Black Magic Woman by Justin Gustainis Read Free Book Online

before returning to the TV screen. "We're watching Wallace and Gromit. Wanna watch with us?"
    "Maybe later, Timmy, thanks," Morris said. "I have to talk to your folks for a while first, okay?"
    "Okay." The boy's gaze did not leave the screen.
    Morris turned away and was about to ask LaRue something when the boy's voice from behind him said, "Are you gonna catch the ghost?"
    Morris looked back at Timmy, who continued to stare at the TV. "Do you think there is a ghost, Timmy?"
    A twitch of the small shoulders. "I guess. Mom and Dad say there's one." The boy's voice was utterly lacking in effect.
    Morris stepped closer to the couch. "Have you seen a ghost?" he asked gently.
    "Uh-uh. It's indivisible."
    "Invisible, you mean?"
    Another shrug. "Yeah, I guess."
    "Then how do you know there is one?"
    "It does things. Bad things. It makes Mora and Dad all scared. And Sarah. She's my sister. She's always cryin' and stuff." Timmy LaRue's voice remained as empty as if he were discussing a dimly remembered comic book he'd read a year ago.
    Morris took a casual-looking step to one side, so that he could see the boy's eyes straight on. "How about you, Timmy? Does it make you scared?"
    "Uh-huh." Two syllables, delivered in a monotone. Morris was certain now.
    Shellshock. The kid's shellshocked, or whatever they call it now — post-traumatic stress disorder. He's been so terrified that he's passed fear and come out on the other side. This goes on much longer, he'll be a basket case, probably for life.
    Morris looked at the boy's too-placid face again. If he isn't already.
    "If there's a ghost, I'll catch him, Timmy. I promise."
    "Okay," the emotionless little voice said.
    Morris walked back to the parents, who had watched this exchange with a mixture of sorrow and resignation. "I'd like you to give me a walking tour of the house, if you would," he said briskly. "Not just the rooms where the attacks have occurred, but the whole place. All right?"
    "Fine, I'll do the honors," LaRue said. Looking at his wife, he said, "Do you want to…?" He made a small head movement in the direction of his son.
    "Sure, I'll stay with Timmy," she said with a ghost of a smile. "We'll watch some more Wallace and Gromit together."
    As the two men left the living room, Morris asked quietly, "Where's the little girl—at school?"
    "That's right," LaRue told him. "She'll be home in a couple of hours."
    "How is she dealing with this? Same as Timmy?"
    "No, she's… jumpy. Nervous all the time. Has screaming nightmares three, four times a week." LaRue shook his head. "I don't know which is worse—watching her fall apart, a little at a time, or seeing Tim turn into a fucking zombie." LaRue's voice broke on those last two words, but he regained control quickly. Morris wondered what it was costing the big man to keep his emotions dammed up like that—and how much longer it would be before the dam burst.
    They began their tour of the house.
    * * * *
    "What's this here?" Morris asked. They had stopped on the second floor hallway, in front of a large oak bookcase. The top of the bookcase was at eye level for Morris, and it was there, among the usual family bric-a-brac, that something had caught his attention.
    LaRue looked at the small object in Morris's hand. "Oh, my mother-in-law used to make those. Said they were good luck charms, or something. We're always finding them around the house."
    Morris twirled the charm in his fingers. Its base was a three-inch length of wire twisted into a figure eight—which, laid on its side, is the mystical symbol for infinity. A bit of green thread was tied around it at the center, and through this had been inserted a couple of sprigs of some kind of flora, now long dead.
    Morris rubbed a tiny piece of the vegetable matter onto his index finger, then brought the finger to his mouth and licked it. Aconite, aka. wolfsbane. Well, now.
    "I'd very much like to talk to your mother-in law," he told LaRue. "Does she live in the area?"
    LaRue