The Worm King by Steve Ryan Read Free Book Online Page A

cheery wave but it hadn’t seemed to perk them up at all. The chap who’d
been last to get off was also by far the angriest. When he’d stepped back onto
the pavement the jolt was sufficient to unclick his briefcase which opened to
spill a sheaf of papers onto the footpath. By the time he’d recovered the
drenched pages his pinstripe suit and pigtail were well and truly soaked. Before
walking away, Pinstripe shook a clenched fist at the side of the bus.
    Lord Brown hadn’t been able to contain himself.
‘That’ll teach it!’ he’d yelled. After all, you had to see the funny side of
it. Man versus bus. Talk about laugh! ‘One nil!’ he’d cried gleefully.
    Pinstripe threw a glance at Lord Brown that’d
been far from friendly. In fact it’d been enough to convince him to change
seats, moving thirty meters up the path to another park bench in case the man
came back. He’d tried to stay awake but by then was onto the final bottle, and
as this glugged to an end, found himself slipping into a mumbling, fitful
sleep.
    No sign of Pinstripe now. He reached down
and took the girl’s hand just in case. ‘We’ll do a loop around the fountain then
head down the other end.’
    ‘Thank you.’ Her wet hand gripped his
tightly.
    The people near the eucalyptus trees on the
western side kept moving and jostling and he wished they’d stop because it was
confusing. Eighty-one.
    As they approached the fountain a woman screamed.
    ‘Mummy!’ The girl released his hand and ran
towards her.
    ‘What were you doing with her, you bastard?’
the women yelled, clasping her arms around the girl. ‘I told you someone had
taken her!’ A policeman stood beside her. His blue uniform had a jagged rip
across the front and a white t-shirt glowed through the hole. The shirt was
unbelievably white. Lord Brown bent forward, staring intently at the officer’s
midriff.
    The policeman took a step backwards.
    ‘He has mad cow disease,’ the girl informed
them. He suspected that wouldn’t help his case much.
    The policeman looked hesitant. ‘Okaaaay. Your
daughter alright love?’
    ‘I don’t know?’ she wailed, drawing back
from the girl and scanning her up and down while still holding her arms
tightly. ‘He could’ve done anything! Are you alright darling?’
    The girl nodded uncertainly. ‘I only asked him
where I could find a phone,’ her timid voice barely audible over the rain. Two men
who’d been sitting on the edge of the fountain got up and moved behind Lord
Brown, enclosing him.
    The policeman shone a torch in his face. ‘I’ve
seen ’im here before,’ he said to no one in particular.
    ‘He’s always here,’ confirmed a woman in a
dressing gown and holding an umbrella. ‘Think he’s harmless.’
    ‘Where’s that doctor?’ implored the girl’s
mother, looking back over her shoulder. ‘Where the hell is that doctor!’
    Lord Brown held up a hand to shield his eyes
from the beam. Car tires screeched nearby. Normally it wouldn’t raise an
eyebrow but tonight the sound was ominous, like a metallic shriek leaching out
of a wet, dying city. Light whipped between his fingers casting flashes of scowling
mouths and disbelieving frowns, and in one of those flashes, a glimmer of
recognition. Pinstripe? Lord Brown grimaced, which turned into a short, savage
twitch momentarily contorting the whole left side of his face.
    The policeman took another step away and swung
his beam back onto the girl.
    ‘Are you alright darling?’ The woman
continued to inspect her daughter. ‘Why won’t she say anything!?’ She looked around
the small but growing crowd, pleading. Lord Brown began sidling away. A man
beside the policeman noticed the movement, and tapped the cops shoulder, pointing
at Lord Brown.
    ‘Wait there will ya,’ demanded the officer, spotlighting
the ground directly at Lord Brown’s feet. He turned his torch on the girl again.
‘You hurt love?’
    ‘No,’ she replied, squinting.
    ‘That man do