by Ryan Casey
Adam joined in the chuckling, falling back onto his pillow. This was how all our arguments usually ended, not like on TV where adults ‘made up’ and shook hands. Adam and I found something funny to laugh about, got bored of being miserable, rolled our sleeves up and moved on.
After a few seconds of laughter, Adam told me everything Kenny had told him about Donald.
That’s when the laughter stopped.
Adam had begun giving Kenny a hand clearing up the mess when Kenny asked him whether he still saw a lot of Donald. Kenny told Adam that Donald was a great man. Adam had been fed the bait, so he tugged at it, saying that we did still sometimes go round to Donald’s cabin, but not as much lately. That he’d been acting weird and if Kenny knew why this might be.
‘And that’s when he told me that he didn’t want to spread rumours, but Donald had lost someone close to him not so long back.’
The words hit my ears like loud music. Donald had lost someone. That’s what he’d been telling people. That’s what the ring was all about—his loss. That’s why Granddad hugged him. He had the whole caravan site tricked into sympathising with him, but Adam and I knew that he was a killer. We saw him drag a girl into the woods and bury her. Why would a man do that if he’d just lost someone close to him?
‘His story doesn’t add up,’ I said.
Adam looked back at me, unsure. ‘But it sort of does. I mean, maybe this girl was a relative or something.’
‘Seriously, Adam—what relative gets dragged into a derelict part of the woods and booted into a grave like that?’
Adam looked reluctant. He knew what I was getting at. Gran and Granddad wouldn’t have done that to his mum, buried her in that way. Adam wouldn’t want that. No one would.
‘So you think he’s using this sympathy thing as like, a cover?’ I asked.
Adam shrugged and raised his eyebrows, tellingly. It felt like we were actually getting somewhere now. Adam’s reaction surprised me. He seemed more reluctant about things than usual. He wasn’t talking quite as much. Maybe this was the difference between a good detective and an excellent detective after all; the good detective was always too eager to move on to the next case, while the excellent detective pursued all the answers right to the end.
‘Did he say how ‘close’ this person was to him?’ I asked. I felt like an interrogator. It made me buzz inside. I could feel the mystery wrapping itself around me.
‘He, um, he didn’t say. I don’t really know whether he knew or not. But it doesn’t make sense.’
‘What doesn’t?’
Adam sat on the edge of his bed now, rubbing his hands against his knees. He squished his eyebrows together as if he were trying to get his head round something. ‘Well, the girl looked quite young. The dead girl. Older than us, but still younger than Gran. But he was showing us a ring, like a wedding ring. You said you never saw his wife, didn’t you? Always came here alone… so it doesn’t make sense.’
Adam had a point. Donald was good. He was trying to confuse us by the looks of things. Throw us off track. We needed to stay focused on the one thing that mattered: the body.
‘I don’t think the ring matters, Adam. He’s trying to throw us off course. Distract us from the body. That’s the main thing.’
Adam looked back at me. His eyes watered. He was trying to say something to me. ‘But that doesn’t explain the initials on the ring.’ His eyes drifted downwards and away from mine.
‘What init—’
Adam reached under his pillow and pulled out the dirty sock. It was damp and painted with bits of soil. He turned it upside down, and the ring fell into his hand.
My eyes couldn’t quite believe what they saw. ‘How did…’ I couldn’t finish. I knew Adam was good, but this was very good. What caught my eye, though, was what we hadn’t even noticed in the woods before, hidden from our view by Donald’s hand.
The initials, P.S., on the outside of the ring.
Chapter Eighteen
Donald paid a visit the following day.
Adam and I were in our room when he called by. I heard the laugh behind every word he said, that playful tone to his voice. My stomach dropped—maybe he knew about the ring? Knew that we’d stolen it? Maybe Adam and I were going to be framed for the murder of the girl. We had the only piece of evidence… how stupid could Adam have been, digging it up? It was our word against Donald’s, and adults seemed to get their way when they were arguing with children.
‘How’s the old girl doing, eh, Liam?’ Donald asked, as Carla ran towards him, wagging her tail.
