Page 24 of Star Witch
Both boys realised I was watching them and glared. ‘Why are you still here?’
I held up my hands. ‘I thought you might need some help.’ I paused. ‘I don’t know much about bicycles but I helped fix the axle on one of the camera equipment trucks last week and they can’t be that different.’
My oh-so-subtle hint did the trick. The second boy’s eyes widened. ‘You’re withEnchantment.’
I clapped my hand over my mouth and looked guilty. ‘I wasn’t supposed to say anything. Pretend you didn’t hear me.’ I started walking away.
‘Wait!’
I grinned to myself and turned slowly. ‘Yes?’
‘What do you do forEnchantment? Do you know Belinda? Did you see the dead body? Was there a lot of blood?’
The questions came so thick and fast I didn’t know which one to answer first. ‘Er … I shouldn’t say anything. It’s a closed set and we’re not supposed to talk to the public about what’s going on.’
‘We won’t tell anyone,’ Al said slyly.
‘Yeah,’ added his mate. ‘Tell us about Belinda. She’s hot.’
She was also old enough to be their grandmother. ‘Between you and me,’ I said, ‘she’s a bit worked up about the murder and what happened this afternoon. She likes to get a handle on things, you know? The police won’t talk to her about the death and she feels she can’t settle until she knows all the details.’
The boys exchanged looks. ‘We know who found the body,’ the one called Al said.
His friend nudged him knowingly. ‘Yeah. Al knows himrealwell.’
Al snorted. ‘Not through choice. He’s loony tunes. She’d do better to stay away from him.’
‘Who is he?’
‘Gareth.’ The other boy smirked slyly at his friend. ‘McAllan. He lives at Glen Bart Farm.’
‘She won’t find him there though,’ Al added. ‘He’s not been back home since it happened.’ He gave a derisive snort. ‘Baby.’
It was easy to judge when you were a kid and you hadn’t seen what Gareth had seen. ‘So where is he then?’
A calculating expression crossed Al’s eyes. ‘Buy us a pack of fags and we’ll tell you.’
‘Smoking’s bad for you.’
‘Not as bad as working for a television company where everyone keeps dying.’ The spotty one had a point.
I shrugged. ‘Okay.’
‘Fags first. Then we’ll tell you.’
Arse. These two were smarter than they made out. I nodded in agreement and they directed me towards the nearest corner shop, although they kept out of sight. I had the feeling that the shopkeeper was probably wise to their tricks.
Buying the first packet I saw, I handed over a crumpled ten-pound note and marvelled at the cost. Then I palmed the packet and went back outside again, finding the boys scuffing a nearby wall. I held up the packet. ‘Here you go. You have to tell me where I can find Gareth before I hand it over though. Belinda will be really keen to meet him.’
‘Back there.’ Al jerked his head at the leisure centre. ‘He’s in the gym. Thinks if he bulks up he’ll be in with the ladies. As if.’
Gareth hadn’t struck me as the kind of person who enjoyed a good workout. I shuddered slightly. Even the mention of the word brought me out in hives. It was also somewhat galling that he was so close; I could probably have found him without the dubious help of these two.
‘Thanks,’ I beamed. Then, before either of them could reach for the cigarettes, I drew a rune and set the whole packet ablaze. ‘Up in smoke,’ I said sadly.
‘You…’ Al stared at me like I’d just killed his puppy.
I shrugged. ‘It really is bad for you. You should get a new hobby.’
