The Spider Thief by Laurence MacNaughton Read Free Book Online

obviously debating it.
    Ash glanced in the rearview mirror. Still no cops. But he was sure the clock was ticking.
    Finally, Cleo holstered her gun and tugged the door open. She climbed in and pulled the door closed with a heavy thunk . Rain ran in through the open window. She tried to turn the smaller of the two chrome cranks.
    “Other one,” he said as he pulled away and accelerated.
    “Ash, wait. Wait!” She turned around in the seat as they sped past the bullet-riddled wreckage of her car.
    “Trust me, you’re better off in here. That car’s seen better days. Roof probably leaks.” He sped the Galaxie down the highway, trying to put as much distance between him and the truck ramp as possible.
    Cleo stared harder at him, as if she was trying to see completely through him. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”
    “Told you. I’m still trying to figure that out.”
    With an effort, Cleo got the window rolled up, and the noise of rain on the road vanished, leaving them in silence.
    Moolah chose that moment to come out of hiding and poke his head up from the back seat. He sniffed at Cleo’s neck. She jerked away with a start.
    Ash stifled a laugh. “It’s okay. He doesn’t bite.”
    “Is this your dog?” She half-turned in the seat, pulling awkwardly away as Moolah tried to snuggle up to her.
    Ash shrugged. “I feed him and pet him, and he won’t let me go anywhere without him. Guess that makes him my dog.”
    Tentatively, she started petting him. Moolah’s tail thumped against the back seat. They drove that way for a long, unbroken moment. The wipers squeaked across the wet windshield.
    He could feel her gaze studying him again. What could be going on behind those dark eyes of hers? Did she hate him? Was she glad to see him? He couldn’t tell.
    Finally, she spoke. “What did you do , Ash?”
    “See, why is this my fault?” He gave her his best innocent look. “I did absolutely nothing. I am a law-abiding citizen who flosses and votes. I would never dream of breaking the law.”
    “Uh huh. So where did you get this car?”
    She had him on that one. “Well, okay, I did steal the car. But believe me, it was entirely necessary.”
    She stopped petting Moolah. “See, how can you justify something like stealing a car?”
    “Well, in my defense, the other option involved getting a lot more lead in my diet.” When she didn’t say anything, he traded looks with her and saw just a glimmer of sympathy in her eyes. After that, he decided it was time to go for broke. “Okay, so you wanted to know about Andres. Here it is.”
    She cocked her head. “I’m listening.”
    “He’s got followers. And they’re after this ancient treasure. A gold spider. He’s willing to kill his own people over it. And, obviously, they’re okay with killing me .” He swallowed. “So here’s my plan, as of this exact moment. If I can find the spider, maybe I can hand it over and get Andres off my back.”
    “Do you know where it is?”
    “Not yet. But there’s a bigger problem. If I give him the spider, it’ll only continue the curse.” He held up his hand before she could say anything. “Don’t tell me how crazy it sounds. Believe me, I know. But the spider steals memories. If you’re around it long enough, eventually it’ll kill you.”
    “Where did you hear this?”
    “If I told you the whole truth, you wouldn’t believe me.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to get you mixed up in this.”
    She sniffed, then turned to face the window. “Do you have anything on Andres that’ll hold up in court?”
    “You’re kidding, right?” he said. “Look, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
    “How about a state patrol station?”
    “ Almost anywhere.”
    “Why, Ash? Why do you need to do this alone? These people are criminals. Just call the police. They’ll take Andres into custody. It’s that simple.”
    “Really? Well, gee whiz, why didn’t I think of that? Let’s call in the fuzz, so I