Mind Tricks Read Online Free Page A

putting some distance between
them. “What?” she repeated.
    He grimaced in exasperation. “Do
the energy thing to me.”
    The word witch , burned black with a soldering iron into her front door,
flashed through her memories. More memories tumbled forth: her garbage lit on
fire one night, pentagrams soaped onto her car windows, people crossing
themselves when they thought she wasn’t looking. She’d moved to
Maine—practical, hardheaded Maine—to escape that. And now Jake wanted to drag
her back into that life—and drag ostracism down on her again.  
    “Please,” he added, his jaw tight
with the desperation she’d seen on so many clients’ faces.
    “I don’t—” She broke off her own
words. He hadn’t asked her to read his mind. If she could use energy
manipulation to free his memories, then she’d be doing a good deed while she
kept her secret safe.
    Plus, it’d feel good to wipe that
skepticism off Jake’s face once and for all.
    Wait. She was assuming one thing.
    “What if I do it,” she asked, “and
you get your memories back and you discover that you killed your coworker?”
    He straightened and for a moment
seemed to loom over her as his nostrils flared. “I didn’t do it. I know I didn’t do it. I just need to find
something that gives me an alibi so that I can get the police off my back and
they can spend their time finding who really killed Ginny.”
    She studied him, and he stared back
at her, silently daring her to disbelieve him.
    She exhaled softly. All right. He
thought he was telling the truth—that he didn’t do it. His body practically
radiated conviction. If she touched him now and looked in his head, she was
sure she’d see him believing in his innocence.
    Of course, that didn’t mean he
hadn’t murdered Ginny last night—it just meant he couldn’t remember doing it.
    She’d be a twit to put herself in
such a vulnerable position.
    He shoved his hand through his
hair, his sudden anger gone, replaced by exhaustion. “I swear, I didn’t do it,”
he repeated.
    On the other hand, Mickey had been
a true friend to her ever since she’d moved in next door. Really, her one true
friend. Even after eighteen months here, most of her relationships were
professional ones. Mickey was the only one who’d regularly asked her to go out
for drinks at the Wild Rover, where they both ogled hunky men and laughed at
the sunburned tourists, and who would drop by without calling first. She owed
Mickey far more than one energy healing of his nephew could repay, but it would
be at least some kind of effort toward balancing out the debt.
    Anyway, Ian was at home. She
wouldn’t be alone with Jake.
    She sighed, knowing she’d already
made up her mind. The bottom line was simple: Jake needed her help.
    And when he looked at her with his
eyes so dark they were almost black, no sneer visible on his drawn face, she
had the silly urge to give him whatever he needed.
    She wheeled around and headed for
her house. When she didn’t hear him following her, she turned back and
beckoned. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

Chapter Three
     
    When Emma stepped onto her lawn,
she saw that Ian’s car was no longer in her driveway.
    Um, not good.
    She whipped a glance over her
shoulder. Jake was just emerging from the thin line of woods between her house
and Mickey’s. He tripped over a tree root and stumbled, barely catching his
balance.
    He didn’t look dangerous. He looked asleep on his feet.
    Better safe than sorry, though. As
she headed for the back door, she unsnapped Brutus from the leash line. The big
black dog wagged his tail furiously, apparently forgiving her for quashing his
escape attempt that morning.
    “This guy has turned into a regular
Houdini,” she told Jake. “Ian and I decided that since he’s managed to get out
of three different kennels, we’re going to alternate between keeping him on the
leash line and in the house.”
    No need to tell Jake that she and
Ian had discussed