Page 11 (1/2)

Chapter Eighteen

Nobody Likes a Dead Whore

Finding her boyfriend tied naked to an upright bed frame, covered in blood, with a dead, blue doh to rattle some women’s confidence in the stability of their relationship Son of trouble But Jody had been single for a number of years - she’d dated rock musicians and stockbrokers - and was conditioned to unusual buhed and kicked the hooker in the ribs - more as a conversation opener than a confirht?"

"Aard," Abby sang, peeking in the door, then iot my safety word," To"

"She beat me"

"You okay?"

"Yeah But it hurt A lot" Tom around the corner "Lord Flood," she said, with a nod and a little grin Then she looked down at the body, her eyes ide, and she swung back out into the hall

"How’re your sister’s lice?" Tommy said

"Sha in "We had to shave her head"

"Sorry about that"

"It’s okay She looks kind of cool, in a ’Make a Wish kid’ kind of way"

Jody said "Abby, why don’t you come in and shut the door? If soht, oh, I don’t know, freak them out a little"

" ’Kay," said Abby She stepped in and pal of the door latchthat would attract attention

"I think I killed her," To me, and she wanted me to bite her, so I did I think I drained her dry"

"Well, she’s dead all right" Jody reached down and tossed the blue hooker’s arm up It fell back to the floor "But you didn’t drain her"

"I didn’t?"

"She’d be dust if you did Heart attack or stroke or so Looks like most of her blood went on you and the carpet"

"Yeah, I sort of tore her throat out and she fell before I could finish"

"Well, what did she expect? You were tied up"

"You don’t seeht you’d be jealous"

"Did you ask her to bring you here and beat you until you snapped and killed her?"

"Nope"

"Did you encourage her to beat you until you snapped and killed her?"

"Of course not"

"And you didn’t get off on her beating you until you snapped and killed her"

"Honestly?"

"You’re naked and chained to a bed fra crop and your genitals I think honesty would be a good policy"

"Well, honestly, the killing part was kind of a turn-on"

"But not sexual"

"No way It was totally homicidal lust"

"Then we’re okay"

"Really, you’re not lad you’re okay"

"I should feel bad about it, I know, but I don’t"

"That happens"

"So briefly at To away quickly

"There you go," Jody said She stepped up and began to undo his restraints They were double bands of fleece and nylon, with heavy metal shackles locked over therizzly bear? Abby, check the body for a key"

"Nuh-uh," Abby said, staring down at the dead blue hooker

Jody noticed that the kid was focused on the breasts, which were defying gravity, and apparently death itself, by standing there at complete attention "Those aren’t real," Jody said

"I knew that"

"She was a verybut insincere boobs Don’t be afraid"

Abby tore her gaze from the dead woman’s chest and looked from Tommy, to Jody, to Jody’s chest, and back to the body "Fucksocks! Does everybody have big boobs but uys!" She ran out the door and sla boobs," Jody said

"Perfectly proportioned," Tommy said "Perfect, really"

"Thanks, sweetie," Jody said, kissing hiet a taste of the whore’s blood

"I think I saw her hang the key in Lash’s Forty-Fucking-Niners hat rack by the door"

"I really need to teach you how to go tothe key

"Yeah, that would have helped me avoid a lot of this"

"You know the Ani that She "

"Clint told the cops, too Rivera and Cavuto had our loft staked out"

"Clint doesn’t really count, though He traded in all his moral credibility in this world when he co how badly the promise of immortality makes people behave"

"Like it doesn’t matter how you treat people," Toot the shackle on To on the left They were heavy, but she thought that given the motivation of torture, she could have broken loose, or at least torn apart the bed frauess I need to work out" He scratched his nose furiously "So, should we hide the body or so for your buddies"

"Right"

"What about the cops?"

"Not our problem," she said as she twisted the key in the lock and snapped the restraint off his left wrist "We don’t have a dead blue hooker in our apart his wrist "Thank you for rescuing rabbed her and pulled her to hi over on his face when she stepped back and he encountered the resistance of his ankle restraints

"I love you, too," she said, pal him back on balance, "but you are covered with skank oil and you will not get it onout her lower lip far enough that pink was showing above her black lipstick,a plum

"Just dropone of Lash’s Forty-Niners jerseys, put his arm around Abby’s shoulders to coreat We are most pleased with you"

Abby snorted and looked out theJody, in turn, put her ar her nails into his shoulder "Shut up," she whispered, so soft that only To"

"Look, Abby," Jody said, "it’s not so that happens all at once, like in the s for years before you become one of the chosen"

"I know I did," Tos, spiders, mice, rats, snakes, marht"

"You two are just into each other," Abby said "You don’t care about anyone else We’re like cattle to you"

The cabdriver, as a Hindu, looked in the rear-view mirror

"So what’s your point?" Jody said