Chapter 23
Sadie wakes sweating, despite the aircon. She’s hugging Zelda tightly. Only it’s not Zelda. It’s just her smooth white skull. Her lovely precious bones. She must have been dreaming, a nightmare perhaps. She doesn’t remember.
She puts Zelda to one side, props herself up on her elbow and reaches for her phone on the bedside table. It isn’t there. She looks around. It’s on the floor. And now she remembers. The ice-cream van. The men in hazmat suits. The phone call.
She’s about to put the phone down when she realizes she has a message, from Ellis:
Cemetery Grl. And a kiss. Did that mean anything? She knew some people signed off every message with an ‘x’, so maybe not. Or maybe?
She chucks the phone down on the bed, trying not to overthink it.
Above her, the ceiling fan whirrs gently.
For some reason, the sound aggravates her.
Reluctantly, she hauls herself out of bed and uses the bathroom.
She peers at herself in the mirror while she washes her hands.
Her hair is tangled and there are dark circles under her eyes.
She dries her hands then grabs an old T-shirt and shorts from her suitcase (still not fully unpacked), slips them on, and pads out on to the landing.
Downstairs, she can hear voices. She remembers that Dad said something about a man coming to look at the security camera. She pauses at the top of the stairs. She can see the top of Dad’s head and another man in the hallway.
‘I’d advise you to keep a record of any other problems with the cameras,’ the man says. ‘I’ve reinstalled everything and done a security reset. I’ll also check in at the Hub.’
‘Can you find out if someone hacked the app?’
Hacked the app? What is Dad talking about?
‘The security reset should prevent any future issues, sir. It could still just be a software glitch. I’m sure everything will be okey-dokey now.’
‘Is that a technical term?’
‘Haha. It is, indeed, sir.’
‘Like it’s a PIC problem?’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘Person In Chair problem.’
‘Oh, very good.’ The man laughs weakly. ‘Anyhow, any more issues, please don’t hesitate to call. But I’m sure you’ll be just fine.’
Sadie watches as her dad walks the man to the door and sees him out. Then he shuts it, frowning. ‘Glitch, my arse,’ he mutters.
She waits a moment and then clears her throat noisily and starts down the stairs.
Her dad glances up. ‘Oh, hey. You’re up.’
‘Yeah. Who was that – the security guy?’
‘Yeah, he’s reset all the cameras.’
‘What exactly was wrong with them?’
‘They weren’t working properly.’
‘I thought I heard you say something about them being hacked?’
Her dad’s face falters. ‘Oh. No. I was just making sure they were secure.’
‘Why would someone hack our security cameras?’
‘They wouldn’t. I was being paranoid. Ignore me.’
He raises his eyebrows at her in a See, all taken care of way. Sadie stares at him. He’s not telling her something. And he looks tired, even though he was fast asleep last night.
‘Sadie, I said it’s okay. Don’t look so worried.’
She blinks. ‘Right. Sure.’
He turns and walks back into the kitchen. ‘I’m going to make another coffee. Want one?’
‘Nah, I’ll just grab a juice,’ she replies, opening the fridge door.
‘You sleep okay?’ her dad asks, sticking a cup under the coffee machine.
She hesitates and takes a sip of juice. Should she tell him about the ice-cream van or not?
She had decided against mentioning her conversation with Stella to him last night.
When he’d come back from the bathroom the coroner had already retreated to the bar to wait for her takeaway.
Then their food had arrived, and Sadie hadn’t wanted to bring up dead Frankie while they ate.
This morning, Dad looks tired and stressed.
He’s trying to hide it, but it’s not working.
It reminds her of when the stuff with Decker happened.
Sometimes, even now, she wonders if she should have got Dad involved in that.
I mean, she knows it wasn’t her fault, but she shouldn’t have even been at the stupid party.
And it wasn’t like Decker actually, you know.
Maybe it would have been better if she’d just kept quiet.
Dad would still have his job. And they wouldn’t be here.
‘Sadie?’
But she also hates lying to her dad. She grabs a slice of bread out of the packet and slots it in the toaster. ‘Okay. If I tell you something kind of crazy, you won’t freak, right?’
‘How crazy are we talking?’
‘Last night I woke up around two. I could hear music, and when I looked out the window there was this ice-cream van driving down the road – and either side were these guys in hazmat suits with these weird scanner things. And it looked like they were checking the houses.’
‘O-kay. That is … unusual.’
‘And before you ask – no, I wasn’t dreaming.’
‘Maybe they were cleaners or something?’
‘In an ice-cream van?’
‘I mean, this place is odd. I could see it.’
‘They knocked at the door.’
‘What? Why didn’t you wake me up?’
‘I tried. You were flat out again.’
‘Really?’
She nods. ‘Blotto. Like you were drugged. Maybe you’re making up for all those years of insomnia.’
He looks thoughtful. ‘Or maybe Vito slipped something into my food. I mean, was that really Parmesan cheese he sprinkled on my lasagne?’
They both smile, but she can tell he’s worried.
‘Anyway,’ he says now, ‘there must be an explanation for the van. I’ll ask someone.’
‘Okay.’
‘Talking of cheese … kind of,’ her dad continues. ‘We haven’t been to Winsom Wonderland yet. I mean, it’s probably a little late to drive there today … but maybe tomorrow?’
‘Yeah, maybe.’ She tries to sound enthusiastic, and she should be, of course. But somehow the idea of even more fake fairy-tale stuff and people dressed in furry-animal suits doesn’t quite appeal so much right now.
Mistaking her lack of enthusiasm for disappointment, her dad continues: ‘We could still do something together today – go shopping, maybe?’
‘You hate shopping.’
‘Or the cinema?’
‘A cold, dark cinema when it’s ninety degrees outside?’ She pauses. ‘Actually, that sounds great.’
‘Okay, then.’ He swigs his coffee. ‘I’ll just have a quick shower and check what’s—’ His phone buzzes. ‘Hold that thought.’
He picks the phone up from the table and frowns. He makes a gotta take this gesture and walks out of the kitchen into the living room. ‘Hi!’ A pause. ‘Yes, yes. Settling in okay. No, all good.’
Sadie realizes she hasn’t popped the toast down, but she doesn’t really feel hungry any more.
She watches Dad talking on the phone and something about the way his shoulders sag tells her it’s not good news.
After a few more fake-sounding pleasantries – ‘Sure. No need to apologize. See you then’ – he ends the call and walks back into the kitchen.
‘Principal Lockhart,’ he says before she can ask.
‘What did he want?’
‘He wanted to remind me about the staff meeting this afternoon.’
She feels the sharp pang of disappointment. ‘What?’
‘Apparently, he sent an email, but I don’t remember seeing it.’ He sighs. ‘I’m sorry, sweetheart, I know I said we’d do something together, but—’
She waves a hand. ‘It’s okay. I get it. You’ve got to keep your new principal sweet.’
‘Right.’ Her dad nods. ‘Of course. It’s just … I worry.’
‘Well, don’t. This is Serenity Falls, remember. Crime-free zone. Winsom’s dream town.’
‘Yeah.’
They look at each other, and Sadie can feel it – the unspoken stuff hovering in the air between them. All it would take would be for one of them to say something. But eventually they both look away and the moment is gone.
‘So, what will you do?’ Dad asks.
‘Maybe shopping,’ she lies. ‘Maybe I’ll go to the cinema without you.’
‘Harsh. But I’m sure you’ll have more fun than I will.’
She suddenly thinks of something else. ‘Maybe you could ask Principal Lockhart about the ice-cream van when you see him?’
‘Yeah.’ Dad looks thoughtful. ‘Maybe Lockhart is the man with all the answers.’