Page 101 of No Saint
“See!” she whispered, her clammy grip on my arm tightening. “We’re robbing a dead serial killer. That’s got to be some eternal bad juju.”
“Probably his kids’” Although that was a lot of teeth…
“You said he didn’t have relatives.”
“The paper said nosurvivingrelatives.”
“That’s like three kids’ teeth. What are the chances all of his kids died?”
We both stood in silence, our gazes fixed on those damn teeth.
“Okay, this is freaking me out.” She released my arm and headed to the door. “I’m waiting outside.”
The second it banged shut, unease crept through me. Having a gun pulled on me, I could handle. Paranormal shit put me on edge.
I took a quick look around again. Yep. She was right. An old man who collected teeth wasn’t going to have anything of value…thatwas why I headed to the door. Just before I reached for the knob, I stopped. A framed picture of Paul Bear Bryant—one of the most legendary Alabama football coaches to exist—hung over the light switch. My gaze dropped to a signature scrawled in the corner. And holy shit, could that be worth some major cash. “Bless your soul, you creepy fuck,” I said, taking it from the wall and leaving.
Night air and the chirp of crickets wrapped around me when I stepped outside. Jade waited a good ten feet away from the trailer, her arms wrapped around herself.
I waded through the knee-high grass and held up the picture. “Jackpot!”
“Great. Bring the haunted picture of some old guy. Wait.” She narrowed her eyes. “Is that him?”
“Are you serious?”
She shined the light on the picture, then shifted to the side. “His serial killer eyes are following me. It’s freaking me out.”
“This is Bear Bryant.”
Jade gave me a blank stare.
“The football coach.” Nothing. “Crimson Tide? Six national championships. Thirteen conference championships…” God, she was hopeless.
“Whatever. It’s still probably haunted.”
“Trust me, this is worth a ghost.”
“Can we leave now?” She started across the lot, and I followed her, ducking through the wire fence that led into the woods at the back of the trailer park.
We walked in silence for a while, me following a short distance behind Jade, until something in the trees rustled. Then I picked up my pace to catch up with her.
“You’re scared.” Not a question. A statement.
“Just a little on edge.”
“Uh-huh.”
“You know, I bet those teeth would match some cold cases.”
“You want to go back there and collect them?”
She stopped at the fence line between the woods and the meadow. “No!”
“His secrets died with him, and that’s where they’ll stay,” I said, hopping the fence before grabbing her waist and helping her over. I had no business thinking about the way her tits pressed against me right then, but it was Jade. I’d have fucked her on the dead serial killer’s bed if she was into that shit.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll just try not to have nightmares.”
“You do that.” I took her hand and pulled her through the long grass, but she lingered behind. “What are you doing?”
