Saturday's Child Read Online Free Page A

you have any paracetamol or anything, do you?”
    Pastor Jack nodded. “Yeah. I’ll get some.”
    “Thanks.” Meggie didn’t move. Maybe if she just kept still for a while, the pain would go away. Why had she felt so ill at ease around that woman? Maybe it had just been the headache coming on. Surely, she was reading too much into this. Too many horror novels in her past or the wrong sort of films on the television perhaps, at least she hoped so.
     
    ****
     
    Aaron headed into the small office to one side of the farmhouse. He could smell his stepmother before he saw her—the sickly scent of honeysuckle that she loved, mixed with the stench of tobacco. He sighed, wishing she’d stay in her part of the house. She sat at his desk, the mouse clicking away. Was nothing sacred? “Can I help you with anything, Tanis?”
    “You changed your password.”
    He dropped the file on the desk. “The key word there is my. My password for my computer.” He rounded the desk, his stomach plummeting as he saw the images of Meggie on the screen. “Where did you get those?”
    “The CCTV feed I set up. Thought it might come in handy. I was wondering about our visitor.”
    “My visitor,” he said protectively. “And like I already told you, I don’t know anything about her. Jack sent her.”
    “You didn’t engage her in idle conversation? You look very friendly in these.” Tanis pointed to images of him holding Meggie’s hand, guiding her from the tractor.
    “She almost fell, not that it’s any of your business.” He leaned over and closed all the windows. He could still feel Meggie on his fingers. He hadn’t been that close to a woman since Nancy died. Present company didn’t count.
    “She must have told you her name.”
    “Like I told you, her name is Miss Knight. Now if you don’t mind vacating my office, I have paperwork to do.” He gestured to the door.
    Cold hands gripped his shoulders, although Tanis was still behind the desk. A spine-chilling numbness spread through him, freezing him to the spot.
    She fixed cold, black eyes on him. He felt them boring through to his soul, and her voice echoed in his mind. “Her name, Aaron.”
    An unpleasant sensation jarred him…as if she was searching for something, but that wasn’t possible.
    “Tell me her name.” But her lips didn’t move. Her voice was in his head.
    He couldn’t move, could hardly breathe. He fought not to give up the information she wanted.
    The phone rang, and Aaron shook free, grateful for the release. He staggered to the desk, his movements slow as if walking through lime.
    Tanis got to the handset first. “Hello?” She listened for a moment, her face contorting into what could be pain or anger, then she held the phone out. “It’s for you.”
    Unable to give the snide retort he wanted, Aaron took the phone. What had just happened? Three deep breaths later, he fought to keep his voice calm. “Aaron Field.”
    “Aaron, it’s Jack.” Pastor Jack’s voice washed over Aaron like a breath of fresh air. “How are you?”
    “I—I’m fine…”
    “You don’t sound it.”
    He could feel Tanis’s eyes on him. “Let me call you back on the other line, Pastor Chambers. One minute.” He hung up and left the office, the cold rain dispersing the rest of the odd sensation. He took several deep breaths, wiped the sweat from his upper lip and then drew his phone from his pocket and dialed the manse.
    “Hello.”
    “Hi, Jack. Sorry about that.”
    “Did I catch you at a bad time? The Pastor Chambers line kind of gave it away.” Concern filled his friend’s voice, far more than just the pastoral concern Jack was so good at.
    Actually yes, there is no such thing as a good time here. “Just a tad distracted, that’s all. I didn’t want to talk in front of Tanis.” He took a couple of steps across the farm yard.
    “She doesn’t approve of the bonfire, I take it?”
    “Nope. But it’s my land, so it’s tough. At least for the next few