Page 16 of Serenity Falls

I lead her through the house and out to the back yard. She regards Frankie lying on the ground. ‘We’re gonna need to get him out of that costume.’

I look at her. ‘We?’

‘Well, I can do it on my own, but it’d be quicker with help.’

This really is a small town, I think.

It takes three of us. It’s horrible and undignified. The costume smells of chlorine and wet fur. Beneath it, Frankie is wearing only boxer shorts and a faded Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles T-shirt. His skin is pale and puckered. Each time I touch a bare limb my stomach rolls. He’s just a kid, I tell myself. But my brain screams back – He’s a corpse now, and he’s cold, so cold.

At last, the costume is off, and Stella takes over. She’s efficient, and stronger than she looks. Within seconds she has Frankie zipped into the body bag and loaded on to the stretcher. She drapes the wet costume on top.

‘Okay, we’re ready to roll.’

She wheels the stretcher back through the house. By some unspoken consensus, we all follow her, like a funeral procession.

‘What happens now?’ I ask as we reach her van.

Stella opens the rear doors and manoeuvres the stretcher inside. ‘Well, I’ll make a report, and then Frankie’s body will be officially released to his family and prepared for burial, or cremation, whichever they choose.’

His family. Shit. I hadn’t even asked about the poor kid’s family. ‘What about his parents?’

Jerry sighs deeply. ‘I’m on my way to see ’em next. They live on the other side of town. Nice couple. He’s their only kid.’

Suddenly, it hits me. Up until now, it had all felt slightly unreal. The bright blue pool, the mascot costume. But Frankie is real. Not a prop or a joke. He was somebody’s son, their only son, and now he’s dead. Did he cry out? I wonder. Did he struggle for long, trying to keep his head above water, splashing around, grasping for the side of the pool, even as the cumbersome costume and his own efforts dragged him further down? And poor Frankie couldn’t swim. I close my eyes, feeling a headache blooming.

And why did nobody hear him? Why did nobody see him?

My train of thoughts crashes to a halt.

‘Wait,’ I say as Stella moves to close the van’s rear doors. ‘I just remembered something.’ I turn to Frances. ‘You said there was a security camera at the back of the house? Could it have recorded what happened?’

Frances shifts uneasily. ‘Oh, the cameras aren’t active yet. You’ll need to download the app and set up your account.’

‘Right.’ I make a mental note to check the camera myself.

‘Mr Barker,’ Jerry says. ‘I understand this is distressing. But just let us deal with it, and you concentrate on settling in here.’ He rests a hand on my shoulder. A little too firmly. I don’t find it reassuring. It feels more like a threat, like he’s about to snap cuffs on me. He smiles. ‘Okay?’

I nod, just to get his sweaty hand off me. ‘Okay.’

‘Good. I’ll be getting on.’ My shoulder is released, and Jerry walks over to his brown-and-white cruiser. SF Sheriff is written along the side.

The cruiser and Stella’s van are the only two cars out on the street. Frances must have walked here. It’s quiet, disconcertingly so. On our old street, the slightest bit of drama and the neighbours would be out on their front steps gawking and gossiping. But then, I wonder how many people are peeking out of their windows, watching the spectacle.

‘My cue to leave too,’ Stella says.

She holds out her hand again. ‘You and your daughter look after yourselves now.’

‘We’ll try,’ I say. And then I find myself asking: ‘Does Jerry deal with all deaths here? It seems odd not to involve the county police.’

She raises an eyebrow. ‘Well, the county police deal with crimes, sir, and there’s no crime in Serenity Falls. Didn’t you get the memo?’

I smile thinly. ‘I guess not.’

She nods, and then her eyes flit to Frances. ‘Jerry takes care of things. That’s his role.’

‘What about you?’

‘Me? Oh, I get called when I’m needed.’ She gives me a meaningful look. ‘So, hopefully I won’t be back anytime soon.’