Read Online Something Wicked by Lisa Jackson - Free Book Online

question. “Mary adopted out her sons, except for Nathaniel, who was sweet, but slow. He died when he was young, but he wasn’t strong.”
    â€œHow many were adopted out?”
    â€œSeveral.”
    â€œYou’re kind of loose on the numbers,” Savvy pointed out.
    â€œWe just felt it was better if they were raised by others.”
    â€œBecause being male, their gift would be . . . too much to handle?”
    â€œMary had a lot of children, and she wasn’t capable of taking care of so many of them.”
    â€œBut the males were more difficult as a rule,” Savannah said, pressing. “That’s what you’re saying.”
    Catherine wanted to deny it, but in the end she went back to genetics. “I believe that with the female, the two Xs counterbalance each other, but with the males, on that missing part of the X that makes it a Y, there is no counterbalance, and therefore whatever gift you’ve been given is stronger and can manifest itself in psychotic behavior, which it has.”
    â€œYou’re talking about Justice Turnbull,” Savvy said and felt a particular chill when she considered his extreme cruelty and fixation.
    â€œMary, like Justice, possessed a dark gift, but Justice’s was more intense, and he was so focused . . . .”
    â€œAre you saying you think he was involved with your sister’s death?”
    â€œNo, not Justice. But maybe a man . . .”
    â€œA man with your family’s ‘gift?’ ” Savvy questioned.
    â€œI don’t know. Maybe I’m skittish and overly careful, but Mary couldn’t leave men alone. Wait here. . . .”
    Savannah hazarded a glance at her watch as Catherine left the room. Catherine was skittish and overly careful, but she clearly had something specific on her mind.
    She heard the older woman’s tread on the stairs, and as her footsteps faded away, she heard the sound of quick approaching feet, and soon another young woman entered the room, one she hadn’t met before. She stood at the edge of the kitchen, her shoulder-length hair ashy blond, her eyes a faded blue, her pupils and irises seemingly disproportionately large compared to the whites of her eyes. She was barefoot, and her dress was a blue and yellow calico print that swept her ankles.
    â€œHello,” Savannah said.
    â€œHello,” she answered, her eyes drifting to Savannah’s protruding stomach. “I’m Maggie.”
    â€œI’m Detective Dunbar. Savannah,” she said.
    â€œYou’re having someone else’s child?”
    Savannah stared at her. Did she mean what it sounded like she meant? “I’m a surrogate for my sister,” she admitted. “How did you guess?”
    â€œI didn’t guess. I knew. That’s why they call me Cassandra, even though my real name is Margaret.”
    Like Cassandra, the seer of mythology , Savvy thought.
    â€œAunt Catherine says my mother thought it was more appropriate. Because of the myth, you know.”
    Savvy nodded.
    â€œDo you have a name for him yet?”
    Savannah ran a protective hand over her large mound, a little boggled by the switch in subjects. “Um . . . no . . . My sister will name him.”
    â€œYou’re from the sheriff’s department,” Cassandra said, her voice taking on an urgent tone. Footsteps sounded on the stairs again, and Cassandra edged closer. “I told Aunt Catherine about him and about the bones. I knew about Justice, too. But now he’s coming. He came for Mary, and he’s coming for us, too.” She gazed hard at Savannah and added meaningfully, “All of us.”
    â€œBut Justice is dead,” Savannah said, feeling more than a little shivery at the girl’s intensity.
    â€œNot Justice. There are many heads to the Hydra. You cut one off, and another grows in its place.”
    â€œWho’s coming? What does he look like?”
    Cassandra shook her head,