Spellfall by Katherine Roberts Read Free Book Online

flew to her mouth as her mind registered what she was seeing. “What have you done to your hair?”
    “Just shaved it,” Tim mumbled. It wasn’t having quite the effect he’d planned. He’d never intended to upset his mother – just get Mr Marlins to notice him for once.
    “And your ear! Who did it? Oh no! Let me see. I hope you didn’t use a dirty needle, it looks infected to me.”
    “It’s fine.” He jerked away. Actually his ear was throbbing like a bass guitar but he wasn’t about to admit it. Gaz had rinsed the needle in a puddle first – did that count as clean? “Why do the police want to see me?” he asked, focusing on his more immediate problem.
    His mother’s hands were still over her mouth. For a second, she looked as if she might cry. Then she took a deep breath and took her hands away. “I expect they want to ask you about Nat. Your father’ll have a fit,” she added quietly.
    “He’s not my father ,” Tim said through gritted teeth. “It’s not up to him what I do.”
    “Timothy! Not that again, not today. Please.”
    Immediately, Tim felt bad. He rummaged under his bed and found an old pair of trainers he used for slopping around the house, then ran his hands over his smooth skull. “At least you won’t have to nag me to comb it now,” he said. This attempt to lighten the atmosphere didn’t work. His mother’s face twisted as she shepherded him downstairs, making Tim glad of the distraction the police were providing. Now he knew it was Nat they were interested in and not him, he felt a bit more confident.
    Mrs Marlins had shut the lounge door when she’d come to get him. Tim opened it without thinking to knock and walked into the middle of an argument.
    “Are you suggesting I don’t know my own daughter?” Mr Marlins was shouting as he paced by the French windows. His clothes were crumpled, his hair and beard a mess. He’d slept in his car again.
    “I’m suggesting you’re acting very strangely for someone whose twelve-year-old daughter has just gone missing,” the policewoman said, calmer. She was young and slim with light blonde hair. Her back was turned to Tim but he could tell she’d be pretty. Mr Marlins always got upset when confronted with a pretty woman who had hair that colour.
    Don’t underestimate her , Tim thought. According to Gaz, women police constables were the worst. He reckoned WPCs are really nice to you then suddenly, when you’re least expecting it, they spring a trap.
    “Was Natalie having any problems at home?” she asked.
    “What sort of problems?”
    “Why don’t you tell me?”
    The two stared at each other.
    “Look, I’ve had just about enough of this!” Mr Marlins clenched his fists and took a step towards the policewoman. With a peculiar sort of thrill, Tim wondered if he was going to hit her. But at that moment Mr Marlins noticed his wife and stepson hovering by the door.
    He stared at Tim’s head for a full thirty seconds. His face flushed crimson as he shoved past the policewoman. Tim braced himself. But Mr Marlins didn’t touch him. One hand on the door handle, he turned and growled, “Just do your job and find my daughter!” On his way out he hissed at Tim, “I’ll deal with you later, my boy.” He shook his head at Julie and slammed the door.
    The policewoman considered Tim with her pretty blue eyes. He could almost see her categorizing him. He straightened his shoulders and faced her defiantly. If she asked where he’d been last night, he’d deny all knowledge of the public toilets. The others wouldn’t tell. Death Heads never told the police anything.
    She didn’t ask. She made him and his mother sit down on the sofa, took the armchair for herself and chatted to them as if they were friends. Tim relaxed a bit. “No,” he said innocently when she asked if he’d seen Nat go out. “I was in bed. Sleep like the dead, me. I didn’t hear no one creeping about the house.”
    This earned him a sharp glance from