Page 14 of Serenity Falls

Jerry is a stocky man with a thick neck and a barrel chest who looks like he rolled right out of a casting call for ‘redneck local cop 101’. He crouches down, tan slacks straining at the buttocks, and studies the body.

‘Frankie Gallo, twenty-one years old. Worked at the diner and part-time as a town mascot. Damn shame.’

‘Town mascot?’ I query.

‘Yeah.’ He stands. ‘We got Lenny the Leopard, Daphne the Dolphin, Rikki the Raccoon. Eddie the Eagle and Arnie the Armadillo.’

An armadillo. Of course. Not an anteater.

‘We don’t get to use the big characters here cos they’re contracted to the theme park.’ Jerry frowns. ‘It’s odd, though, cos Frankie normally wears the Lenny costume. Chris usually dresses as Arnie.’

I stare at him. ‘Do you think that’s relevant to his death?’

Jerry cocks his hat back on his head. ‘Hell no. Just odd. Maybe Chris was ill or had to take the day off or something. I know his mom has been in hospital—’

I try to check my irritation. I fail. ‘I’m sure we’re all really concerned about the health of Chris’s mum, but could we get back to Frankie – and what he’s doing in our pool?’

Jerry gives me a look. Not a pleasant one. ‘Well, obviously he’s tripped and fallen in. Poor kid can’t swim.’

‘But what was he doing in our back yard, dressed up as Arnie the Armadillo?’

‘It’s all my fault,’ Frances says, voice trembling slightly. ‘And I will just never forgive myself.’

‘Oh, it’s not your fault, Frances,’ Jerry says. ‘It’s tradition.’

‘Tradition?’ I query.

Frances sniffs. ‘One of the town mascots always welcomes new arrivals to Serenity. They bring a bunch of balloons and sing a song. It’s supposed to be a surprise.’

Well, it’s certainly a fucking surprise, I think. I glance at the balloons bobbing in the pool. The strings have snagged in one of the filters, otherwise they would have floated away. We all float here. The surreal nature of this is starting to get to me. Or maybe it’s the damn heat. I squeeze the bridge of my nose.

‘So,’ I say. ‘Frankie was here to welcome us, dressed as a giant armadillo with a bunch of balloons?’

‘That’s right, sir.’ Jerry nods. ‘Obviously, he must have had a stumble – those costumes can be darn heavy – and ended up in the pool. He was probably dead before you arrived. Nothing you could do.’ He smiles in a way that I think is supposed to be sympathetic but just comes across as a little smug. ‘I’ve already spoken to Stella – she’s the coroner. She’s on her way to collect the body.’

‘Doesn’t someone need to come and, you know, collect evidence?’ Sadie asks.

Jerry chuckles. ‘Well, look who’s been watching CSI.’

Sadie bristles. ‘Actually, I prefer reading. You should try it.’

Before Jerry can process the insult, I step in. ‘I thought that was what normally happened with an unexplained death?’

I see a flash of annoyance. ‘Sir, I just explained what happened here. No mystery. No crime. Just a tragic accident—’ He pauses at the sound of the doorbell. ‘That’ll be Stella.’

No one moves. Frances clears her throat. I realize they are waiting for me to answer the door. This is my house now.

‘Right,’ I say. ‘I’ll go let her in then, shall I?’

‘I’ll come with you,’ Sadie says.

We walk back through the living room. My clothes are still dripping, and after the oppressive heat outside, the aircon makes my damp skin ripple with goosebumps.

‘You okay?’ I ask Sadie. ‘Stupid question, I know.’

‘I’m fine,’ she says. ‘I mean, I’ve seen a dead body before, right?’

She means Grandma. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea at the time, but Sadie had wanted to say goodbye, so we visited my mum before the funeral directors took her away. She lay in her bed, flowery cover pulled up to her chest, vein-stippled hands at her sides. She seemed smaller, yet also strangely serene.