Page 56 of Fix Them Up
‘You’re a lightweight.’
I pouted. ‘I know. It sucks.’
‘Probably ’cos you’re short.’
‘I am not short. I’m bang-on average. Average, average, average. Apart from my IQ, which I have been told is below average, which is nice, isn’t it?’ I hiccupped a laugh.
‘Do you want a rod?’
‘A what?’ I spluttered.
Liam kept his face deadpan. ‘A rod. For all that fishing you’re doing.’
It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out what Liam was on about. Then the penny dropped.
‘Oh, har, har. Very funny.’
Liam chuckled as he drove us through Everly Heath, the glow of the streetlights setting everything in an orange haze.
‘Stop,’ I shouted, throwing my hand on the dashboard. Liam came to a screeching halt.
‘What’s wrong?’ His eyes were wide, assessing the danger.
‘Can you pull in?’ I pointed to the car park.
I unclipped my belt and ran across the grass, searching.
‘Kat,’ Liam called. ‘What are you doing?’
‘I haven’t seen it yet. I should have seen it by now.’
‘Seen what?’
‘It’s around here somewhere. I just don’t know where.’ I squinted, trying to see the names on the graves in front of me.
‘Wait here.’ Liam returned a minute later with a torch and placed it in my hands. ‘You use this, and I’ll use my phone.’
‘You’ll help?’
‘Are you daft? Of course I’ll help. Let’s split up, and we’ll find him quicker.’
‘You shouldn’t have said that. That’s what you say before you get murdered.’
‘What?’ Liam frowned.
‘In the horror films.’
Liam chuckled. ‘It’s Everly Heath. The biggest crime here is the mystery thief who kept nicking Paul’s pears.’
Liam wandered off, shining his torch on each grave as he went.
‘Who is Paul? Why did someone steal his pears?’ I asked as I took the next row and kept searching.
‘The greengrocer. We found out it was the rabbits escaping from the pet shop next door. It was a mystery for weeks.’
I huffed. ‘This place is bizarre.’
‘Here, Kat,’ Liam said, his voice going soft. My heart leapt. I made my way to where Liam stood two rows behind me. I looked down at the epitaph.James ‘Jim’ Williams. Devoted son, brother, and father.
