Page 56 of Serenity Falls

‘They don’t know any different,’ Dax says.

‘And they never leave,’ Ramona adds.

Sadie suddenly remembers Fred the security guard: ‘Once you’re here, you’re here to stay.’

‘Well, they must leave for work and stuff?’ she says.

‘Most people work here,’ Dax says. ‘Kids go to college here and end up getting a job here.’

‘Because who would want to leave perfect Serenity Falls?’ Ramona says with a heavy dash of sarcasm.

Ellis shakes her head and pulls a finger across her throat. Ramona frowns, then turns.

The waitress with the pink hair is approaching their table. She doesn’t look much older than they are. Up close, Sadie can see that her eyes are red and a little swollen like she’s been crying.

‘What can I get you guys?’ She smiles, but it looks forced.

‘I’ll get a chocolate milkshake,’ Ellis says.

Sadie hasn’t looked at the menu, but says: ‘Err, yeah. Same, please.’

The waitress – Lou, her name badge reads – nods. ‘Cool.’ She glances at Sadie. ‘I hope the Scooby-Doo gang aren’t boring you?’

Dax holds his hand up. ‘Hey, we’re right here.’

Lou stares at him. ‘Yeah. I know.’

‘We’re good,’ Sadie assures her.

Lou nods, looking unconvinced. ‘Okay. Well, don’t let them suck you into their crazy conspiracy theories.’

‘They’re not crazy if they’re true,’ Dax says.

‘Sure, Shaggy.’

Ramona scowls. ‘I guess you don’t care what happened to Frankie?’

Lou’s face snaps shut. ‘Of course I care, but I also care about my job. You know I can’t talk about that shit here.’

She gives Ramona a hard look, then turns on her heel and walks swiftly back towards the kitchen.

Sadie frowns. ‘Frankie? As in the guy who drowned in our pool?’

Ellis nods. ‘Frankie worked here. Lou and him were pretty tight.’

‘She looked really upset.’

‘Yeah.’ Ramona pauses, then adds, ‘You know Frankie wasn’t even supposed to be at your house that day?’

‘How come?’

‘All the mascots have their own costumes,’ Dax says. ‘Frankie wore Lenny the Leopard because he was skinny. A guy called Chris always wore Arnie because it’s a heavy costume and he’s a big guy.’

‘Then why was Frankie wearing it?’

Ramona arches an eyebrow. ‘Good question. For some reason, they swapped.’

Sadie considers this. ‘That’s pretty crap luck’