The Devil in Gray (41 page)
Authors: Graham Masterton
Lo! All the beacon fires are lighted!
Let all hearts be now united!
To arms! To arms! To arms! In Dixie!
Advance the flag of Dixie!
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Dixie's land we take our stand
,
And live or die for Dixie!
Cab arrived and climbed out of his car. It was obvious by his stripy collar that he had hurriedly pulled his big red sweater over his pajamas. “What happened here, Decker? Why the hell are you dressed up like that?”
Decker gritted his teeth and slowly tugged off his beard. “Long story, Captain.”
Cab looked up at the fire. A turntable ladder was being swiveled around toward the side of the apartment block, and there was a fine spray of water in the wind.
Decker said, “We got him, Captain. You can call up the chief and tell her it's a wrap.”
Cab sniffed, and then he sneezed. He didn't have a handkerchief, so Eunice Plummer had to hand him a crumpled tissue. “You're a good detective, Decker, but don't ever tell me how you do it. I think I'd come out in hives.”
Three days later, on his first day back to the office, Decker's phone rang.
“Decker? This is Captain Morello.”
“Well, well, and a very good morning to you, sir.”
“You're a general now, sir. You don't have to call
me
âsir.'”
“You saw the news, then. I was going to call you and thank you for everything you did.”
“Lunch would be a very welcome thank-you.”
“So long as you don't mind making it a threesome. I have another young lady that I have to thank.”
“Should I be jealous?”
Decker thought about it, and smiled, and looked across at Sandra, who was drawing a picture of Changó on the back of a crime-report sheet.
“Yes,” he said. “I think you should.”
Before he took Sandra and Toni Morello for lunch, he stopped off at the cemetery and stood in front of Cathy's grave, with an armful of white camellias. The breeze blew across the ruffled surface of the James River and made the trees whisper.
“I don't know where you are now,” he told Cathy, as he laid the flowers on the red marble plaque. “But thanks, sweetheart. Thanks for everything.”
About the Author
Graham Masterton was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1946. He worked as a newspaper reporter before taking over joint editorship of the British editions of
Penthouse
and
Penthouse Forum
magazines. His debut novel,
The Manitou
, was published in 1976 and sold over one million copies in its first six months. It was adapted into the 1978 film starring Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Stella Stevens, Michael Ansara, and Burgess Meredith. Since then, Masterton has written over seventy-five horror novels, thrillers, and historical sagas, as well as published four collections of short stories and edited
Scare Care
, an anthology of horror stories for the benefit of abused children. He and his wife, Wiescka, have three sons. They live in Cork, Ireland, where Masterton continues to write.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2004 by Graham Masterton
Cover design by Kat Lee
ISBN: 978-1-5040-2558-4
This edition published in 2016 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
180 Maiden Lane
New York, NY 10038
EARLY BIRD BOOKS
FRESH EBOOK DEALS, DELIVERED DAILY
BE THE FIRST TO KNOWâ
NEW DEALS HATCH EVERY DAY!
The Web's Creepiest Newsletter
Delivered to Your Inbox
Get chilling stories of
true crime, mystery, horror,
and the paranormal,
twice a week.
GRAHAM MASTERTON
FROM OPEN ROAD MEDIA
