Immortal Sins Read Online Free

for a lot more than I paid for it.”
    Tricia shrugged. “Maybe the art dealer wasn’t aware of its value. After all, Vilnius never made it really big, what with only five or six paintings to his credit. Or maybe the dealer thought it was a fake, since its whereabouts have been unknown for so long.”
    Kari looked up at the painting, imagining the nice profit she could make if the canvas was a genuine Vilnius and as rare as Tricia seemed to think.
    “It was rumored that Vilnius was a witch or a warlock or something.” Tricia waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Of course, that was a lot of nonsense. Whoever started the rumor probably thought it would jack up the price, you know?” She shook her head. “Girlfriend, you are so lucky.”
    Kari forced a smile. She didn’t feel lucky. She felt like she was slowly going insane, but then, maybe she wasn’t. After all, crazy people never thought they were crazy. But maybe that was only after they lost their minds.
    “Listen, I’d love to stay and chat,” Tricia said, “but I’ve got to go pick Brent up from work. His Hummer’s in the shop.” She gave Kari a hug. “Let’s do lunch one day next week. My treat.”
    Later, after Tricia had gone home, Kari busied herself with housework. She washed the lunch dishes, mopped the floors in the bathroom and the kitchen, vacuumed the rugs and dusted the furniture in every room but the living room. Time and again she was tempted to go in and look at the painting to see if the man was still in the woods, but for her peace of mind, she refused to do so.
    She told herself that the pretty white horse was grazing in the field, the shaggy black and white dog was asleep in the shade, the cute little gray kitten was curled up in the flower bed, and the man was in the woods, where he belonged. She had seen him there earlier and that’s where he was now, because painted figures didn’t move and certainly didn’t speak. She wouldn’t look at the Vilnius again. Monday morning she would take the accursed thing back to the Underwood Gallery and put it, and the man, out of her mind once and for all.
    When she finished cleaning the house, Kari changed her clothes, grabbed her handbag and her keys, and left by the back door.
    Getting into her car, she drove to the grocery store to pick up a quart of milk, a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, and some fresh fruit and vegetables. On the way home, she stopped at Mama Wong’s for some Chinese takeout, then stopped at Polly’s and picked up a lemon meringue pie because, well, just because.
    At home again, she put the groceries away, poured herself a glass of milk, then sat down at the kitchen table and ate dinner, even though she usually ate in the living room in front of the TV.
    With dinner over, she rinsed her dishes and put them in the dishwasher, then looked out the kitchen window, her fingers drumming on the countertop. What was she going to do now? It was too early to go to bed.
    Keeping her head turned away from the painting, she went through the living room and up the stairs, grabbed the book on her bedside table, then went into the bathroom to take a bath. She added a generous amount of lavender bubble bath to the running water, lit a candle, and stepped into the tub. She sat there a moment, thinking there was nothing more relaxing than sitting in a nice warm bubble bath. She read until the water was cool and her skin was pruney, and then, reluctantly, she got out of the tub.
    Drying off, she blew out the candle, then slipped on her nightgown and robe. Now what, she thought? She was tired of reading. It was still too early for bed. Her computer and the big-screen TV were both in the living room….
    “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Kari, you can’t stay out of the living room for the rest of the weekend!” she muttered, even though it seemed like a good idea.
    Squaring her shoulders, she walked briskly down the stairs and into the living room. Sitting on the sofa, she picked up the