My Demon by Lisa Hinsley Page A

“Guess what Jeremy and I did last night?”
    “You had sex,” came a vague reply.
    “No, no. I mean yes,” Alex said. “But that wouldn’t be so unusual.” She suppressed a giggle. “There’s more.” She rolled over and pulled at the hem of the curtains with her toes. Sunlight flooded into the room for a second. She dropped the fabric, and in a hushed voice, said, “We did it in the cinema.” Alex paused for effect. “In the back row.” She waited for Becky to respond. Impatiently, she emphasized still further, “Some other people were sat a few seats up.” Alex giggled. “Can you believe it? Me? Doing that , there?”
    “That’s certainly a weird place to have sex, Alex.” Bec paused then said, “What with you being on a heavy period and all. Must have made quite a mess.”
    Alex felt a blush rise, she’d forgotten all about her lie from yesterday. “Yes, but at least the seats in the theatre are covered in red velvet.”
    Becky laughed and Alex felt relief spread. She sat up in her bed and arranged the covers around her legs. “What’s really odd is you know I’d normally never do anything like that. I felt like I was almost somebody else.”
    “Yeah, that’s bloody fantastic.” But Becky didn’t sound happy. “I hate to rain on your parade, but I’ve got to talk to you about something serious.” A heavy sigh filtered through the phone line.
    “What could possibly be wrong? The sun is shining. I have the day off work, and—”
    “Yeah, and you had great sex last night.” Becky cut Alex off. “I understand already.”
    Silence coursed the airways for a couple of seconds while Alex replayed their conversation in her head. What on earth had she managed to say that might offend Becky? She thought Bec would be impressed by her cinema antics, and it was still mild compared to the stories she’d been told. “Um… Are you okay, Becs?” Alex asked. Then she banged a fist against her forehead as she realized something had been wrong, from the moment the phone lines connected. How did she miss Becky’s tone? Oh my God, she thought and clapped a hand to her mouth.
    “Aren’t you wondering why I’m not at work today?” Becky almost shouted down the line. She sounded close to tears. “That woman fired me yesterday. After you left, the police finally arrived in force to drag away the preacher. Then Aggie took me into her office and yelled at me for ages.” Becky’s voice broke. “She fired me!” The tears were flowing now. “She said some horrible things, Alex. She said I was…” Becky sniffed. “…depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.” She paused for a second and blew her nose loudly.
    “Oh shit.” Alex gulped in her guilt.
    “I know,” Becky replied. “She told me I was a thief, and apparently she’d been watching me for weeks, and how money only disappeared when I had a shift.”
    Becky sounded surprised, and a cold dread filled Alex’s stomach.
    “I’ve never stolen in my life! You know that!” Becky waited for confirmation.
    “I… I can’t believe Aggie’s fired you!” Alex tried to think what she’d be expected to say as Becky honked her nose on the other side of the phone line again. “How much did she say you’d stolen?”
    “£295! Can you believe she thought I took £295?” Becky appeared more composed now, more angry than upset.
    “My God. That’s a lot of money!” The cold dread in Alex’s stomach overflowed and began filling her head as well. She felt surreal and wobbly.
    What had she done?
    “You stole all the money from the shop.” Clive materialized in front of the doorway. The demon smiled as he watched the color drain out of Alex’s face. He’s enjoying this, Alex thought.
    “How could you?” Alex said between clenched teeth. Her view of the bedroom turned a shade of red. The demon stood in the center of the hue, as if the room burned around him.
    “How could I what?” Becky asked.
    “Um… You know, accept such a horrible