Nick had witnessed this first-hand in England. The very recollection was like ripping open an old wound.What he now saw pouring out of Hope and surrounding her as she buried her head in her hands was neither angels nor demons. They were people. Humans. Not their physical form but her memories of them, their essence.First a man dressed as though he were from the 1970s stood over her and said, “It wasn’t the cancer, Hope. I died because of you. What father with such a pathetic daughter would want to live?”She didn’t lift her head, didn’t look at the man. The only sound she made was a bitter sob.Her father’s apparition faded into a bruised purple vapor and disappeared into her ear. And now sitting on the bed next to her was the phantasm of a woman, her face and arms covered with black and blue patches and cuts. “Sweetie, if you’d been a good girl Daddy would have stayed. And Thomas wouldn’t have touched you or beaten you. I deserved what I got, that’s why I never said anything when he did it to me.”Hope winced, cried out, and threw her hands up as if to block an onslaught of ravens.Though the voices from within her were doing a fine job helping him complete his assignment, they infuriated Nick.Others came out and accused.
What do You think about Deadly Dozen: 12 Mysteries/Thrillers?
