Free Hollow Pike by James Dawson Page A

something?’
    Jack laughed loudly, ‘Almost! Kitty’s dad is like the sheriff or something.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Seriously! He’s the chief of police for the whole area, which is like being the biggest fish in a tiny, tiny pond . . . but he’s still the boss.’
    ‘Is that why he’s so scary?’
    ‘Wait and see!’
    Jack grasped her hand, practically dragged her up to the vast wrought iron gate and pressed the buzzer.
    After a short pause, a timid female voice answered, ‘Hello?’
    ‘Hi, it’s Jack and Lis for Kitty.’
    With a hideous groan, the gate creaked open.
    ‘Was that the maid?’ muttered Lis.
    ‘Her mum, who is not scary.’
    The pair skirted around the edge of the neatly trimmed lawn in the centre of the semi-circular driveway.
    ‘I’m a little bit scared of their house,’ Lis confessed.
    ‘Yeah, seriously, don’t spill.’
    Kitty appeared in the doorway. This was a dressed down version of her new friend: she wore a slouchy vest and a pair of cut-off, black skinny jeans. ‘Hi. Come on in. Welcome to Monroe
Manor.’
    The interior was every bit as luxurious as the exterior and Kitty shuffled through the ground floor as if she was embarrassed by the grandeur of her family home. It was certainly in stark
contrast to Kitty herself.
    From the lounge a booming voice stopped the trio in its tracks. ‘Is that more friends, Katherine?’
    Kitty took a deep breath and Lis craned her neck to try to catch a glimpse of Kitty’s father, but she could only see the top of a grey head emerging from a grand leather armchair.
    ‘There are only four of us, Dad,’ Kitty called back.
    ‘No bloody weirdo music.’
    ‘OK.’
    She rolled her eyes and led them up the stairs. ‘If you ever call me Katherine,’ she hissed to Lis, ‘it’s all over.’
    ‘Your secret’s safe with me!’
    After endless miles of plush carpeted stairs, Kitty led them into a converted attic room. This room did reflect Kitty. There was no bed; it was a sort of den. She’d hung sheer red
fabric over the velux windows, creating a dark, warm cocoon. A tall vintage lamp draped in a gold shawl stood proudly in the corner, adding further enchantment.
    Delilah was already sitting at Kitty’s laptop, selecting quiet music. She gave Lis a friendly smile and a little wave of her fingers. The floor was covered in an old rug and all
types of books, from tiny, battered volumes of poetry to massive coffee table books featuring photographers Lis had never heard of. Bits of homework were scattered around empty cups of tea, and the
walls were papered with hundreds of eye-catching images. There were startling nudes, glamorous models styled as corpses, and one wall displayed an enormous Hello Kitty cartoon waving at the room. A
broad grin spread across Lis’s face. It was like being inside Kitty’s mind.
    Jack threw himself onto a battered leather sofa while Kitty crawled over to Delilah and embraced her from behind.
    OMG – they actually are lesbians! Lis realised. Her mind flipped out – she’d assumed the lesbian rumours were as nonsensical as the witchcraft gossip. Chill,
Lis , she told herself, this is nothing you haven’t seen on TV . Lis once again forced herself not to stare and joined Jack on the sofa. So, she’d never actually met a lesbian
couple before, but they didn’t need to know that. Jack, meanwhile, was busy pulling a selection of clipboards and pens out of his rucksack.
    ‘What on earth are those for?’ asked Delilah, cosy in Kitty’s arms.
    ‘Well, if we’re going to plot someone’s death we should at least plan efficiently,’ Jack told her. ‘We don’t want to make mistakes.’ He unrolled a
massive piece of white paper and pinned it to the wall.
    ‘If we’re planning to kill someone, why would we write anything down?’ Delilah retorted.
    Kitty snorted. ‘Good point.’
    ‘I second that,’ Lis put in.
    Jack pouted for a second. ‘OK. Point taken. No notes at all!’ He put the clipboards away.