"Laurell K. Hamilton - Strange Candy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Laurell K)

But as a zombie your husband will only have limited use of his body and mind. And as the days go by,
that will grow worse, not better.”

She stood up very straight, tears drying on her face. “I was hoping you could bring him back as a
vampire.”
I kept my face carefully blank. “Vampires are illegal, Mrs. Fiske.”

“A friend told me that…you could get that done here.” She finished in a rush, searching my face.

I smiled my best professional smile. “We do not do vampires. And even if we did, you can’t make an
ordinary corpse into a vampire.”

“Ordinary?”

Very few people who came to us had even a remote idea of how rare vampires were, or why. “The
deceased would have to have been bitten by a werewolf, vampire, or other supernatural creature, while
alive. Being buried in unconsecrated ground would help. Your husband, Arthur, was never bitten by a
vampire while alive, was he?”

“No,” she half laughed, “he was bitten by my Yorkshire terrier once.”

I smiled, encouraging her turn of spirits. “That won’t quite do it. Your husband can come back as a
zombie or not at all.”

“I’ll take it,” she said quietly, all serious and very still.

“I will warn you that most families find it advisable to lay the zombie to rest after a time.”

“Why?”

Why? I saw the happy family embracing their lost loved one. I saw the family sick, horrified, bringing the
decaying corpse to be put down. The smiling relative reduced to a shambling horror.

“What exactly do you want Arthur to do when he arises?”

She looked down and shredded another tissue. “I want to say good-bye to him.”

“Yes, Mrs. Fiske, but what do you want him to do?”

She was silent for several minutes. I decided to prompt her. “For instance, a woman came in wanting her
husband raised so he could take out life insurance. I told her most insurance companies won’t insure the
walking dead.” She grinned at that. “And that is what Arthur will come back as—the walking dead.”

Her smile faltered, and tears came again. “I want Arthur to forgive me.” She hid her face in her hands and
sobbed. “I had an affair for several months. He found out, had a heart attack, and died.” She seemed to
gain strength from the words, and the tears slowed. “You see that I have to talk to him one last time. I
have to tell him I love him, only him. I want Arthur to forgive me. Can he do that as a…zombie?”

“I’ve found that the dead are very forgiving of the living, when they die of natural causes. Your husband
will have ample brainpower to speak. He will be himself at first. As the days progress, he will lose