Read After Life for Free Online Page B

me. I'll check it out first before I go too far, okay? Don't go
    off the porch, she advised.
     
    Right, he said. He opened the door and went out.
     
    Lee! she cried when he closed the door behind him.
     
    She rushed to it and opened it again just in time to hear him walking
    down the steps. Lee? It's all right, he called back. I'm okay. Get
    back inside, you exhibitionist, he said, and she finally realized she
    was standing naked in the doorway.
     
    What do you see? she asked, covering her bosom with her arms. A truck
    with its door opened, he said as nonchalantly as he could, for he had
    seen more.
     
    He walked over the flagstones and directed the beam at the truck cab
    where the driver's door was open. He ran the light down and saw the man
    dangling.
     
    Should I phone the police? Jesse called from the doorway. For a moment
    Lee didn't respond. He stepped closer. Yeah, he called back, I guess
    you should.
     
    He directed the beam of light over the driver. The man moaned. What
    the hell. .. Lee knelt down beside him and shook his arm. The man
    groaned and then started to vomit profusely. Lee jumped up and stepped
    back to avoid the splatter. The foul odor of whiskey mixed with
    whatever the man had put into his stomach during the last few hours came
    up at Lee in undulating waves.
     
    Lee fanned the air around him and stepped to the side, directing his
    flashlight at the cab. He saw the man's feet were caught in the
    steering wheel and he saw the emptied pint bottle of rye on the seat
    with a rifle beside it.
     
    The man moaned and began his struggle to right him self, but he had no
    support and simply flapped about like a fish on land. Reluctantly,
    holding his breath as he did so, Lee came to his assistance and lifted
    him so that he could free his feet from the steering wheel. Then he
    scooped his arms under the man's arms to pull him from the truck as if
    he were pulling him from a vehicle on fire. He wanted to get as far
    away from the rancid odors as quickly as he could. He dropped the man
    gently on the shoulder of the road and ran the beam of light over his
    face.
     
    The gaunt-looking, unshaven man waved his hand at the light the way he
    would chase away flies. Lee shook his head in disgust and directed the
    light back to the truck. That was when he saw the blood, large ruby
    stains on the street where the man had been hanging upside down.
     
    Jesus, Lee muttered. He turned back to the drunk and searched his body
    and face for signs of his wounds, but he found none. He knelt beside
    him again. The man had turned over and already was snoring. Lee ran
    the light over his neck and head, but he saw nothing. What the hell He
    turned back to the stains to be sure they weren't in his imagination.
    Confirming them, he began to wonder if there was someone else. He got
    up and walked around the truck, directing his light every which way, but
    there was no sign of anyone else. Finally he reached in and shut off
    the truck engine.
     
    Hey, he said, shaking the drunken man with his foot. Hey, who the hell
    are you? Was there anyone with you? Hey? He shook him again, but the
    man only groaned. Lee, Jesse called from the doorway. Are you all
    right? Yeah. It's only some drunk, he replied.
     
    I called the police; they're on their way.
     
    Good. He scratched his head and looked around again. There was some
    other smell here, some horrible odor that didn't seem to be a part of
    this revolting scene. It trailed off behind him toward the cemetery.
     
    He lifted the flashlight in its direction and his light illuminated some
    of the bone-white tombstones that were close to the road.
     
    Suddenly he thought he saw something moving: a tall, dark shadow. He
    chased it with his light, but the flash light was too weak to illuminate
    at any great distance and the shadowy figure was gone as quickly as it
    had appeared.
     
    Probably my imagination, he thought. Even so, the image chased him back
    and he retreated quickly to the