Hollow Pike (22 page)

‘Is that Garlic Bread or Garlic Bread
Extreme
?’ asked the surly waitress, a student Lis recognised from Fulton High Sixth Form.

‘Oh, I think Extreme. Lis, can you handle Garlic Bread Extreme?’ Danny grinned.

‘Extreme is my middle name, baby!’

‘Extreme it is!’

The waitress rolled her eyes and slouched away from the table. A children’s party consisting of at least ten nine-year-olds occupied the next booth, and the kids were repeatedly running
past Lis and Danny in a bid to get to the ice-cream machine. Pizza Factory was such a classy place – Delilah had worked there last summer, apparently, but quit after less than a week because
she couldn’t take the screaming kids.

‘I am so sorry about this.’ Danny leaned across the Formica table. ‘This is so not the evening I had in mind.’

‘It’s fine,’ Lis told him for the fiftieth time. ‘Actually, this is maybe better.’

Danny laughed. ‘I seriously doubt that!’

‘I mean it. We can talk here. We couldn’t have done that at the cinema.’

‘True. So what do you wanna talk about?’ he asked, his sapphire eyes sparkling more than ever. Lis took that to be a sign he was enjoying himself, despite the dayglo restaurant.

‘You,’ she replied honestly. This was the first time in what felt like decades that she hadn’t been preoccupied with dead girls and nightmares.

‘Me?’

‘Yeah. Everyone knows all about me – I’m the weird Welsh new girl. And that was before Laura’s stunt.’ She stopped herself as soon as Laura’s name crossed her
lips. This wasn’t the time or place to get onto her. ‘But what about you?’

‘What
about
me? There’s really nothing to know.’ He raised his palms, a wide-eyed open book. Almost.

‘As if! No one’s that straightforward.’

‘Oh, really? What’s
your
secret?’

Lis frowned involuntarily and for a second she wondered if he somehow knew. No, it was just paranoia again. ‘Don’t change the subject. We’re talking about you,’ she
chided.

‘OK, but there really isn’t much to know . . . I have four sisters and I’m the only boy.’

‘Wow, your house must be hormonal fun!’ Lis laughed.

‘Tell me about it! And I’m the youngest, so I’m a constant target. But it’s cool. Helena and Abby have moved out now, so it’s not as mental as it used to
be.’

‘You think your parents kept going ’til they had a boy?’

‘That’s exactly what they did!’ he laughed. ‘I’m the blessed boy-child! Must have been a big disappointment there . . .’

Lis sensed the walls coming down a little. So far, Danny had been on full entertainment mode, like a TV presenter or something, now he suddenly seemed more real.

‘What makes you say that?’ she asked.

‘I don’t know. I’m just not sure I’m what my dad wanted in a son,’ he mumbled. ‘God, this is depressing. Let’s move on!’

‘No, I know what you mean. I’m not sure my mum gets me much either.’

There was a moment of silence and suddenly they were the only pair in the whole world, the noisy restaurant slipping away.

‘I suppose that’s the trouble with kids . . .’ Danny murmured, ‘you never know what you’re going to get.’

‘Is that why you joined the rugby team?’ Lis asked in a low voice, hoping she wasn’t being too bold. ‘To please your dad?’

‘Totally! I only did it cos he promised he’d let me go to this massive
Star Wars
convention in London if I did.’

‘Hold on a sec, that
is
too much information!’ Lis laughed.

Good-naturedly, he returned her humour, ‘I know, right? But, anyway, it turns out that I’m really good at rugby
and
really enjoy it. Random or what?’

‘That is fairly random, but it’s great that it suits you, and your dad.’

‘You’d think, wouldn’t you? Nah, he just found something else to give me grief about!’ Danny frowned. ‘Christ, I’m not really doing much to impress you
tonight, am I?’

‘Danny, I moved two hundred miles to live with my sister! My family life is hardly picture perfect. Hell, I haven’t even
seen
my dad since I was eleven.’

‘Lucky you!’

They both laughed, wallowing in the shared ground they had found. Just as Danny reached across the table to take her hand, the waitress smacked the Garlic Bread Extreme right on top of his
arm.

It would have been so much easier for both of them to take the bus back into Hollow Pike, but that would have meant spending less time together, so they walked. They dawdled all
the way. Four hours together and they hadn’t run out of things to say. Lis was already imagining her wedding dress, a thought she intended to keep firmly to herself. That said, she
couldn’t wait to ring Jack and tell him all about her night.

‘The thing is,’ Danny beamed, ‘I don’t even
like
horror films! I only said
Hacksaw
because I knew you wanted to see it!’

‘What’s wrong with horror films? They’re fun!’

‘I just think they’re . . . nasty! I mean, who wants to see people being chopped up and stuff?’ He casually grasped Lis’s hand as they meandered up the hill towards
Sarah’s house.

‘I do. It’s a rush!’ Lis replied.

‘You like being scared?’ he asked with disbelief.

‘I’m getting used to it . . .’ Had that been too weird? She scolded herself mentally for letting her mouth run away with itself.

‘Well, you’re safe and sound with me,’ Danny said, pulling himself up tall.

Lis glanced at him. He had such a kind face; she couldn’t take her eyes off it, studying the rise and fall of his bone structure.

‘This is my house,’ she said as they reached the drive. Her stomach was full of butterflies; it was time for goodbye, and as much as she hated the thought of it, who knew what might
come by way of a parting gesture?

Danny turned to her and took both of her hands in his. ‘God, your hands are like ice cubes!’

‘Sorry.’ She smiled as sweetly as she could, tilting her face towards his.

‘Lis, I’ve had such a cool night, even though everything went wrong! I promise as soon as
Hacksaw
comes out on DVD . . .’

‘Forget about it! I had a really good time too.’ She moved her body a daring inch closer.

