Murder for Beginners by Hedgecock Liz & Harmon Paula

Author:Hedgecock, Liz & Harmon, Paula
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: White Rhino Books
Published: 2023-01-26T00:00:00+00:00

Just back and still willing to help. Sorry, I don’t know where Geraldine’s retreat is. Is it important? Are things so bad that you want to join her? I can work from the barge and serve your customers too for an hour or so if you need a break. Chin up. XXX.

‘Knock knock!’ Kevin, who ran the town ghost tour, was standing at the top of the stairs.

‘Hi. What’s up?’

Kevin descended into the shop then fixed his gaze on Fi. ‘I was thinking about including the boat on my tour. I could bring the punters to experience the vibes of Freddy’s last moments. Too soon?’

‘Too soon.’

‘Really?’

‘I’m having a hard enough time getting paying customers in as it is. Come on. I support you, even though you’ve never seen your own ghosts—’

‘Harsh.’

‘But true. Please don’t make things worse for me.’

‘OK,’ said Kevin, with a shrug. ‘It was worth a try.’

Fi watched him leave through narrowed eyes. She knew without a doubt that he’d bring the tour as close to the boat as he dared.

Dylan was late home from school because he’d gone to Crystal Dreams with his mates.

‘What’s it like?’

‘Really cool,’ said Dylan. ‘Half the kids from school were there. Us boys know it’s nonsense – although if she adds a D&D section that’ll be awesome – but she’ll never get rid of the girls. They love that sort of stuff. Here.’ He opened a bag. ‘I got you something.’

He produced a small globe and flicked a switch in the base. It rotated, projecting the constellation of Sagittarius on the ceiling in soft, blue, spinning light.

‘Er…’

‘I know you’re an Aquarius,’ said Dylan. ‘Or at least, I worked it out. But you don’t believe it anyway and the Sagittarius pattern’s better. I thought it would be nice in your cabin. If you can’t sleep, you can watch it.’

Fi gave him a hug. ‘Thanks. What did you get yourself?’

‘Chloe said I should get crystals for protection.’ Dylan rolled his eyes. ‘I bought some candies in the shape of runes. Want one? The X is super tangy.’

‘No, thanks.’

‘Alfie asked me and Max over to have tea and play on the Switch. I said I wasn’t sure I could leave you on your own. Even with a magic Sagittarius globe and tangy runes.’ He looked worried. ‘If you’ll be OK, can I go? We’ll do some revision, I promise.’

‘No, you won’t,’ said Fi, ‘but actually that’s perfect. I’m going out, too. We’ll leave together just before six and you can meet me outside the Swan at eight and walk me home. Deal?’

‘Deal.’ Dylan paused. ‘I asked them to come here and usually they would, but…’

‘I know,’ said Fi, giving him another hug. ‘It’ll all be over soon.’

***

At six, Fi was in the alley behind the shops in the high street, deducing which gate led to Jade’s backyard. As with many old buildings in town, the impressiveness of the facade was in stark contrast to the rear. Jade’s place was no exception. A minuscule square of uneven paving led to a dark, narrow, mossy passage, and thence to a back door.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.