Something Spooky Read Free

Todd?  She took a deep breath, put some distance between them and reminded him of his status.
    ‘I feel sorry for your wife.’
    ‘I haven’t got a wife.’
    ‘But Todd …?  Her voice suddenly faltered. Perhaps his wife had died.
    He answered her unspoken question. ‘He’s my son.’
    ‘Where’s his mother?’ she blurted out.
    ‘Gone.’  Patrick’s hands gripped her shoulders, his eyes bored into hers as he said very deliberately. ‘She was one of your sort.’
    ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
    The ball of his thumb slid roughly across her mouth, smearing the lipstick. Ellie wanted to gasp at the indignity of it. ‘I thought she was something special until the veneer peeled off.’
    The rumble of thunder seemed louder. A nagging little voice in her subconscious told her it was too consistent.
    Patrick must have thought so too. His eyes suddenly widened in awareness. Grabbing her by the waist he dragged into the Rover after him and gunned the motor into life. ‘Let’s get out of here!’
    It seemed impossible the wall of water would miss them as the wheels spun in the mud. Patrick poured out a string of curses and she was jolted back in her seat as the Rover leaped forward.
    Clinging to the seat she turned in time to see Patrick’s truck skew sideways. Then water churned over it. For a few seconds the headlights shone palely through the water, then they were extinguished.
    A ghost gum followed after in a crackle of flailing branches. Water and gravel splattered angrily at the Rover as it shot up the bank, as if cheated of its prey, the flood was hurling insults after them.
    Patrick’s face was made of stone as he pulled the Rover to a halt. The hands gripping the top of the wheel were white-knuckled, but his voice so conversational it seemed unreal under the circumstances.
    ‘That was close.’
    She had an urge to giggle, despite knowing it would be bordering on hysteria. Who’d have thought a couple of simple spells could produce such startling results?
    Ellie had found the spell book sandwiched between two paperbacks. It had been a fun book, nothing serious. It had offered spells from the removal of warts to ensuring the sex of an unborn child.
    Knowing the district had been suffering from drought Ellie had used the spell for making rain. She’d have looked pretty silly if Patrick had appeared whilst she was waving a forked stick in the air and chanting at the top of her voice. The giggle became a reality.
    He turned to glower at her.
    At least the love potion hadn’t worked, she mused. If Patrick had fallen instantly in love with her he had a funny way of showing it. He looked as if he wanted to kill her.
     The skin around his eye was a puffy purple patch, his dark hair curled at the edges like burned toast where it was drying. Mud streaked his tanned face. It lodged in the crevices, emphasizing them, making him appear older. His cold glittering eyes were contemptuous. They froze her embryonic laugh in her throat when she remembered she was here with him alone, except for one small boy who was oblivious to what was going on around him. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath. Not only was her imagination working overtime, she was also imagining the worst. Patrick Morgan was an ordinary man trying to run a small business. He’d just lost everything he owned and had the right to be upset about it. 
    ‘I see nothing funny about the situation. I’ve just lost my truck and all my equipment.’
    ‘Wasn’t it insured?’
    ‘Of course it was insured.’
    ‘Then stop complaining, and I’d be grateful if you’d stop taking it out on me. It wasn’t my fault it rained.’
    Okay, so she’d waved a stick and chanted. A shiver came from nowhere and she wrapped her arms tightly around her body. ‘Be thankful you still have your life.’
    ‘There’s that I suppose.’ Staring through the thrashing blades of the wipers he asked, ‘What made you come to the creek?’
    ‘Aunt Vera phoned and said