Deception (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 3) by S.M. Spencer Read Free Book Online Page A

plunked our basket in the middle. I sat on the edge furthest from the water facing toward it. Archie sat in the middle of the blanket leaning up against the basket, and Ceylona camped on the corner to my right so she could sit on the blanket and still play in the sand. Slowly, and with great determination, she started taking her plastic shovels and moulds out of their bag, and organised her buckets according to size, in preparation to start making sand castles. I knew she’d want to go to the water’s edge to fill the buckets with water, and I also knew I could trust her not to get too wet. She’d learned how to stand to keep her feet just out of reach of the water.
    Once she had her water, she sat down to start making shapes. Still keeping one eye on her, I gazed over toward the hill at the far end of the little beach. I hadn’t ventured that far with Ceylona yet, given that she mostly wanted to play in the sand, but the way she was growing, I knew it wouldn’t be long before she’d be capable of much longer walks. Some of the paths weren’t overly steep, meandering back and forth up to the top of the hill and down the other side. In summer the hill was covered with cool shady spots under the canopies of the beautiful old eucalyptus trees that also acted as windbreaks. There were picnic areas, and even a playground. It would be a nice change on a hot day. That was something to look forward to over the coming months.
    When I turned my focus back to Ceylona I saw that she was staring at a jogger who was coming toward us with two big Labradors—one yellow and one black. Ceylona was quite intent on the trio and for a moment I wondered if it might be the same lady we sometimes saw at the park near home. I stared too, trying to work out if I recognised her, but in the end I decided it wasn’t her.
    She was jogging at a nice slow pace, and wore a set of those little earphones, no doubt listening to music as she focused on the path in front of her. She glanced in our direction as she passed, but didn’t slow, and didn’t acknowledge our presence.
    As the dogs passed right beside us, Ceylona stood up and took one tentative step toward them. They slowed and looked at her, but the woman must have noticed they were no longer with her, as she turned and whistled and they looked up toward her and trotted to catch up. I figured she was probably heading for the top of the hill, up one of those lovely paths I’d just been remembering.
    Ceylona’s disappointment was written all over her face. I could tell she’d wanted to pet those friendly looking dogs. She stood watching them until it was obvious they weren’t coming back.
    Eventually she gave up, and turned her attention back to her buckets and shovel. But after just a few minutes she stopped. Her head came up suddenly, as though she’d heard something, and she turned and looked back behind me, in the direction of the parking lot. I hadn’t heard any cars pull up, but perhaps one had. I turned to follow her gaze, expecting to see a car, but there were no cars; just a man.
    He was tall, and dressed in a long dark coat covering what appeared to be a dark business suit. He didn’t look like he was ready to spend a day at the beach, but perhaps he was just taking his lunch break at a picturesque spot. Yet if that was the case, I wondered how he’d gotten here.
    As he walked toward us, or rather toward the sidewalk that ran alongside the beach, I looked back toward Ceylona. Her little body had stiffened, and she’d gone quite pale.
    She looked at me, and in a very soft voice like the one she used when chatting to Archie, she said, ‘Bad man, Mommy.’
    As she spoke, I could feel all the hairs on the back of my neck, my arms and my legs stand straight up. A cold shiver ran down my spine. I looked at her, and in the calmest voice I could muster I said, ‘Ceylona, honey, what’s the matter?’
    ‘Bad man, Mommy. Man has eyes like Ah-chee. Bad man,’ she repeated, in a voice