Page 14 of Crazy for You (Loco, Texas 1)

Tonight.

It was then she saw the dark liquid leaking through the porous holes of the sack, and the metallic smell of real blood drifted up her nostrils.

Tentatively, she flipped the sack open…

And started screaming.

* * *

Cursed. She was definitely cursed.

Deana had spent her whole life explaining away all the truly terrible things that had happened to her, not really believing in curses and bad luck, but those days were over. In the last few hours, she’d been attacked with a knife and found a dead cat outside the locker room. A dead black cat.

She knew it wasn’t Salem because the cat had been missing Salem’s extra toes. But still…

It might not mean anything. It might just be a sick prank.

But she knew, deep down this was personal. This was the curse.

Curses could be broken, though.

The full moon overhead helped illuminate the quiet street of Willow Lane, where Miz Velma had lived for most of her life. The houses were older, modest, with small yards and front porches that contained potted plants, wind chimes, and rocking swings. It was also where Deana had lived before she’d gone off to college and her mother had remarried.

Moving along the houses, she saw a few straggling trick-or-treaters ahead, but no one approached the fourth house on the block, where Miz Velma lived. The porch light was off, no decorative pumpkins adorned the steps, and the last group of children passed by laughing, oblivious to the shadow of the woman in the window.

Deana stopped on the other side of the fence, looking at Miz Velma’s dark shape bent over like she was reading a book. Overwhelming guilt and sadness made her heart pound harder. She’d avoided Miz Velma for fourteen years after what she’d done. Was she the reason there were no more decorations on the little white porch?

Miz Velma used to love Halloween. She would go all-out on dressing up, decorating, and even buying the good candy. She’d spend hours carving those intricate pumpkins and placing them out for display.

Like the one Deana had destroyed.

Was this crazy? Probably. She was obsessing over a pumpkin. Miz Velma probably didn’t care anymore. There was no curse. She was just nuts.

So why was she standing there, about to confront Miz Velma as if she was the Wicked Witch?

Deana was jarred from her inner rant by a huge black dog’s ferocious bark as it jumped up onto the fence next to Miz Velma’s gate. When it snapped its jaws at her, she stared at its sharp, gleaming teeth and the top of her spine tingled with unease.

She looked up and down the street, even behind her at the cluster of trees at the edge of the neighborhood. Without taking her eyes from those trees, she reached over to unlock the gate, ignoring the dog and everything else but—

A hand grabbed her wrist, and she screamed, wrenching her hand back and swinging around to face her attacker.

“Good gracious, Deana Sawyer, is that you?”

Breathing hard, Deana faced Miz Velma with her hand over her heart. “Miz Velma, you scared me to death.”

Miz Velma’s dark eyebrows shot up her forehead in surprise. “I scared you? I looked outside, wondering what Fluffy was barking at, only to find a lone figure standing at my gate.”

Deana’s eyes flickered to the neighbor’s dog, who was sitting quietly now behind the fence.

Who would name a dog that big Fluffy?

“I’m sorry to bother you, Miz Velma, but I was wondering if we could talk?” Deana asked urgently.

Miz Velma watched her from behind the clear lenses on her glasses, as if trying to read her mind. “I suppose, although it is very late.”

“I know, but it won’t take long, I promise.”

Still studying her almost suspiciously, Miz Velma finally nodded. “All right then.”

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