My mouth was dry. ‘Yeah, she’s alright.’
Donald smiled. ‘Good. Is Adam hiding away in his room?’ He poked his head inside the caravan and began to pull himself in. He was inviting himself inside.
I backed off towards my door. ‘Yeah, we’re just um—doing something,’ I said. I wanted to go up to Carla and pull her away and sneak the ring into his hands. I’d look him in the eye as his face sunk and mime the words, ‘We know.’ It’d be straight out of a movie, like something you’d see at the cinema. But instead, Donald turned to me, smile intact across his freshly shaven face, and nodded his head appreciatively. There was no malice in his eyes or his grin.
‘Well you say hello to your gran and granddad for me,’ he said, before patting Carla on the head and heading back outside, whistling away. I stared at the door where he’d stood seconds before. He’s gone. Sometimes, I wished we could go back to being friends with Donald. As good as it was to have a mystery of our own to get our heads around, he was good at giving us direction, and we had loved listening to whatever new story he had to tell us. The trips into the woods late at night, sitting outside his moss-covered cabin in the damp grass with a cup of tea in our hands to keep us warm; that is what I missed. It reminded me of when I’d go camping with my parents when I was younger. Cuddled up in a field, the smell of burning wood somewhere in the distance. The nearby baa of a sheep. I wished I could experience all this again.
I went back into the room. Adam was perched on the end of the bed, waiting.
‘Well?’ he said.
‘Not a lot to say. Just asking about Gran and Granddad. Asking about Carla. Usual stuff, really.’
Adam squinted. ‘You don’t think he knows about the ring?’
I sighed and reached for my trainers. ‘If he does, he’s doing a good job of covering it up.’ I pulled my trainers on and felt something hit me. It was the pencil that Adam had been chewing.
‘Going somewhere?’ He smirked and stuck his tongue out suggestively.
‘Yeah, I erm—’
‘I know,’ he said, looking me in the eyes. ‘I get it. Don’t worry, I’ll tell Gran and Granddad you’re out playing with some dweeb or something.’
I smiled back at Adam. ‘Thanks.’
I snuck out of the caravan to see Emily. The launderette was quickly becoming ‘our place’—this was the second time we were going there. I didn’t feel as shaky about going this time. This was our new thing. We’d agreed to sneak off, make an excuse, and meet for ten minutes to chat about our days. I told Emily about the ring without letting her in on the backstory, and she grinned.
‘Why are you smiling? What’s so funny about the ring?’
‘You and your cousin,’ she said, looking down at our interlinked hands as the fumes from drying laundry covered us in a ball of steam. ‘You and your mysteries.’ She laughed and put her head on my shoulder.
‘What’s so funny?’ I asked.
She giggled some more. ‘You make me laugh. You always have.’
‘Thanks. I always wanted to be a clown.’
Emily giggled again, even though my cheeks flushed as I said it. It sounded so stupid, but she seemed to like it anyway.
‘Do you not mind?’ I asked.
Emily’s eyebrows twitched. ‘Mind about what?’
I fumbled with my t-shirt. It was a stupid thing to think. ‘That, well—that I’m not a leader. Not like him.’
Emily’s eyes drooped at either side. ‘Aw, you really are daft, Liam. I think you’re pretty tough. What you did yesterday took guts.’
I shrugged. ‘I guess. But I’ve never been a leader. The only time I’ve led was when I was captain of the football team at school once and they took the armband away from me after a week.’
Emily giggled, and I grinned back at her.
‘No, I’m serious, it really upset me,’ I said. ‘I used to stub my toe before lessons just to get out of them after that.’
Emily exploded with laughter and punched my chest, almost knocking me over.
In full view of the window of the launderette, we stood up, kissed, and left. She felt cold and bony as I held her in my arms.
‘See you at the same time tomorrow,’ she said, with a teasing smile across her face.
I nodded and turned round with my head held high in the air, feeling the buzz of adrenaline work its way through my system. I took a deep breath in and inhaled the crisp sea air. The earthy smell, like after a sudden bout of rain, hit the back of my nostrils. It was one of my favourite smells.