‘I think you’re awesome,’ he muttered. ‘If you want to go out again next week or something . . ?’

‘Yeah, I’d like that a lot.’ This was becoming hard work. She traced her toe around his foot, careful to make contact.

‘Cool! Well I’ll see you at school, obviously, so we can sort something out then.’

‘Danny?’

‘Yeah?’

‘This is where you’re meant to give me a goodnight kiss.’

‘Oh, OK, I wondered when I was meant to do that bit!’ He smiled, a wide, fantastic smile and then finally leaned forwards, his lips coming to meets hers.

Lis felt his warm, moist, beautiful mouth press against her own. She closed her eyes and it was as though all the feeling in her body had moved to her lips, sensing every intimate detail of the
kiss. He moved his hands to her waist. Electricity ran up and down her spine at the tenderness of his touch. Even through her coat she could feel glorious heat coming from his hands, and
couldn’t help imagining how they would feel on her skin.

He drew her nearer, closing the distance between them as she slid her arms around his neck. The kiss intensified. She wanted it to go on and on and on.

‘Oi!’ came a loud Welsh voice. ‘Don’t you need a license for that sort of behaviour?’

Danny pulled back at once and Lis looked up to see Sarah standing on the front balcony, waving at them with a mischievous smile on her face. Luckily, Danny saw the funny side and laughed loudly,
daring a shy wave back at her sister.

Sarah winked theatrically at Lis before heading back inside the house.

‘Danny, I am so sorry about her.’ Lis felt her cheeks turning pink. ‘That’s my sister.’
And she is so dead
, Lis added privately.

‘It’s OK. She seems nice. Plus, I
was
getting a little carried away . . .’

Lis felt her heart thump against her ribs, threatening to bounce clear out of her chest.
He’d felt it too!

‘So was I,’ she murmured. ‘I should probably head in – and kill her . . .’

Danny leaned in once more and gave her a much less risky kiss, his mouth pressing briefly against hers.

‘Goodnight, Lis. I’m gonna be thinking about you all day tomorrow.’

‘Yeah, right!’

He kissed her one last time, grinned like a lunatic and then turned and walked away, leaving her smiling and happy on the drive.

‘Sarah Harvey, where are you?’ Lis yelled, racing into the house and slamming the door behind her. ‘That was so embarrassing! I could have died!’

Sarah feigned nonchalance, pretending to leaf through a magazine on the sofa in the lounge. ‘So that was Danny?’

Lis paused in front of her, hands on hips, trying to muster anger but finding it lacking; the night had been too incredible to waste time being cross. Sarah looked up from the magazine, with a
grin that Lis couldn’t resist.

‘Oh, Sarah, I had the best night!’

‘I know, I saw!’

Lis threw herself onto the couch next to her sister. ‘I meant before that bit! We went for a meal and just talked and talked about his family and his life and . . . just . . . everything!
It was awesome. We’re going out again next week.’

‘Just one piece of advice, Lis, love. Garlic on a first date? Rookie mistake!’

‘Do I stink?’

‘You reek, hon! I hope he had some—’ Sarah stopped abruptly.

‘What?’

Sarah sat forwards, grabbing the TV remote from the arm of the sofa. Lis twisted to see the late evening news on the wide-screen. Filling the rectangle was Laura.

A middle-aged anchorman spoke to the left of her stunning image: the same school photo that had been so proudly displayed at her memorial.

‘The parents of murdered schoolgirl, Laura Rigg, today made an emotional appeal for witnesses to come forward. Gita Nersessian reports from North Yorkshire.’

The image faded to one of those standard police set-ups you see on the news every day. A panel of tired-looking people sat in front of a screen displaying a regional police force logo. There
were sporadic flashes and clicks from cameras, and journalists pointed microphones. At the centre of the panel sat Kitty’s father with Laura’s parents.

Sarah reached across the sofa and took Lis’s hand. ‘Do you want me to turn it off?’ she asked gently.

‘No,’ Lis replied, taking the remote and turning up the volume.

‘It has been over a week since the body of Hollow Pike teenager, Laura Rigg, was found at a local beauty spot, but police are yet to make an arrest. Today the parents of the deceased, Ian
and Jennifer Rigg, made this heartfelt plea . . .’

There was a close up of a distraught woman in her early forties. She
was
Laura, only twenty-five years older: same hair, face, eyes. It was chilling.

‘We have lost the most precious thing in our world,’ she said, her voice shaking.

Next to her was a solid, handsome man, a George Clooney type.
Definitely
the same man Lis had seen on the street fighting with Laura. He wrapped an arm around his wife protectively.

Jennifer Rigg continued, ‘We need to know what happened to our daughter. We won’t rest until we know. Someone out there
must
know something,
must
be protecting someone.
It’s gone on long enough . . . Please come forward and contact the police. Please!’

Lis pressed the red button and the screen went black. Her buzz had been sucked into the television.

Without saying a word, she stood and took herself up to bed. Sarah looked on, speechless.

Once in her bedroom, Lis peeled off her coat and threw it over the chaise longue. She curled into a ball on her bed. Guilt. That familiar guilt was back again.

Tonight she’d experienced something so rare with Danny: a perfect first kiss. There would be no more first kisses for Laura Rigg. She’d had her last kiss weeks ago and had never even
realised. She’d thought she had a long life, bursting with kisses, ahead of her. Not any more.

Lis understood the whole ‘death is a part of life’ philosophy, but it meant nothing right now. She didn’t know why she should feel so bad about life when Laura was dead, but
she did. The nightly news had sent her a timely reminder, just as she was on the verge of being happy. From the depths of her handbag she heard a tiny twinkle. Sighing and leaning over the edge of
the bed, she dragged the bag to her and dug out her phone.