Free Under a Ghostly Moon (Jerry Moon Supernatural Thrillers Book 1) by William Moore, Beverley Moore

grimaced with disgust.
    Moon grinned involuntarily at Whatley 's outburst.  "I'm a nurse, Inspector, and I work in A&E quite regularly so I know a corpse when I see one.  Besides, it looked like something had been eating him.  I saw what looked like bite marks on his neck.  That's why I didn't attempt to resuscitate hi - no one could survive with that kind of wound.  Not a lot of blood though.  It looked like he'd been dead for some time and I'd guess the bites were post mortem or they'd have bled more."
    " Did you know the deceased, Sir?"
    " No, but Sonia did vaguely.  He was part of the local Goth scene.  I've not had much to do with it."
    " But Miss Crest has, judging by her attire." Whatley sounded disapproving.
    " Yes, well it's just a bit of escapism, isn't it," commented  Moon.  "I've been researching the whole thing; I do a bit of freelance journalism on the side, you see, that's how I met Sonia.  I'm doing an article on the Goth subculture for Venue.
    " And during this 'research' of yours have you come across anything that might relate to Mr Llewellyn's death."
    Moon thought immediately of the other missing Goths, Sonia may not like him mentioning them but he thought it was about time the police knew about it.  "Dominic was apparently one of a number of members of the Goth community who have recently disappeared from circulation.  According to Sonia it's quite common for people to just move on or drop out of sight for other reasons, but I did get the impression that this has happened more frequently in the last two or three months."
    Whatley 's eyebrows rose.  "Would you have names for these individuals, Sir?"
    " No, but Sonia might," replied Moon.  "Although, I'm not sure if it'll help you much, half these guys seem to go by silly nicknames."
    After a few more routine questions the interview finally drew to an end; Whatley read back a transcript of Moon 's statement, which he signed gratefully, hoping that this meant he could get to bed soon.  "That will be all for now, Mr Moon," said Whatley, placing the statement in a cardboard folder.  "Just don't make plans to travel away from Bristol in the next few weeks as we may need to ask further questions."
     
    Moon had to wait another fifteen minutes for Sonia to finish her interview.  She came out into the waiting area, hugging her jacket around her for comfort.  The mixture of stress and fatigue on her face made her look like a lost child.  "You okay?" he asked, kissing her forehead and caressing her hair.
    " Just get me home, Jerry," she sighed.  "It's been a long night.  Do you mind if we get a cab?"
    " Sure, there's a taxi rank just round the corner.  Do you want me to leave afterwards? I'll understand."
    She clung to him like a rock in a stormy sea .  "No, Jerry, I don't want to be alone tonight.  Too much happening all at once, already! Poor Dominic..." she held him tighter, tears forming stark, miserable rivulets of mascara on her pale cheeks.  Moon nodded grimly and led her softly out into the night.
    They travelled back to Sonia 's flat in stunned silence and once the cab fair was paid, they made their way swiftly to Sonia's bed where they held each other in gentle nakedness until morning.

Chapter 7
     
     
    Moon woke to find nothing but a scented hollow in the pillow beside him.  Sunlight streamed through the gaps in Sonia's red taffeta and black lace curtains, which punctuated the reddish glow in the bedroom with bars of brightness and starkly illuminated odd pieces of her collection of gothic knick-knacks.  He could hear the clink and clatter of china and utensils from the kitchen along the hallway.  Memories of the previous night flooded back.  The fear that he might possibly be accused of murder hung over him like a threatening cloud, but this was tempered by the joy of having spent the night with Sonia.
    Sonia poked her head around the door .  "Oh, you're awake at last," she said, entering the room, her pale skin showing in