Page 60 of Hard Heart

When he didn’t move, Heidi flicked her wrist. “Well, go on then. Get.”

The kid scuttled into the bowels of the house, leaving the door open, and I groaned.

“Great. The lurgy. Just what I needed.”

“The what?”

“The lurgy?”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Like a bug. A sickness. Death cooties.”

A slender brunette hurried towards us with the kid in tow, then turned back to him. “Jared, what have I told you about leaving the door open?”

The kid shrugged.

“Can I help you?” she asked. “Jared told me Elsa and Anna from Frozen were here. It must have been the sparkles.” At least we weren’t mistaken for proselytisers, I guess. “Are you charity collectors? I’m afraid we don’t give on the doorstep.”

“We’re not looking for money,” Heidi assured her.

“I work for the Justice Project. We’re doing some research into an old case, and I was wondering if you might be willing to help with a few questions?”

“Do you mean August Groveland’s death? That was a real tragedy.”

“I heard from a source that you saw two men running through the neighbourhood on the night he died?”

“Oh, that wasn’t me. That was my grandma. She passed away two years ago.”

Bollocks, we were too late. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“She did tell me about it, though. Just two shadows racing through the night, she said, and then boom. The house blew up.”

“I understand someone threw a firework through his window?”

“Right, and it whizz-bang-popped everywhere.”

“Were there any eyewitnesses?”

“Harold Snapes was coming back from his shift at the 7-Eleven, and he saw the explosion. Tried to stop August from going back inside too, but August wouldn’t listen.”

“Wait, he got out? Why would he go back into the house?”

“To get his dog. August loved that dog. They were always out walking around the neighbourhood. If you want to know more about Pebbles, you should speak with Bitsy Reynolds—she took him in after August passed. The fire chief said that with August being taller, he breathed in more of the smoke.”

“But the dog escaped?”

“The firefighters found him hiding in the bathroom. He’s getting old and he can’t walk so far now, but Bitsy’s looked after him for all these years. A real tragedy, it was.”

“And Bitsy also saw the people running? She’s on my list.”

“No, I think she just heard about it. Bitsy loves to gossip, but don’t tell her I said that.”

“Do you know of anyone else who might have witnessed anything that night?”

“Let me see your list.” The brunette ran a finger down it. “Joe isn’t here anymore. He moved to Toledo. The Tobens are snowbirds—they’ll be in Florida until April. Stacie…” She sucked in a breath. “Stacie won’t give you the time of day. Her husband ran off with his floozy two months ago, and she has four kids under ten to cope with. I don’t envy her. Bitsy has the dog, and I’ve never heard of Lori Young. The Laredos live at that address now.”

“You’re doing our job for us.”