Innocently Evil (A Kitty Bloom Novel) Read Free Page B

narrow,” said Mum, trying to be understanding and reasonable for the both of us. 
    I looked out the bus window at the steep hill we had to climb before we could gain entry in to Saint Jean. It was almost seven in the evening and everything was beginning to glow warm with the colors of sunset. Still, I couldn’t help but be happy that we weren’t lugging all our belongings up the hill in total darkness.
    From what I could see of Saint Jean it looked like a fortress. A huge stone wall encased the city, most likely built to keep medieval armies out, though my morbid imagination could also see their usefulness at keeping something in. At the centre of Saint Jean was a huge bell tower that rose high into the sky and seemed to me to peer ominously down at the city and its people. As my eyes examined the tall structure of the tower, I saw a dark, castle-like mansion looming up from the mountainside behind it. The building was built higher up into the mountain than the rest of the city and appeared menacing even in the pleasant pinks and oranges of the setting sun. A shiver blew gently across my body and goose bumps bubbled up over my arms. There was no denying that little, old Saint Jean was creepy. Only my Mum would ever be the kind of person to choose this as our new place of residence. Creepy, freaky places seemed to attract her.
    “That’s the patron’s ho me,” said Mum following my gaze up to the mansion. “You’ll get to meet him tomorrow if you come with me when I sign the last of the paperwork.”                                                                   
    “Great,” I said, with all the enthusiasm of a mouse about to see the cat. Meeting Max’s father was definitely one of the last things on my list of things to do while in Saint Jean. I’d have to come up with a believable excuse between now and then to avoid that unfortunate pleasure.
    Mum and I made our way off the bus and over to the large pile of baggage that belonged to us. Thankfully the bus driver had been kind enough to take everything out of the lugga ge compartment for us, but now Mum and I were stuck with the task of either finding someone to help us carry it or taking it all up the hill by ourselves.
    A quick glance around proved that I was right about us being the only ones stupid enough to be moving to Saint Jean and that there was not going to be anyone to offer us a hand. The bus beside us rumbled and pulled out of its park, and then headed further up into the mountains. Now all alone, the two of us looked around sheepishly not sure what to do. By the look on Mum’s face I could tell that she was wishing for a baggage trolley, like the ones at the airport, or possibly a forklift to somehow magically appear. Anything that would make the number of trips up the hill a little fewer would have been good enough for me.
    But, before we were given the chance to show how resourceful we were in a time of need, the sound of a nearing motorcycle dragged my eyes back down to the road winding up the hill towards us. Mum took a step closer to me and I could tell that she was following my gaze. I mentally crossed my fingers and hoped that this was going to be someone heading in our direction. A sleek, jet black bike appeared from around the corner and headed straight towards us. At the last moment the driver turned the front wheel and began the steep ascent to Saint Jean. My hope for help sunk deep into my stomach as I realized that we were really going to have to carry everything by ourselves.
    “Okay, that’s that then,” said Mum. “Looks like you’ll have to wait here and protect everything while I go and try to find some cavalry.”
    I nodded as she slung a bag over her shoulder and bent down to pick up a box. Then , I heard another motor. Not a bike this time but a car. I looked towards the noise, at the road leading to Saint Jean. A pickup truck? The blue vehicle came