Lula Does the Hula

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Authors: Samantha Mackintosh
She didn’t notice, still frowning at the telly. ‘You’re so clever,’ he breathed.
    Carrie, Tam and I rolled our eyes, but Alex looked pensive.
    ‘By
boyfriend
, they mean Gavin, right?’ I asked her quietly. ‘Seriously, are you not worried?’
    ‘I was.’ Alex gave me a wry smile. ‘But I went down to see Sergeant T at the police station this afternoon, and she –’
    ‘No!’ I exclaimed. ‘She told you stuff? Isn’t that, like, against police –’
    ‘Hey! Give me a chance! I was waiting outside her office and I heard her tell one of the officers to leave the Gavin Healey investigation and review existing evidence instead.’
    I raised my eyebrows. ‘That’s a convenient bit of eavesdropping.’
    Alex flushed. ‘This investigation is all they’re talking about . . . And she did catch me with my ear to the door.’
    ‘
No!
’ My eyes were big. How could Alex be this calm? ‘I would have
dropped dead
of embarrassment!’
    ‘Hey,’ she said, looking at the telly. ‘Isn’t that . . .?’
    I looked over at the screen and saw that a familiar face had butted into view alongside the news reporter.
    Arnold caught my eye. ‘It’s Esme Trooter, isn’t it?’ he asked.
    ‘Yep,’ I replied. Esme was Hambledon town-crier extraordinaire, and she was saying something about squatters’ rights. ‘What is she on about?’
    ‘I wish I could hear,’ said Jack. ‘Do you think it’s relevant?’
    ‘I’ve come across her before,’ said Jazz. ‘She’s just an old windbag.’
    I could feel Mr K bristle beside me, but he kept quiet. Jazz was saying something else.
    ‘Really,’ said Jack. ‘You have those kind of contacts? Do you think Channel 4 would go for that angle?’
    ‘Definitely,’ said Jazz. The news was over and someone flipped to a music channel. Jazz looked irritated. She pointed to her ears and shook her head at Jack, then gestured outside to the garden. The two of them went out before I could call to Jack that I was going. As they went through the French doors on the side of the living room, I saw Jack trip over the raggedy carpet, his head angled at the sharp edge of the door.
    ‘Eep!’ I said, but Jack steadied himself just in time and bowed out into the moonlight.
    Mr Kadinski was watching me. ‘Don’t worry about that boy. He’s not going to get hurt. There’s too much other stuff going on to be concerning yourself with that.’
    I nodded. ‘I know. But I still have this feeling, like I’ve got to stop something terrible happening to him. It’s because of the whole jinx thing I think – I just can’t believe it’s really gone away . . .’
    ‘You don’t need me to tell you that’s ridiculous.’
    ‘I know.’ We walked into the kitchen and I picked up my bag, and huffed out a sigh. ‘Bye, Mr K. You’ll get a ride with Bludgeon?’
    He nodded and smiled. ‘Look, Lula. How about Bludgeon and I keep an eye on your boy?’
    ‘Really?’ I felt a load lift from my shoulders. ‘You’d do that?’ Then, ‘Hang on . . . You’re working with Bludgeon now?’
    Mr K rubbed his chin, and it made a raspy sound. He tilted his fedora back and chuckled. ‘No, not working
together
exactly, but we share information.’
    ‘Huh,’ I said, and looked at him sceptically. He winked. ‘Mr K,’ I said finally, ‘if Jack could stay unharmed, I’d be such a happy girl.’
    ‘We don’t want people talking about jinxes now, do we?’ he asked, his grey eyes sparkling.
    ‘We don’t,’ I agreed. ‘Though mostly I . . . well, I just want him to be okay.’ Mum was looking for her keys. It was about time to go. ‘Actually, I
am
going to say goodbye to him,’ I decided finally.
    Mr K nodded. ‘See you soon. I’m over the road if you need me.’
    ‘So am I,’ I replied. ‘But not for help on the stairs. The stairs you can manage on your own.’
    ‘You know me too well,’ he said, and went to where Bludgeon was blushing while Fat Angus and Pen had their own fond

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