Tracked

"I don't know about you," Todd says to me with his hands on his hips. "I don't think that Simon and Peter could be them. I told you didn't I? That's all the suspects gone. Which means only one thing?"

I know what he's going to say. And I was right. He goes on and on and on about how Kathleen is still alive even though Ruth and I saw her die right in front of me.

He grabs me by the collar. Anyone would think we're a married couple. "Come on, we've got to go and find her. I think I've tracked her in some building called Old Town Court."

"Old Town Court?" I shook my head. "Wait! That's impossible. That place is abandoned."

"No, people still live there. I've seen people go in and out of the place."

"Maybe they're squatters?"

Shaking his head, he points towards an ambulance car turning into one of the alleyways. See where that car just turned. "Old Town Court is just there."

"I know, but I thought..."

"You've locked yourself indoors for years. A lot has changed since then. Looks like it's been refurbished."

Old Town Court always looked posh at the front, but they never bothered with the inside or at the back. We walk around the block and it's like we've walked past two different buildings.

Old Town Court is secluded. It's as if it's been built in the middle of nowhere. It's not changed at all. It looked like a dump when I went over to Sarah's in her university days and it still looks like a dumpster.

I'm surprised nobody's knocked it down ages ago. There's no way people can still live there.

Todd brings his phone up to his chest. "Wow, Kathleen hasn't been on Snapchat for ages. She's updated. Looks like she's out in Manchester. Oh that's right. Comic Con's in Manchester this weekend."

"Really?" I used to love going to conventions. I remember Grandpa taking Kathleen and I to one in London. We loved it. Grandpa enjoyed himself too. He took lots of pictures of all the skimpy costumes. Still has the photos plastered in his bedroom. Man Grandpa, you're really one of a kind.

I don't think I'll ever be able to go to a convention like that again. I'm pretty much a hermit now. There's conventions all over the country all the time. Todd talks about ones he went to in Leicester and Warwick. How he got so drunk he woke up in a stranger's bed.

"Don't let Kathleen know," Todd whispers to me.

"I don't think it will be a problem."

"I'd love to go back. Shame I got my licence taken off me."

"Is that got something to do with the booze."

"No. I kept driving on the wrong side of the road."

"How did you pass your test in the first place?"

"No idea. Pure luck I guess."

"Sounds like it."

"My dad won't let me borrow his Aston Martin anymore."

I roll my eyes. "I'm not surprised."

"Did you ever drive?"

"No. Never had the desire to."

"Why not? It makes life so much easier."

I change the subject. "So how long are we going to stand here?"

"What do you want to do?"

"Shouldn't we be heading off to Manchester?"

He shakes his head and pats my back. "I don't think we'll get there in time. Besides, it says she's in there."

"Maybe the culprit's left the phone at home. They might have more than one telephone."

"Kathleen's texting me now."

"What is she saying?"

"She's telling me to go back to yours."

"Todd, when we get home, can you show me some more of these chatlogs between you and Kathleen?"

He nods. "Of course, we can. How about a game of Mario Kart when we get home?"

I'm assuming he means Mario Kart 8, but there's so many versions of the game. "Which one?"

"Mario Kart 8?"

"I thought you meant that one. But I have got all of the Mario Kart games if you want to play them."

He smiled. "By the way, have you got any of the Silent Hill games?"

Does he even need to ask? "I have them all."

"Well I've always wanted to play the first one, but it's been hard to find at a good price."

"I thought you were made of money."

"Yes, but I don't want to fork out thirty quid for a game when I can get it cheaper elsewhere."

"Well it is rare, very beloved and in demand from retro collectors."

"Any excuse to suck money out of people."