The Curious Dispatch of Daniel Costello
Page 9
‘It’s a shame Sam and Emily decided to cancel the wedding,’ she said. ‘But, if there’s infidelity at the start, it’s not a good foundation to build a marriage on. Sam has a bit of growing up to do.’
She looked at her son, who was drumming along to some abrasive metal song. When she’d heard what he had gotten up to on the weekend of the wedding, he had gone up a notch in her estimations. She smiled as she pulled into a space a few hundred metres away from the club, knowing they’d be mortified if she dropped them right outside the door.
To her surprise, Adam leant across and planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek. She assumed it was because of the several beers he’d had in his room with Colin before they’d left, but she appreciated the sentiment, anyway.
‘Be safe,’ she said as he slipped out of the door. Colin waved at her as they crossed the road.
Adam and Colin stood at the bar, neither of them quite drunk enough to dance yet. They were jostled side to side as they attempted to order a round of drinks, eventually managing to do so. Beers in hand, they walked through an archway into a quieter part of the club.
They took a seat and talked about anything and everything for a while. After a few more beers, Adam felt the alcohol start to take hold of him. He could feel his thoughts drift and his speech slur.
Colin watched his friend’s eyes start to squint slightly as the volume of his words increased.
What a lightweight, he thought.
Their conversation was interrupted by a high-pitched squeal. They looked round to find Zoe, one of Emily’s bridesmaids, on her hands and knees, having tripped over the leg of a chair. Her friends were laughing so much they weren’t even bothering to help, instead filming her squirm helplessly on the floor on their smartphones.
Adam jumped out of his chair and extended a helping hand. Zoe looked up and beamed at him, recognition spreading across her face.
‘Do you just go around rescuing everyone who is in need?’ she asked, touching his chest.
Adam tried to ignore the light touch on his chest and attempted to say something witty, causing Colin to cringe at what actually came out. Zoe didn’t seem to notice, and if she did, she didn’t care.
‘I thought what you did at the wedding was very brave,’ she said, grabbing his hand. ‘Do you want to dance with me?’
Adam looked at Colin with wide eyes.
Colin nodded at him, as if encouraging a child to take its first steps. He watched as Zoe led Adam away. Her friends, who had laughed at her misfortune, sat down at a nearby table. Colin vaguely recognised them from the wedding weekend. One of them glanced across.
‘I recognise you from the papers,’ she said. ‘Didn’t you help solve the murder too?’
Colin nodded, getting up from his seat and moving to their table.
‘I was the brains behind the whole thing,’ he said.
About the Author
Originally hailing from the north coast of Northern Ireland and now residing in South Manchester, Chris McDonald has always been a reader. At primary school, The Hardy Boys inspired his love of adventure, before his reading world was opened up by Chuck Palahniuk and the gritty world of crime. He's a fan of 5-a-side football, has an eclectic taste in music ranging from Damien Rice to Slayer and loves dogs.