Nightwitch by Ken Douglas Read Free Book Online Page A

from Arty’s shoulder into her lap.
    “ What is it?” Arty asked, feeling sweat run under his arms.
    “ It’s my ferret. Arty meet Sheila, Sheila meet Arty.”
    “ Keep it away.”
    “ Oh grow up. She won’t hurt you. She’s as harmless as a cat.”
    “ You’re sure?”
    “ Sure. Stick out your hand.”
    He obeyed and extended his arm. Sheila approached warily and nuzzled his hand. “She likes me.” He stroked her fur. Then he said, “She has a gold necklace like yours.”
    “ Yeah, mine was too long, so I used a pliers and made it shorter, and since Sheila had to have a name tag I used the leftover part instead of a collar.”
    “ I’ve never had a pet before,” he said.
    “ Me either, Sheila’s my first, and my mom doesn’t know about her.”
    “ What?”
    “ She’s a secret pet.”
    “ If she’s a secret why does she need a name tag?”
    “ Because if she gets lost and someone finds her, I want them to know she’s a pet and not a wild animal, so they don’t hurt her.”
    “ How did you get her?”
    “ I saved my allowance and lunch money, till I had enough. I got her at the pet store in Tampico.”
    “ So how come it’s a secret?”
    “ Because I know my mom. She’d make me give her away. She hates animals.”
    “ How do you keep her from finding out?” He smiled at the clucking sound the ferret was making.
    “ I buy dried cat food with my allowance and keep it in my underwear drawer. My mother never looks in there.” She smiled more with the right side of her face than the left.
    “ You have a crooked smile.”
    “ Really?” She looked in the mirror above her dresser. “Yeah, I do.”
    “ Where does it go to the bathroom?”
    “ At first I thought that would be my big problem, but it wasn’t. I leave the window open a little bit and she squeezes out when she has to go and comes right back in afterwards.”
    “ Did you train her to do that?”
    “ No, she always did it. She’s never gone in the house.”
    “ Does she ever bite?”
    “ Only when she’s playing, but it’s just little nibbles and it doesn’t hurt.”
    The ferret arched its back and screamed, making a sound like a baby that had been scalded with boiling water. Arty jumped away from the animal, squirming and turning along with Carolina, following the ferret’s frightened gaze and he saw two glowing red eyes staring into the room. Staring at them. Then they faded to black and were gone.

Chapter Four
     
     
    John Coffee glanced over at the wrapped packages on the passenger seat. Gifts. Carolina was one of the few good things to come out of his life. He smiled as he thought of her eyes, sparkling green as dew lit grass on a fresh morning, her crooked smile showing perfect teeth. Most people wouldn’t believe what he had to tell her, but she would, because they never lied to each other.
    It tore at his heart, the thought of telling her, because it would probably steal away her childhood. But she had to be warned, even if it meant the steep price of her innocence. But first he wanted to just sit and talk, gab about baseball, school and whatever else she might be interested in.
    He parked across the street and shut off the engine. He had the windows down and he felt a chill as the evening breeze blew through, bringing the scent of the sea and something else.
    He sucked in his breath and held it, listening to the silent breeze. An electric charge danced through the air. He tasted a faint rotten egg smell, and he knew he wouldn’t be knocking on his daughter’s door with gifts and a smile and gabbing about the Atlanta Braves this evening.
    The wind shifted, taking the faint sulfur smell away, but he’d tasted the familiar scent and knew that she was near. He opened the door, cringing at the sound it made. He knew what he’d tasted on the wind. He opened the glove compartment, took out a small jar and dropped it in a coat pocket. Satisfied that it was secure, he reached back in and took out the holstered