I headed back to the caravan, where Adam stood waiting, looking at his watch.
‘Sorry, am I late?’ I said.
He tapped against his chin. ‘Hmmm. I reckon you’re just in time.’
We both walked up the road and past the caravans.
‘So, where are we at?’ I said.
Adam kicked a stone towards a caravan. ‘Well, we’ve seen a dead body. And we saw Donald burying it. He probably nicked our dog—’
‘—and he had a ring from someone close to him,’ I interrupted, eager to contribute.
Adam nodded. ‘Well, I found out that stuff about someone close to him dying from Kenny, too, so that means people know about it,’ he said.
We approached the wasteground.
‘Do we think Donald is using this as an excuse? The sympathy thing?’ I asked.
‘It looks like it,’ Adam said. ‘But someone must have seen Donald. I mean, there are some really nosey people up there. Maybe they know more than us.’
I paused as we approached the steps. ‘Do you have somebody in mind?’
Adam grinned. ‘I think I might.’
*
It turned out the man in the tight swimming trunks was called Marvin. He scratched at his hairy, bare belly and smiled as we spoke to him.
‘I always see you lads wandering up and down to that playpit of yours,’ he said. His teeth looked yellow as he grinned.
Adam flushed as Marvin said the word ‘playpit.’ ‘It’s a den, actually.’
Marvin gawped at Adam and turned back at me, still smiling. ‘He’s a gobby little one isn’t he?’
I smiled and turned to Adam, who gritted his teeth. ‘He’s pretty harmless really,’ I said. Adam squinted his eyes in my direction before turning an innocent smile towards Marvin.
‘So, what is it you lads want again?’ Marvin said.
I cleared my throat. ‘We were, um, just doing a bit of a patrol. Somebody had something stolen the other day. Just wondered if you’d seen any suspicious goings-on?’ I widened my shoulders so I looked older and more professional.
Marvin scoffed, scratching at his flabby belly. It was an angry red, and hairs sprouted from his belly-button. ‘You kids shouldn’t be worrying about all that fuddy-duddy business. Shouldn’t you be playing with your, your wotsits—your Pokerman?’
‘Pokemon? Nah, we’re a bit old for that,’ Adam said, sizing Marvin up.
I coughed to interrupt. ‘Just if you’ve seen anything weird, you’d let us know, wouldn’t you?’
Marvin scratched his chin and moved towards his caravan door. He was a dead end. No use whatsoever. ‘Tell you what, I did see something the other day,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you boys come inside for a lemonade?’ He dangled from the side of his door.
My heart began to race. ‘What did you see?’
Marvin’s smile dropped. ‘You boys really don’t give it a rest now, do you? Turn down my company and my nice lemonade. Shame!’
Adam paced towards Marvin. ‘Look, what did you see, mister?’
Marvin let go of the caravan door and moved back towards us. ‘Well, it was late the other night when I saw it. At first, I thought it was somebody clearing out some old rubbish or something, you know?’
I swung round to look at Adam. His eyes were wide. We moved in towards Marvin.
‘And what was it?’ I asked.
Marvin smirked. ‘Come closer, and I’ll tell you.’
I crept up to him.
He leaned down towards my ear, whispering. ‘It was a… BANG!’
I leaped back as Marvin smacked his hands together and chuckled away. Adam put his head in his hands.
‘Did you see his face? Oh, did you see his face, eh?’ Marvin cackled, pointing at me and looking towards Adam.
I felt my arms buzzing as I got my breath back. ‘I—I think we’d better go. Thanks, Marvin.’ Adam patted me on the back and we turned towards the road.
Marvin continued to chuckle, his fat belly vibrating with every roar. ‘If I see any ghouls or body bags, I’ll be sure to let you boys know,’ he shouted.
I stopped in my tracks. ‘Did you say body bags?’
Marvin frowned, but continued to chuckle. ‘I was just saying… if I saw any ghouls, I’d—’
‘No, you definitely said body bags,’ Adam interrupted.
