Murder on a Summer Break by Kate Weston

Author:Kate Weston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2024-06-27T00:00:00+00:00

17

“Ready to climb twenty flights of stairs?” Annie’s voice booms cheerfully around the quiet graveyard.

I think she’s pointing to the church tower, but since we’re all following instructions from Millie that we were to wear black because apparently it makes you “less threatening to the dead,” I’m actually struggling to see her. I look up at the tower and gulp. Its silhouette looks strikingly sinister in the twilight, and it’s only made more menacing by the bats swooping and circling it.

“I’m convinced they’ll be performing a séance for me before I can make it to the top,” I reply, not entirely joking.

“Don’t worry, I’ll add some more about you to my ReelLife profile so she’s got more to go on when Sé-predict does the Google search. I’m sure I can make it pretty interesting,” Annie says mischievously.

I’d text Scott to let him know I’m about to die and it’s been great knowing him, but he still hasn’t replied to any of my texts. The longer I go without hearing from him, the harder it is to bat away the image of him topless, posing with his arm around Jen.

“Pretty cool and spooky being here at night, though, right?!” Annie says.

She forges ahead, oozing confidence and excitement as she weaves between the long shadows cast by gravestones. By contrast I tiptoe behind her, trying to avoid the huge old tree roots that I know are littered around here, ready and waiting to trip us up and break our necks. At the noise of footsteps, a whoosh of adrenaline fills my ears. The sounds of rustling leaves and snapping twigs echo as I swivel my head at top speed, ready to protect myself from whatever danger lurks behind us.

“I think Millie’s already up there!” Celeste’s voice comes out of the darkness.

My eyes finally focus, and I make out her, Dougie, and Ethan walking through the churchyard toward us. I wave alongside Annie, trying to pretend like I didn’t just nearly pass out with fear.

“Hey! How are you guys doing?” Annie asks cheerfully.

I don’t know why she’s asking when, while I don’t mean to be cynical, it’s so clear to me that they’re absolutely fine until a camera’s on them, and then they’re going to completely ham it up as much as they can.

“Yeah, bearing up,” Celeste says earnestly.

“It’s a loss,” Dougie says, nodding and peaking his brows up in the way that guys do when they want to look serious but also cute. “I feel sad every day.”

I don’t point out to him that it’s not even been twenty-four hours yet.

“A tricky time,” Ethan says. “I’ve obviously been focusing on helping the women, especially my darling Millie, at this difficult time. Women are just far more emotional.”

I don’t know how more people don’t hit him. I certainly don’t know how anyone can believe that they’re a couple, apart from that in pictures you can’t quite tell what a massive dickhead he is.

“We would have been here sooner, but someone held us up,” Celeste says, nodding to Ethan.

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