The Dead End Tour by Jen Pitts

Author:Jen Pitts [Pitts, Jen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-13T16:00:00+00:00

24

I left Brad’s house in one piece, but didn’t know if I would do the same in his backyard. He wasn’t joking about the construction materials.

In the back right corner, clear plastic sheets covered stacks of drywall. A drying line was strung between the fences. A rusted claw-foot bathtub held rotting floor boards in the other corner. Surrounding it were empty bottles of all sizes, but mostly wine bottles.

There were collectors who coveted old bottles found in the French Quarter, and they would have a field day with this pile. I was tempted to tell Brad to have someone check them out, although I didn’t really want to help him. But it’d be a shame if something of historical value went unnoticed. My love of history outweighed my lack of desire to help Brad, so I made a note to ask Andrew if he knew of anyone who collected bottles.

I moved aside a dilapidated barbecue grill that was missing a wheel. A spatula and tongs hung on the side, both moldy and rusted. There was an empty hook. Was that a spot for a fork? Could that have been the tool used to make the bite mark on Hannah? I would need to ask Rob and Christine about the puncture mark without letting them know I was in Brad’s backyard. Then again, he wasn’t the only person in the neighborhood with a grill or a barbecue fork — well, a missing one. No time to worry about that. I needed to get out before they saw me.

Loose screws and nails and determined weeds dotted the broken brick that made up the patio. I carefully stepped around a rolled remnant of orange shag carpet that rested against the house to go down the side yard that led to the sidewalk.

Brad had told the truth that the gate lock was broken. I wished I’d brought gloves with me to open the door. I wasn’t worried about fingerprints, but tetanus. The rust flaking off the gate was worse than glitter. I brushed it away, but I still might need a tetanus shot.

The gate squeaked as I slowly opened it. There was no hiding if Rob and Christine were at the door. I walked out, ready to face them. But they weren’t there.

There was someone else I had to face.

Sadie stood in front of Brad’s house, stabbing at buttons on her cell phone. Had she seen me go inside Brad’s house? By the way she focused on her phone, I didn’t believe she saw me leave Brad’s backyard. I brushed the dust and dirt from my clothes and braced myself. Talking to Sadie was necessary but wouldn’t be easy by the look of it.

“Hi, Sadie. Are you OK? You heard about Hannah?” I put my hand on her arm to get her attention, but I startled her and she dropped her phone. “Sorry, let me get your phone.”

“I’ve got it.” Sadie snatched her phone from the sidewalk. “You’re Jasper’s cousin, aren’t you? Shirley something? What are you doing here?”

“I’m Samantha, Jasper’s cousin.

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