Leave it to Eva Read Free

said. ‘But I’d kind of like to go to Kate’s place for a minute.’
    ‘But no one’s there. You told us that Martha’s in hospital, and Kate’s in Cork.’
    ‘I know. It’s just ……..’
    I didn’t know how to finish. I was worried about Kate, and at the back of my mind, I knew there was some detail that I had overlooked. Some piece of the puzzle was missing, and without it I couldn’t see the full picture.
    ‘I’d just like to walk up there for a minute, that’s all,’ I said.
    ‘So go. I’m going the other way. I’ll see you later.’
    He started to walk away, but stopped when I called his name.
    ‘What?’ he asked, fairly patiently for a nine-year -old.
    Again, I didn’t know what to say. This was my friend’s house I was talking about. How could Iexplain that the thought of going there on my own was creepy and scary in ways I couldn’t begin to understand?
    ‘Just come with me. Please,’ I said.
    Joey grinned at me. ‘OK,’ he said.
    I felt like hugging him, but knew he wouldn’t be impressed, so I just smiled back at him.
    And then, feeling slightly braver with Joey by my side, I set off once more for Kate’s house.

    Joey whistled while we walked – and even though his whistling was hopelessly out of tune, it distracted me and made me feel a small bit better.
    I had the weird feeling that the brambles had grown longer overnight – almost like they were planning to wrap themselves around the house and hide it away forever.
    As we stepped up to the front door, I had the horrible sensation that something – or someone– was watching us. Joey was still whistling, but I noticed that his whistles were now quieter and less confident than before.
    I knocked loudly, and wasn’t surprised when no one answered.
    ‘You know Kate’s not there, so why are you knocking?’ asked Joey.
    I didn’t really know the answer to that myself.
    ‘Just checking,’ I said vaguely.
    ‘Let me try checking too,’ said Joey, knocking even louder than I had.
    Still though, once the echo of his knock had died away, the only sound was the rustling of leaves, and the distant moo of a single cow.
    ‘No one’s home,’ said Joey. ‘What a surprise! Can I go play with my friends now?’
    I took a step backwards, and then gasped.
    ‘That’s it!’ I said.
    ‘What?’ asked Joey.
    ‘The thing that didn’t make sense.’
    ‘You’re
not making sense, Eva,’ he said. ‘Whatare you talking about?’
    ‘The washing line,’ I said, pointing towards the side of the house.
    He turned to look where I was pointing.
    ‘What about it? It looks like an ordinary washing line to me.’
    ‘It
is
an ordinary washing line, but yesterday there was a tracksuit hanging there, and that didn’t make any sense, if no one was home.’
    ‘But it’s not there now,’ said Joey.
    ‘Exactly. A tracksuit being there was weird in the first place, but now the fact that it’s gone is even weirder.’
    ‘The mystery of the vanishing tracksuit,’ said Joey. ‘Someone should write a book about that. I’d love to read that.’
    ‘Really?’ I asked.
    ‘No,’ he said. ‘It would be totally boring, just like hanging round this stupid garden.’
    ‘But I don’t understand what’s going on,’ I said.
    Joey sighed, and spoke in a patient voice, like he was older and wiser than me. ‘It’s very simple, Eva. When Kate went away she left her tracksuit on the line by mistake, and it was windy last night so it probably blew away. I bet if you look in the field over there, you’ll find it tangled up in some bushes. Mystery solved. Now I’m off. Are you coming?’
    As he started to walk away, a sudden gust of wind blew a branch against a window, making a harsh squeaky sound, like fingernails on a blackboard. Even though it was a lovely sunny morning, I shivered.
    Joey was already at the entrance to the lane, and I was very tempted to follow him. I took one step in his direction but then resisted.
    I was being stupid. This was