Dying Echo: A Grim Reaper Mystery (Grim Reaper Series) Read Online Free Page A

wore footie pajamas with dancing bears on them.
    “You ready?” Don said.
    Casey stared at Death. “Seriously?”
    Death blinked up at her. “What?”
    “Um, yes,” Don said. “Look, I understand you’re nervous. But I believe it will be all right. Really.” He opened the door. “Shall we go?”
    Only after they were in Don’s car with the doors shut did Death appear in the backseat, wearing a slightly more appropriate tan leisure suit and waggling the little computer beside Casey’s head. “This is amazing . Have you seen these things? It’s like a whole book in this skinny little pad.”
    Casey looked out her window.
    “Or, actually, it’s like hundreds of books. I’m never sure how to choose which one to read. This morning it’s that one about the girl, what’s her name, Scout? Her dad’s a lawyer, and there’s this guy they all think is guilty, and a weird neighbor who never comes outside and—”
    “ To Kill a Mockingbird ,” Casey said.
    “What?” Don flicked his eyes toward her.
    “That’s it!” Death said. “It’s a pretty good story.”
    “Why are you talking about that?” Don said. “Because you think they’ve arrested an innocent man?”
    Casey glared at Death, who settled back into the seat. “They have arrested an innocent man. Anyway, why else would I be talking about it?”
    Death gave a little cough, and Casey felt herself go hot. She knew she was grumpy. Knew it wasn’t Don’s fault.
    “Sorry,” she said. “I’m not exactly the world’s best company today.”
    “To be expected.” Don smiled grimly. “It’s not every day you have to turn yourself in to the cops.”
    She watched the houses go past. “You really think this will work?”
    “I do. It was self-defense. You have a witness. The victim was a criminal.”
    Casey closed her eyes and practiced some deep breathing she’d learned from her hapkido master. Speaking of whom, she wondered if he knew she was in town. He probably felt it somehow. He was like that.
    “It was self-defense?” Don sounded casual, but Casey opened her eyes and could see how he was gripping the steering wheel.
    “I swear. It was going to be me or him. And I didn’t mean to do it. It was his knife. Not mine.”
    Don nodded once, sharply. “What I thought.”
    The police station was gray and built onto the side of a hill. The perfect back wall for a building with a lock-up on the first floor. No way would anyone be getting out that way. Not unless they were half groundhog. Don pulled into the parking lot and killed the engine. “Try to relax. Tell the truth, and it should be over soon.”
    “Don, who are you trying to convince? I think you’re more worried than I am.”
    “Could easily be.” He straightened his shoulders and gathered up his things. “Ready?”
    They made their way to the building, Death walking right through the front doors, since the book—or reading device—was so fascinating. Casey, however, hesitated just outside, trying to picture Ricky’s face. That was all she needed to convince herself she was doing the right thing. Her little brother did not deserve to be in prison with a murder rap hanging over him. He’d never hurt anyone, let alone a woman he loved, either for self-defense or intentionally. All violent tendencies seemed to have manifested in his older sister.
    The police receptionist looked up, and immediately punched a number on her phone. Casey stiffened. Was she about to be arrested? She looked at the posters on the walls, expecting to see a “wanted” sign with her face on it.
    A buzzer sounded, and a heavy door to the left swung open. Casey spun around, instinctively balancing on her back leg, arms loose, ready for a pack of officers to charge through with drawn guns, or maybe they’d just go for a full-fledged SWAT team. Instead, a middle-aged man in a dark blue suit jacket and gray pants strode casually through the door, while a young, uniformed officer held it open. The suit jacket on