Marvin wafted his hands towards us, shrugging us off, and walked back towards his caravan.
‘These lads aren’t bothering you are they, Marvin?’
The voice startled me at first. I turned round and saw Emily’s dad, looking from me to Adam. He had his hands in his pockets and towered over us.
‘Nah, just daft kids,’ he said, as he retreated inside his caravan.
Emily’s dad continued to stare between the two of us. I smiled, but he didn’t return the gesture. I had never seen him smile. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Wouldn’t want anybody feeding your imaginations now would we, kids?’
I looked away from Emily’s dad. Staring into his eyes made my stomach tingle. I edged towards Adam, who slumped his shoulders and put his hands into his pockets.
‘Well, I’d best be off,’ Emily’s dad said. ‘Things to see to.’ As he walked away, I could’ve sworn I saw a smile flicker across his face.
‘We might have to talk about him,’ I whispered to Adam, once Emily’s dad had gone.
We walked back the long way, trying to buy as much time as possible to talk about the events of the day.
‘I don’t know what to think about all this,’ I said to Adam.
‘Well, it’s obvious Marvin’s hiding something,’ Adam said.
‘Is it though? I mean, he might have been serious, but it’s not really Marvin I’m thinking about.’
Adam nodded. ‘Emily’s dad.’
‘He’s just everywhere,’ I said, as we walked back down towards our road. ‘He was there today when we quizzed Marvin. He was there when Donald stopped in the woods that time. I’m starting to think he’s suspecting something.’
‘What like?’ Adam asked.
‘Well, I dunno. It’s all so complicated. We’ve seen Donald burying a body. It might have been someone close to him. We know that much. But I dunno. It seems weird. I think we should keep an eye on him.’
We approached our caravan as the sky began to dim.
‘Things are getting weird, that’s for sure,’ Adam said, as he pulled the door open.
Chapter Nineteen
We spent the following morning talking about the next step in our mystery. Adam attempted to come up with some new sort of plan, some masterful way of taking things forward. Truth is, we were pretty stumped. When the afternoon rolled around, I thought I should probably make good on my agreement to Emily.
‘I’m off to, y’know—’
‘Yeah, I get it,’ Adam said, grinning. ‘I am pleased for you, cuz.’ He couldn’t look at me when he spoke. It
must have been a difficult thing to admit.
I smiled back at him. ‘You get mystery cracking,’ I said, before leaving to meet Emily.
*
I arrived at the launderette at our usual time, three o’clock, but Emily wasn’t there. I stood underneath the shelter, gazing at the trees as they danced in the wind, checking my watch and pacing around as ten minutes became thirty. I kicked stones. The passing adults smiled on at me and whispered to one another. Should I walk round to her caravan? It would seem weird with me being on my own. And I wasn’t sure what to make of her dad. Something wasn’t right, the way he always seemed to be around. But we didn’t have enough to join the dots together, not yet.
I decided to leave at around quarter to four, accepting that it was beyond the time where Emily could merely dismiss it as ‘a little late.’ I slumped down the hill, dodging the trees, and headed back down the spiralling road towards our caravan.
As I turned onto our road, something moved in the corner of my eye. I peered into the bushes, but there didn’t seem to be anything there. Maybe it was a squirrel. Why would somebody be spying on the launderette? I felt a cold shiver make its way down my arms. I looked over both shoulders and jogged back towards our caravan.
It was probably the wind.
Probably.
When I got home, I picked at my dinner and mashed up the potato in front of me. Adam chewed his cheese sandwich and watched me with wide eyes, turning away whenever I looked back at him. Gran and Granddad didn’t seem to notice my strange behaviour. They were going out for tea tonight and were focused on choosing their clothes, so it was easier to get away without eating.
Adam poked me on the arm. ‘You okay?’ he mumbled.
I nodded and spiralled my fork in my mash. ‘Emily’s not turned up.’
Adam opened his mouth in realisation and nodded. ‘Tried calling on her?’ He said it almost as if it was the obvious solution.
I shook my head. ‘Don’t want her to think I’m obsessed.’
