BooksBarbecue
Back The Trickster
Chapters (74)
  1. The Trickster
  2. Copyright
  3. Dedication
  4. Contents
  5. Preface to the 20th anniversary edition
  6. Introduction
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. 41
  48. 42
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. 45
  52. 46
  53. 47
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. 53
  60. 54
  61. 55
  62. 56
  63. 57
  64. 58
  65. 59
  66. 60
  67. 61
  68. 62
  69. Keep Reading
  70. FURNACE
  71. Acknowledgements
  72. About the Author
  73. ALSO BY THE AUTHOR
  74. About the Publisher

The bell on the microwave made her jump. Katie had been thinking about that woman visitor in the museum; her face, the way she smiled, and the thing she thought she saw through the distorted end of the case. The pizza would stop her thinking about it, so she got up to scoop it out of the revolving stage on which it had starred for the last three minutes.

‘Billy! Pizza, honey!’

Jess was in bed. It had taken a while but the wriggling laughing little bundle had eventually given up the good fight against sleep and was safely folded into her Care-Bears comforter. Katie was ashamed that she was about to feed herself and her son a revolting frozen cheese and pepperoni smeared disc of dough, but Sam wasn’t home. She cooked nice things for all of them when Sam was home but she didn’t know when he would be home, because he wasn’t here like he should have been when she got back and he hadn’t called. Tonight it was going to have been beef stroganoff. She’d bought the ingredients after they’d been to the doctor’s, going to three stores until she found all the right things. But that was before she got sick at the museum. Before she picked Billy up and saw his painting. Before everything. So it was frozen pizza for supper.

Billy waddled through to the kitchen and climbed up onto one of the old pine captain’s chairs at the table. Katie slid the pizza onto a china dish, dipped her finger in a bit of the melted cheese, put it in her mouth and did an impersonation of the Seller’s pizza mom. ‘Mmmm hmmm. Does that EVER taste good!’

A weak smile from the boy at the table. ‘Yeah. That’s funny.’

She ignored the slight, put the dish down and went to the drawer to get a knife. ‘You want Coke or milk with that?’

‘Milk.’

‘Milk, please.’

‘Milk, please.’

There was a scratching and a whining at the door. Billy looked up at his mother with huge black pleading eyes.

‘Go on then. But no feeding him while you eat.’

Billy jumped up and skipped to the door to let Bart in. The husky bounded in, licked Billy like he was a candy, and then shook his cargo of snow all over the floor, his master and his mother. Billy laughed. Katie’s heart lost about twenty pounds of weight with that sound and she bent down and hugged him as he hugged his dog. Billy had seemed a little better since that cry in the car, but she’d watched his face as they came in the door, his eyes roaming the room looking for Sam, and she had nearly wept. He had actually looked frightened. Billy had relaxed when he realized that his father wasn’t home and she’d thought her heart would break.