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

tantalising glimpses through the open front of a black silk
    kimono .  "I brought you some coffee." She placed a steaming mug on the bedside table.
    M oon studied the mug, which had the ‘Manga’ logo on one side; on the other was a title frame from 'Blood… The Last Vampire'.  "Actually, I don't drink... coffee," he said, wondering if she'd get the movie reference, "at least not in the morning, usually."
    " Dracula 2001, yeah?" Sonia had got the movie reference.  "Cool movie.  So can I get you some tea instead or do you really want the freshly drained blood of young virgins.  Which I have to admit could be quite a tall order in this neighbourhood."
    Moon grinned .  "Oh, tea will do.  I wouldn't want you to put yourself to any trouble."
    " In a jiffy," promised Sonia, picking up the mug and sweeping out of the room.  Moon caught a glimpse of the gothic rose and thorns tattoo on her right buttock as she opened the door.  He had occasionally mused over the impact that the current fad for body art would have in the nursing homes of the future - he could imagine one teenage care assistant whispering to her colleague as they helped a ninety-year-old client bathe.  "Is that a bat tattooed on Kylie's bum?" and her friend replying sotto voce , "No.  It's a butterfly.  I stretched it flat once when I was drying her off," followed by giggles and sounds of disgust.  Still, on Sonia's bum the rose looked good… for the present at least.
    Sonia returned with a mug shaped like a goblet, its stem fashioned into a dragon 's claw, which held the bowl in a four- taloned grip.  "Don't you have any normal mugs?" asked Moon.
    " Oh, sure, we have a china set we keep for 'mundane' visitors.  But I thought you'd like our wilder selection.  It's more fun."
    " Well, yes I suppose," Moon sipped his tea.  "I just haven't drunk from anything quite so... exotic before."
    " Wait until you see Avril's skull mug then.  It's the biz." Sonia climbed back into bed and snuggled up to him.
    Moon felt a familiar urge accompanied by undercover stirrings.  "Did they say how long until you could... ‘You know’?" he asked, toying with the ring in her right nipple.
    " At least a week." Sonia grimaced.  "No, ‘you know’ until the swelling's gone down."
    " Damn! I'm partial to a bit of... 'you know'," sighed Moon, having to content himself with a kiss and a snuggle.
     
    "So, why did your interview with the police take so long?" asked Moon.  They were still lying sleepily in Sonia's bed, making the best of Sunday morning.
    " Well, I thought I ought to tell them about the guys who've stopped coming to the Rest recently and they wanted details." Sonia shook her head.  "More details than I was able to give them for the main part."
    " You didn't say anything about me talking to Dominic's ghost, did you?"
    Sonia fixed him with a steady eye .  "Oh yeah, I told them how you were psychic and Dominic called you down the alleyway to help him out." At the look of shock on Moon's face her deadpan expression broke into a grin and she punched him gently in the shoulder.  "What do you think I am, stupid? The cops don't react well to anything off beam; it's bad enough that I'm a Goth without blabbing on about the supernatural.  I just said you must have noticed something down the alley which sparked your curiosity."
    Moon pulled a grumpy face .  "You shouldn't joke about it like that.  I was petrified they'd think I'd done it.  You thought I'd killed him to start off with, didn't you?"
    Sonia kissed him .  "I didn't know what to think, Jerry, but I'm still here aren't I? I really don't think you're capable of murder, so you must be psychic, mustn't you?"
    " Glad we've sorted that out.  But it probably does mean someone connected with the Hangman's Rest is a murderer, perhaps even a serial killer." He looked directly into Sonia's frightened gaze.  "Did you see that something had bitten into Dominic's throat? I thought it must have been rats or that