The Dead Series (Book 1): Tell Me When I'm Dead by Steven Ramirez Page A

looked at Isaac, then at Detective Van Gundy. “So are we done?”
    The detective considered the question, looked at the file again and then back at me. I knew he didn’t have shit to go on. If he was hoping for a confession, he could forget it. I was saving that for the priest.
    “Yeah,” he said, “for now. Don’t leave town. I know that sounds cheesy, but seriously. I’ll have more questions later.”
    I looked at him and smiled. “I’m not going anywhere. I have to work.”
    As we left the office, Detective Van Gundy said, “Mr. Pulaski? I understand your wife is not currently living at home.”
    “That’s right. When Jim died I told my wife what I’d done. She doesn’t want to see me anymore.”
    “Sorry to hear that. I’d still like to interview her.” I tried not to let the shock show on my face as he slid over a pen and paper. “Please write down her address and phone number.”
    “Sure,” I said. When I’d finished, I slid the paper back over to him.
    “Maybe she’ll forgive you,” he said as he read what I’d written. “In time.”
    “Sure.”

    All I wanted was to get home and shower, but Isaac insisted we talk. So we went to the Tip Top for coffee and pie.
    “Dave,” he said, olallieberry juice dripping down his chin, “you need an attorney. I’m happy to recommend one.”
    “Why?”
    “Son, in addition to bringing babies like you into the world, I’ve been investigating homicides for thirty-five years. Looking at the medical evidence. Trying to guess what was going through the killer’s mind. I’m not saying you killed anyone, but what I see is a man with a big secret.”
    I stirred my coffee and avoided eye contact. “I’m not a bad person.”
    “Course not. But sometimes we make mistakes—bad ones. And people wind up dead.”
    “Like Jim.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Missy’s not dead.”
    “You sure?”
    “Jim was way dead before he ever showed up in the forest.”
    “How do you know?”
    “Because I was there, trying to talk sense into Missy. Jim showed up out of nowhere, and he wasn’t right.”
    “Was he like those people who chased us in the woods?”
    “Yeah. But I’d seen him days earlier and he wasn’t violent. He was kind of, I don’t know, in a trance. I touched him one time and he was ice-cold. Smelled like something rotten. When he attacked Missy, I ran like hell.”
    “So that’s your secret? You ran away?”
    “I didn’t even try to help her.”
    “Why didn’t you tell the detective?”
    “Because I didn’t want it getting out that I’m a coward.”
    “The truth has a way of getting out.”
    The last time we were here, it was Isaac who lost it. Now it was my turn. I tried choking back the tears, but it was no use. Desperate to gain control, I dug a fork into my palm under the table. The pain cleared my head.
    “You okay?” Isaac said, and I nodded. “Look, I don’t know what’s happening in Tres Marias. It doesn’t make any sense.”
    “It’s a virus, right?”
    “I don’t know. Viruses don’t turn ordinary people into cannibals.”
    My cell phone rang. It was Holly. “Hey.”
    “I got a call from Detective Van Gundy.” She sounded pissed off.
    “Sorry, I need to take this,” I said to Isaac, and went outside. Then to Holly, “I was going to call you. He works fast. Did you talk to him?”
    “I didn’t know who it was, so I let it go to voice mail. He’s going to ask about what happened with Missy, isn’t he?”
    “Yeah.”
    “What do I say?”
    “What I said. That I was having an affair with her and that’s all you know.”
    “But he could make me tell the truth in court.”
    “No. You don’t have to testify against your husband. Look, he’s fishing.”
    “I hate you for making me lie.”
    “Then tell him the truth,” I said, and disconnected.
    When I looked up, Isaac was outside with me, picking the seeds out of his teeth with a flat toothpick. “Everything okay?”
    “Couldn’t be better,” I said. “Come