patrick to the ultimate test. Out now - 180,000 words for just $2.99!

  Dark Season: The Complete Third Series (All 8 Books)

  The third and final series of Dark Season tells the story of Patrick and Sophie's daughter Abigail, and her journey to discover the truth about her own identity. Having been raised as a normal human, Abigail is suddenly thrown into a dangerous new world as she discovers that she possesses unique vampire DNA. With Sophie dead and Patrick having apparently vanished, Abigail quickly falls under the wing of the mysterious Benjamin and his organization, the Watchers. This volume collects together the 8 books of the third series of Dark Season. Out now - 180,000 words for just $2.99!

  Asylum: The Complete Series (All 8 Books)

  After killing her younger brother, Annie Radford is sent to Lakehurst Psychiatric Hospital. But Lakehurst hides some dark secrets. Patients are regularly subjected to 'special treatment' in the basement, while the cruel Nurse Winter rules the hospital with an iron fist. As Annie struggles to retain her sense of identity, she finds herself being drawn deeper and deeper into the mysteries of Lakehurst. Suffering under the horrific conditions imposed on her at Lakehurst, Annie starts to doubt her own sanity, especially when she once again starts to hear the voices that plagued her when she was younger. Who is the strange old man in the attic? What does Jerry keep in a jar in the basement, and why is he so keen to continue with his macabre and vicious experiments? Where did the husks come from? And how is this all linked to mysterious radio signals being monitored in a forest hundreds of miles away? This volume collects all 8 books in the Asylum series.

  The Night Girl: The Complete Series (All 8 Books)

  When she starts her new job as a night shift assistant, Juliet Collier has no idea that she's about to meet a mysterious entity that lurks in an abandoned part of the building. Soon, Juliet finds herself granted a gift that means she can kill indiscriminately, and apparently without consequences. Meanwhile, eleven years earlier, a young Juliet makes a terrible mistake that sets her on a dark course. This is the story of a girl whose decisions lead her to a devastating end-point, as she struggles to reconcile the voices in her head with the reality in front of her eyes. This volume collects all 8 books in the series.

  Devil's Briar: The Complete Series (All 8 Books)

  In the remote wilderness of Colorado, Bill and Paula Mitchell discover an entire lost town. Devil's Briar was abandoned many years ago, and has fallen into disrepair. But it soon becomes clear that the town contains some special and highly unusual qualities, and that elements of the past are seeping through into the present. As she tries to get to the bottom of the mystery, Paula finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into the bizarre time loop that keeps the entire town trapped in eternity. Soon it becomes clear that nothing in Devil's Briar will ever be the same again, and that two time periods are merging with horrific consequences. This volume contains all 8 books in the Devil's Briar series.

  Broken Blue: The Complete Series (All 8 Books)

  Returning home for her father's funeral, Elly Bradshaw soon finds herself drawn into the dangerous world of billionaire Mark Douglas. Although she finds Mark irresistible, Elly learns he hides a dark secret. She's quickly pulled deep into a dark sexual game that threatens to change the way she views the world forever. Meanwhile, back in the late nineteenth century, another set of players are caught up in the same game. Tortured by his role as Mr. Blue, Edward Lockhart sets out to end the game forever. His failure, however, results in the arrival of Jonathan Pope onto the scene. Cynical and only interested in a payday, Pope begins to investigate the shadowy trio of players who keep the game alive. This volume contains all 8 books in the Broken Blue series.

  Lupine Howl: The Complete First Series (All 8 Books)

  Arriving in London, penniless and alone, Jess finds herself forced to live on the streets. She soon encounters Duncan, a mysterious man who seems to be caught up with some very dangerous people. Duncan is a werewolf, forced to scavenge on the streets of the city and unable to break free from his master, a vicious, cruel man named Thomas Lumic. But there's a war coming. Humanity is no longer prepared to tolerate the existence of the werewolves. Along the way, Jess encounters some truly hideous and bizarre creatures, including the haunting Flesh Weavers, the vicious Loom People, the mysterious Wormwood, the hideous Golvs, and a flesh-sucking little boy who rules a circus of fear. Out now - 180,000 words for just $2.99!

  Lupine Howl: The Complete Second Series (All 8 books)

  The second series of Lupine Howl begins with Duncan and Jess being recruited for a dangerous mission, and ends with them fighting for their lives against one of the most evil creatures that has ever lived. From the moment he receives a message from Black Annis, Duncan is convinced that someone or something is manipulating things behind the scenes. His suspicions are heightened as he and Jess find themselves facing a series of unusual creatures, until finally the truth becomes clear: Thomas Lumic is still alive, and is determined to gain his revenge over Duncan. Meanwhile, Jess discovers the truth about Anna, the girl who once traveled with Duncan and whose death has haunted him down the years. Out now - 180,000 words for just $2.99!

  Lupine Howl: The Complete Third Series (All 8 books)

  Having abandoned Duncan, Jess makes her way to India, where she makes a fateful decision that could affect the future of werewolf society forever. The time has come. After centuries of calm, the killing fields of Sangreth are about to be disturbed. Although he's terrified of the journey, Duncan finally accepts that he and Jess must head to Sangreth and prevent Jonathan Neale from uncovering the true secret of the werewolves. But Sangreth is more than just a place: it's a living nightmare, where every werewolf must face the ultimate truth, and where a powerful force waits to be resurrected. For both Duncan and Jess, past wounds are about to burst open and spill fresh blood. Out now from Amazon and other sites for just $2.99!

  Ghosts: The Complete Series (All 8 Books)

  Having been brutally murdered by her own father, Beth Keneally wakes up and discovers she's now a ghost. Determined to protect her little sister Elise from becoming her father's next victim, Beth finds herself forming an alliance with an unlikely group of other ghosts who have all found themselves trapped on Earth. Meanwhile, an angel named Kal has arrived in town to hunt down God and Satan, who have made a bet with each other that they can wipe their memories and live as humans for an entire lifetime. This volume collects together all eight books in the Ghosts series, which includes encounters with creatures such as the mysterious Red Man and a living plague. Out now - 160,000 words for just $2.99!

 

 

 
); -moz-filter: grayscale(100%); -o-filter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share