Fuck and Fish Face jumped to their feet.

"You do? And you're only just sharing this with us?"

Cassidy realised he was shouting and looked around apologetically. No one had taken any notice. There weren't enough people in their immediate vicinity to worry about, and those who were had their heads in their phones or their earphones in their heads.

"Why didn't you say?"

"I didn't know if I was going to say anything at all. I don't know if it's a good idea to confront him."

"Of course it's not," said Cass. "It's a shit idea. But we're going to do it, anyway."

"What if she's right?" Ethan said, laying his hand on his brother's back. "We should be careful."

"For fuck's sake, you two. We do need to be careful. I'm not stupid. But we have to go and talk to him. Tell him what we know."

"And then what?" Jazz asked. "What you gonna do then?"

"I don't know! How the fuck do I know? It depends on what he does, doesn't it?"

"OK, so he admits it all. Or he drags us into his house and murders us, too. Or he's the nicest guy you can imagine, and it's all lies. What will you do then?"

"Jazz, calm down," Ethan said. "You don't need to be so shitty about it. We need to talk this through, not kick off about it."

"I'm not kicking off. I'm trying to tell him he needs to take a minute. We don't know this guy. Nothing about him."

"You used to know him."

"I did, emphasis on the did. I don't know him now."

"What are you kiddies talking about? I hope you're not arguing."

The three turned, each recognising the voice, though for different reasons.

"Hello, Wendy," they said in unison.

Cassidy wasn't the only one who knew the old dear. Ethan had once delivered newspapers on the same round as his younger brother. Wendy had been happy to chat to him and gave him a whole 50p every week, and sweets with it on Sundays, when the papers were twice as thick, thanks to the plethora of supplements that had to be delivered along with them.

Jazz knew Wendy too.

When Cassidy and Ethan's sister was fourteen, she was starting to rebel. Or trying to. While her friends were allowed to stay out a half hour later, Jazz had to leave them behind and return home. She would make excuses, such as having to babysit the boys or period pains. They knew the truth, however. Jazz thought her parents were too strict, while her friends thought theirs weren't strict enough. They would have preferred their mums and dads to lay down the law a little more. It would show they gave a shit.

Not all of them were like that. Gwen, a slim girl who was always cold, would go to the park after she was meant to be in bed. She knew enough to not venture there after dark, but evening could still be a risk. Gwen thought risk added a sense of fun to life. It meant she would stay alert. She'd watch out for undesirables. She'd be fine.

Jazz wanted to be like Gwen. She wanted to live a little closer to the edge. Things were too good. Too nice. Too safe. If Gwen could do as she wished, albeit without her parents' knowledge, then why couldn't Jazz?

Jazz had sneaked out. She was trusted, so there was no reason to question her when she had complained of a headache and said she wanted an early night. Within half an hour, she was at the park. Within another ten minutes, a group of boys she didn't recognise had latched onto her and were trying to steal kisses and gropes.

She wished she'd told her brothers what she was doing. They'd have gone with her, and that could have been all the backup she needed for the boys to pick on someone else. But she hadn't, so they didn't.

Luckily, Wendy had seen what was happening. Fearless, even in her advancing years, she had stormed out of her house, brandishing a yard brush. She'd called to Jazz, not knowing her real name, so calling her Sophie. Jazz had hurried over to the old woman, and Wendy had told the boys to 'fuck off and stop being little bastards.'

It was the only time any of them had heard her use foul language. It was one of the very few times she ever had.

The boys ran off laughing and pointing. Jazz thanked Wendy and politely refused the offered cup of tea. She needed to get back home. Maybe slightly more forceful parents weren't such a bad thing.

So, when Wendy spoke to them, they were happy to respond, though none of them felt like they had the time to.

"Us, argue?" Jazz asked. "When would we ever do that?"

"I've known you kiddies for too long for you to try and fool me," said Wendy. "And I also know how brothers and sisters like to fight about everything."

"We're not fighting, Wendy," Ethan asserted. "We're just having an early morning walk together. We haven't seen each other properly for ages."

"Life does have a habit of getting in the way, doesn't it? Would any of you like a nice cup of tea?"

The siblings smiled warmly. Wendy was always offering them tea, and they had always declined. They felt a great deal of affection for the sweet woman, but old people's tea was always as weak as piss, wasn't it? And they talked too much, reminiscing about the war and retelling the same, tired old stories.

They were unkind in their estimations, especially considering the high regard they held her in, and felt slightly bad about making so many excuses. But, Wendy was harmless, and she would suspect the truth anyway.

"We need to get going," said Cassidy. "Sorry, Wendy. Maybe another time?

"Of course, dear. You know where I am, any time you feel like visiting an old dear."

"Thank you."

"Of course. What are you doing now? Anything fun?"

"We're going back to mine for a bit, then going to see an old friend," said Cass.

"Well, I hope you have a lovely time," Wendy said, before turning away and hobbling off.

"What are we really going to do," Ethan asked, once she was out of earshot.

"We're going back to his," said Jazz. "I want to finally meet Amy."

Cassidy was taken aback. He stared at his sister, then at Ethan. The latter looked back at him and shrugged his shoulders.

"She should know what she's fighting for," he said.

"Yeah, I should. I'd be helping you guys anyway, even if I didn't. We always stick together. But, for one, I've never met a ghost. And two, it'll give us time to think what we're going to do. And we need to do that before I tell you anything."

Cassidy sighed. More delays! He could see their point, but he hadn't wanted to go back to Amy without having something to tell her. Something positive. He was never going to kill the man. He couldn't. The burglar's death hadn't particularly affected him, other than him being freaked out a little by the body's disappearance. He wasn't a killer, whether he had murderous thoughts or not. He knew neither of his siblings were either.

OK. Time would be good.

"Come on, then," he said.

"You'd better have some decent coffee," Jazz told him. "Otherwise, you might be joining Amy."

"I have coffee. That'll have to do. You can have a posh one."

They didn't talk much as they made their way back to Cassidy's house. Each was thinking of the best way to deal with Amy's father. They went through a variety of scenarios, ranging from a shotgun blast as he opened the door, though none owned or had ever fired any sort of firearm, to poison, arson and what the new pizza place in town was like.

They tried to focus, but their minds seemed to have other ideas. Their thoughts drifted to the mundanity of normal life, as if avoiding the subject of their concerns. The more they tried to direct their minds to the matter at hand, the more difficult it seemed to be to do so. Their natural tendency to make light of dark situations prevented them from dwelling on things until they needed to. And their minds each decided they didn't need to just yet.

When they reached the house, they waited for Cass to retrieve his keys.

"Any luck, you guys?" he asked, hopefully.

"Well" began Ethan. "I was wondering if you two fancied a Thai takeaway at mine tonight. Cass, you could bring the beer. Jazz, dessert is on you."

"Dessert will be on you, literally, if you don't get your head in the game," she admonished.

Her tone made it obvious she didn't mean it. She'd had diverted deliberations too. And Thai did sound good.

"Come on," said Cassidy. "Welcome to my..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

Running down the hall towards him was a small dog.

Bobby.

https://youtu.be/c_EnYLqt1Wk