Beautiful Dead 3: Summer by Eden Maguire

Author:Eden Maguire [Maguire, Eden]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781844569908
Publisher: Hachette Children
Published: 2010-05-06T00:00:00+00:00

After this, it wasn’t a great rehearsal. People were on edge, forgetting lyrics and missing their cues. We all worried Miss Jones, who knew nothing about the fight, though she’d heard through Hannah about JakB’s recent craziness.

‘Maybe the situation is too hard to handle,’ she confided in Hannah, her principal assistant. ‘As we get near to the anniversary, emotions are bound to be running high.’

‘True,’ Hannah agreed. She said maybe it would be cool to finish early today and try again tomorrow.

So by three-thirty p.m. I was out of the school grounds and aiming to fulfil my ambition to have a serious talk with Brandon at his house.

I hope he’s home, I thought. And I hope Sharon is not. My heart was beating fast as I drove down their street, glad when I saw the Harley parked in the Rohrs’ drive.

Brandon heard me arrive. ‘Hey, Darina,’ he said in that flat tone which was hard to read. Surprised? Irritated? A little bit glad even? He stood on the porch, tapping the rail, one foot dangling over the step. ‘Don’t tell me – let me guess. Something went wrong with the car.’

‘Yeah, whatever.’ I was happy to let him think what he wanted. ‘I only come calling when I need a car technician. But no – actually I want to talk about Zak.’

‘What did he do now?’ Brandon backed under the porch and jerked his head – an invitation for me to come into the house.

I followed him in, beating off memories of the times I used to call here to see Phoenix. The place looked the same – plain furniture, worn-out rugs, hardly any pictures or lamps. The TV was switched on with the sound down in a corner of the room.

‘Zak isn’t in any more trouble,’ I told Brandon. ‘And you’ll be happy to know that he’s off the hook over the fire incident. I have it from the horse’s mouth.’

‘Wow, Darina, you’re a magician. One wave of your magic wand and it’s happy ever after.’

I was ready to turn round and walk out, except Zak wasn’t the real reason I was here. ‘What is it with you, Brandon?’ I challenged. ‘Why do you always put people down?’

‘It’s genetic,’ he said with a faint laugh, eyeing me in that way of his which suggested strongly that he wouldn’t be wasting time talking to me if he hadn’t made the deathbed pact with Phoenix. ‘So which horse’s mouth are we talking about exactly?’

‘A cop down at the sheriff’s office – Jardine, the one who made the arrest. He’s now ready to accept Zak didn’t play any part in setting the fire.’

‘And he’s your best buddy?’ Brandon taunted.

‘No, actually …’ I began then I switched tack. ‘OK, so why am I letting you get under my skin. I don’t owe you anything.’

‘Not even an explanation,’ he agreed, turning his back to take his jacket off a hook. Then he seemed to hesitate. ‘Is that the only reason you came – to

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