Nearly Departed (Spring Cleaning Mysteries) Read Online Free Page A

biohazard material to be properly disposed of when Mr. Ribisi, the landlord of the college kids' place, called to tell me that the police had finished their work and it was time for me to begin mine.
    Instead of getting to go home for my aforementioned shower and a much needed nap, I drove over to meet Mr. Ribisi. Not surprisingly, he was none too eager to set foot in the house. He signed the standard Spring Cleaning contract, handed me a key to the place, and scurried off, leaving me to explore the residence on my own.
    After climbing into a disposable, impenetrable Tyvek suit, gloves, and booties, I unlocked the door and stepped inside. A chill snaked down my spine, and I couldn't help but remember the concerns of Jerry and Smoke about my going to a violent crime scene on my own. It was cold in the house, like someone had turned off the heat, but the coppery tang of spilled blood still hung in the air. I was glad I'd skipped lunch. I pulled a surgical mask over my face.
    I didn 't know where the carnage had occurred, so I turned left. Ever since I'd read that the way to avoid lines at a theme park is to head left (because the crowd's natural reaction is to turn to the right) I turned left everywhere I went. This led me into a small dining room. At least that's what I thought it was since there was a chandelier hanging dead center, but in truth it looked like some sort of mad scientist laboratory. Beakers, Bunsen burners, and reference books covered every surface.
    Deciding that there was an order to the chaos before me, I determined that this particular mess wasn 't a result of an attack, so I moved on to the kitchen. Cereal boxes, empty beer bottles, and a stack of pizza boxes covered the counter. That reminded me that it was Thursday.
    I ventured into the living room and sucked in a shocked breath that got caught in my throat. Dried blood was spattered everywhere. The walls, furniture, and carpet looked like some deranged Jackson Pollock work. I swallowed hard. I'd seen some pretty terrible stuff in my line of work, but whatever had happened here had been more than violent, it had been madly vicious. Goosebumps rose on my arms, and I wasn't sure whether I was cold or frightened or both.
    Then again, it could have been because a ghost reached out and touched me.
    "Aaaaaahhhh!" I screamed, jumping away from the young man who was missing the upper half of his skull.
    " Aaaaaaahhh!" he shouted, stumbling away from me and falling right through the wall behind him.
    There was nothing wrong with the wall. It looked perfectly solid.
    My heartbeat pounded in my ears, and I felt sick to my stomach. Usually ghosts don't scare me like that, but this one had surprised me. He'd come out of nowhere, and now he seemed to have disappeared.
    " Hello?" I whispered.
    Nothing.
    I spun around in a circle, but he was nowhere to be seen. Part of me wanted to bolt right out of there, but obviously the ghost needed help, and from the looks of things this was going to be a multi-day job. In the long run, I'd be better off helping him now, rather than having him haunt me later.
    I cleared my throat. "Hello?"
    Again nothing.
    "I'm sorry I startled you. I hadn't realized anyone was here." Which had been poor planning on my part. I should have known that there was no way three college students could die and not have unfinished business. They'd had their whole lives ahead of them.
    " Hello?"
    Actually , once I thought about it, I was surprised that I hadn't encountered three ghosts. Maybe the others were waiting in another area of the house. Careful to avoid stepping in any of the smears or pools of blood, I made my way back to the staircase and slowly climbed the steps.
    Once there I saw four doorways. Two of the doors were open, and two closed. Strange, since crime scene investigators tend to leave all the doors of a place open. Not to mention, their tendency to cover every imaginable surface with fingerprint powder.
    I started with one of the closed