diff --git a/pgrep.c b/pgrep.c
index 36936900..ffe0f32a 100644
--- a/pgrep.c
+++ b/pgrep.c
@@ -266,11 +266,11 @@ static struct el *read_pidfile(void)
     if(opt_lock && !has_flock(fd) && !has_fcntl(fd))
         goto out;
     memset(buf,'\0',sizeof buf);
-    n = read(fd,buf+1,sizeof buf-2);
+    n = read(fd,buf,sizeof buf-1);
     if (n<1)
         goto out;
-    pid = strtoul(buf+1,&endp,10);
-    if(endp<=buf+1 || pid<1 )
+    pid = strtoul(buf,&endp,10);
+    if(endp<=buf || pid<1 )
         goto out;
     if(*endp && !isspace(*endp))
         goto out;