Read A Forest of Corpses for Free Online Page A

and hauled it upright.
    She glared at me and snatched the cart out of my grip. I raised both hands to show her I meant no harm. The movement pulled my jacket open, revealing my Beretta.
    Her sunken eyes widened her hands tightening on her worldly possessions. This close, the smell of her unwashed body and clothes overwhelmed me. Her gray, lined face had paled even more until it looked like pitted concrete.
    "What do you want?"
    "We're not here to hurt you, ma'am." I wished we'd been able to come up with a better description of Momo and her white dog, but we'd have to use what he had. "We're looking for someone. A black woman. She has a dog with her and hangs around here..." I pointed behind us to the washrooms and the market behind it. I tried to ignore the cholos watching us. "The dog is probably white."
    "Black woman," she snorted. "Probably a white dog. Young man do you have a clue?"
    46

    A Forest of Corpses
    by P. A. Brown
    "Sometimes I doubt it," I muttered. I could feel Miguel behind me, getting restless. No doubt convinced he could do better questioning her.
    "She calls herself Momo," I said. "We believe she used to associate with Isaac Simpson."
    "Who?" No alarm in her voice. Nothing but indifference. If she knew who Simpson was, she didn't care.
    "The man who died nine days ago in the washroom over there."
    She drew away from us and threw alarmed looks over her shoulder. I knew she was going to bolt any second. I stepped in front of her cart, taking care not to touch it, knowing that would trigger panic. Miguel blocked her from retreating back the way she had come.
    "We're not going to hurt you, ma'am," I said, speaking to her like I would to a wild animal. "We just need you to tell us if you know the woman, Momo."
    "No, no." She started shaking her head violently, her lips working on other unspoken words, silent curses no doubt.
    Spittle sprayed out of her mouth. Standing as close as I was, I could smell her unwashed flesh and the foul rot from her mouth. What few teeth she had left were riddled with brown decay.
    Behind me I heard Miguel doing his own muttering, but his words I could hear, though I'd rather have not. "... say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not fear; your God will come...'"
    47

    A Forest of Corpses
    by P. A. Brown
    I didn't need to be a Biblical scholar to know where those words were coming from. But I had no idea what he meant to do with them. Sooth her or scare her into compliance?
    The old woman's agitation increased. Whether from Miguel's helpful words or our presence, like she said, I didn't have a clue. She moaned and shook her head violently, more spittle flying from her cracked lips.
    I knew I didn't dare touch her or her cart. Already we were attracting attention. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Miguel flip his jacket open to show his badge to the growing mob from the parking lot drifting our way. Looking to find trouble or cause it?
    The display of arms didn't help. The crowd grew and so did their hostility. Great, were we going to have a pissing contest here in the middle of the beach?
    I knew things were going to get ugly if we didn't move on.
    With only two of us, crowd control was impossible. It would be nothing but stupid to get caught up in a riot out here. I signaled Miguel to move back. For one heart stopping second I thought he was going to refuse. Then whatever passed for common sense in his fundamentalist head took over, and he stepped off the boardwalk, right into the mass of gathering people, murmuring under his breath, "Though a mighty army surrounds me,
    my heart will not be afraid..."
    He pushed through the loose crowd that thankfully fell away from him. Maybe they were as awed by his Biblical quotes as I was.
    48

    A Forest of Corpses
    by P. A. Brown
    I studied the dozen or so men exhibiting the most suppressed rage. Cop haters always got my radar up. I wasn't all that surprised to see Eastside gang tats on several of them, and one or two Westside placas .