Dead Woman Crossing J.R. Adler (early reader chapter books txt) 📖

cracked wooden door. Her eyes stared at the linoleum floor that had a pinkish color to it. Areas where it was peeled up were a deep red. It was obvious the blood was both old and new. She looked at the sink, an old pedestal full of red water. More blood. It was clogged as the lift rod for the drain wasn’t pulled up. Her eyes went to the mirror. Written in blood across it read, “Who’s the King now?” It was a message for Detective Kimberley King. Her fist clenched so tightly that her fingernails drew blood on her left palm. She wiped the palm of her hand against her pants. Her eyes went to the bathtub. A naked woman lay inside of it. Her body covered in hundreds of cigarette burns, thousands of small cuts, massive deep, almost black bruises. Clumps of curly red hair pulled out revealed small barren patches of tiny red dots where the scalp had bled. Her nose was crooked with the bone sticking out, several teeth were missing, and her other eye had been burned in, probably with a cigarette as well. There was so much damage her body looked like one massive wound. The killer had taken his time with her. It was a part of his MO. He liked control, liked feeling as though he were a god. They didn’t know much about him, but they knew that. A long incision, nearly a foot long, ran across her lower abdomen.

She heard footsteps behind her. Two uniformed officers stood in the doorway.

“What is it?”

Kimberley stepped out of the way, so they could see the horror she had seen.

Kimberley blinked several times, washing the memory away. She had lost her appetite. She set her fork down and poured herself a full glass of wine, taking a large gulp of it, before setting it back down.

David chewed on his food and on his next words for a moment. “That’s cuz y’all ain’t got God up there.”

Kimberley couldn’t argue with that.

Nicole quietly pushed her food around her plate, taking intermittent sips of wine and giving strained glances to both David and Kimberley.

“Maybe we should change the subject,” Nicole said meekly, refilling her glass again.

Kimberley noticed her mother hadn’t eaten much, but she had drunk half the bottle of wine. Her red eyes now had a sheen to them, as if there were little tiny windows in front of each one. Kimberley drained the rest of her glass, ready to test her mother’s method.

“God isn’t a subject, Nicole.” David pressed his lips firmly together.

“Correct, he is not. He is just one character in one great work of fiction. Hardly important enough to deserve a whole subject,” Kimberley said pointedly.

David thinking she was dead serious would rile him up even more than if it were a joke. He dropped his fork, the silverware clanging loudly against the porcelain plate.

“I can’t stop you from thinking whatever devilish nonsense you want to think, but while you’re living here, in my house, I don’t want to hear that kind of talk again.” His skin was flushed red, and not from his work outside or the beer.

“Duly noted, massa. After all, the Bible does say a woman is only worth half as much as a man, so you must be twice as right as me. It won’t happen again.” Kimberley loved this sort of banter.

In the NYPD, it was how you made light of all the darkness that tried to seep into your life every day. Was it a defense mechanism, designed to mask the real issues? Of course, but it was the best weapon at her disposal for now, so why not go with it?

David let out a grunt, an acknowledgment of her agreement.

“Perhaps you and Jessica could come to church with us one of these Sundays?” David said airily.

Mercifully, Kimberley didn’t have to answer this because at that moment, Jessica let out a piercing scream. Kimberley immediately tried to soothe her.

“What’s wrong, baby girl?” she asked, rubbing her back.

Jessica banged her hands on the tray, pushing the bowl off of it. It hit the floor with a thud. Kimberley bent down and picked it up, noticing it was empty.

“Are you still hungry?” she said as she sat back up.

“Here give it to me.” Nicole reached out her hand, taking the bowl from Kimberley and tossing a spoonful of peas into it. Jessica screamed louder, tears streaming down her face.

Nicole placed the bowl of peas in front of her. “Jessica, baby. Look, more peas,” she said.

Jessica looked down, her cries began to taper, until she was just sniffling and breathing heavily. As soon as her handful of peas landed in her mouth, she was smiling again.

Kimberley took a deep breath.

“Crisis averted,” Nicole said with a laugh.

“For being so little, she’s quite loud.” David chuckled.

“That scream of hers has nearly given me a heart attack at least a dozen times,” Kimberley said, taking a drink of wine.

David picked up his fork and returned to eating his food, while washing every few bites down with a swig of beer. When it was empty, without asking, Nicole immediately got up and retrieved him another. Her mother had always taken care of everyone in her life, even the men who treated her poorly. Kimberley thought of her mother as strong, but this part of her, she found to be weak and subservient.

“After meeting Sheriff Walker, you think you’ll like working with him?” David asked.

“Yeah. He seems nice. Very professional.”

David nodded his approval. “He is a good man. It’d do ya well to pay attention to him. I know you’re from the big city and all, but like I said before, you could probably learn a thing or two from him.”

He might be trying to be condescending or dismissive of her skills, but Kimberley wasn’t sure. Plus, he was right, you could always learn something from others. That was one of Kimberley’s core drivers to keeping her sharp and progressing in life. Always keep learning.

“No,