Free Pale Immortal by Anne Frasier Page B

rang. "What are you doing here?" She was dressed in another black skirt, pink tights, and a pink sweater. Her hair had a couple of yellow plastic bar-rettes in it that almost went with the messenger bag over her shoulder.
    Standing next to her, he remembered he was wearing the clothes he'd slept in last night. He hadn't taken a shower; he wasn't even sure when he'd last brushed his teeth.
    That self-awareness was like a rug being pulled out from under him. It was hard enough talking to a cute girl when you didn't stink.
    He looked down at the floor. "It would take a long time to explain." His words sounded curt and impatient, as if she bored him and he wanted to get away. He hadn't meant to sound like that.
    "Oh." Her smile faded and she took a step back. From her expression it was obvious she was trying to figure out what had just happened. "Okay."
    "Graham!"
    He turned to see the hard kids from Peaches lumbering toward him. Travis, the one with the soul patch, who'd told him about the pervert, held out his hand. Graham reached to shake and Travis smacked his palm. Graham hated that shit. "What are you doin' here, man?" Travis asked.
    "Decided to stick around for a while."
    "Cool. You should come with us after school."
    "I can't."
    "Then later. Tonight."
    "Ah ..." Graham looked over his shoulder. Iso-bel was gone. He spotted her in the distance, her blond hair standing out in the mob of kids moving down the hall, away from him. "I don't have any money." It was true, and better than having to admit he couldn't leave the house.
    "You don't need money," Travis said. "We cruise looking for shit to do, or we just hang out at Peaches."
    Today was Graham's birthday. A guy should be able to do what he wanted to on his birthday.
    Rachel pulled her van to the curb across from Tuonela High School and cut the engine. It wasn't the same high school she and Evan had attended. This was the "new" school, having been built ten years ago.
    Kids poured through the double doors, and she kept her eyes open for someone with curly blond hair. Tall. Kinda lanky, her dad had said. And kind of a smart-ass.
    Pretty soon she spotted a kid with wildly curly hair striding toward the van. He looked a little lost as he eyed her vehicle. With a jolt of recognition, she realized he was the boy she'd seen downtown near the library.
    She waved through the windshield.
    He crossed in front of the van to climb in the passenger door. "He said a white van. He failed to mention that it would say 'County Medical Examiner' on the side."
    Yep. Smart-ass.
    She pulled away from the curb. "My dad likes to keep people guessing."
    The smart-ass was nervous, long, thin fingers tapping against a spiral notebook. But he was trying to appear calm, cool, bored.
    She gave him a quick glance. Her dad was right: He didn't look like Evan. Nothing that stood out, anyway. He was almost pretty, with that head of hair, clear skin, nice cheekbones. Like an angel. But then, Lydia had been so beautiful people had stopped to stare at her on the street.
    "Are you the medical examiner?" Graham asked. "Or do you just work for him?"
    Not only was she female, but she'd never dressed the part of medical examiner, preferring jeans and T-shirts. "I'm him."
    "So, you do autopsies?"
    What about his voice? Was it anything like Evan's? Graham's voice was deep and young, with a little bit of a drawl and a slow delivery that were indicative of the South. But he didn't have what she'd call a Southern accent.
    "I'm the coroner and the medical examiner," she told him.
    He nodded. "That's cool."
    Kids were into blood and guts now. Not like when she was in high school, when girls fainted over dissected frogs. She'd always suspected the fainting was an act, put on for the sake of the boys, who loved it.
    Graham looked over his shoulder. "And you carry the bodies around in here?"
    "It's not nearly as glamorous as it seems."
    What would Evan do if Graham ended up being his child? What then? When he'd denied his