Change of Life Read Online Free Page B

relished this revelation.
    “Don’t talk like that!” I said. “What rubbish. Sam, what do you mean he followed you home? Why didn’t you say? Who is he? Jenny, is this person your boyfriend?” I knew I was babbling and I suspected I’d met the boy already.
    Once again, Jenny’s attempts to speak were overridden by her sister. “He’s called Robbie - as I said. He’s a right weirdo. He’s not from here. He comes in on the bus from Edinburgh. He just appeared one day, got a part time job in the shop. He says he’s on exam leave, but that he can’t spend all his time studying, and he says he needs the money. But it’s not like they don’t have supermarkets in Edinburgh – why would he want to work here? He must spend loads on bus fares. Like I say – weird. He and Jenny spend a lot of time talking to each other when they’re on the weekend shift together. Jen likes him – don’t you Jen?”
    All our eyes were on Jenny. “Yes – as a friend – not in the way you’re all thinking!” She blushed. “He’s not weird. Why would he follow you, Sam? You shouldn’t say things like that about him.”
    “Oh, I know he’s not really your boyfriend,” Sam replied. “I think he fancies me actually – probably using you to get close to me. But it’s all right you can have him. He gives me the creeps with the staring and stuff – and that earring is so not cool! And he likes Slipknot – I rest my case – weird!” Sam glanced at her brother, but he didn’t rise to the bait. “Anyway, I’m sure he followed me.”
    Now I knew. “I think I -”
    “No, no wait a minute.” Tom waved his hand to silence me. “I don’t like the sound of any of this. Jenny, you’re not to encourage this boy. I could have a word with Andy. Get him to investigate the guy.”
    “No, Dad, no!” Jenny looked horrified. “Don’t go talking to the police about him. He’s fine. He doesn’t mean any harm.”
    “I’ll speak to Andy unofficially –as a friend – come on, you know Andy. He’ll be low key. You can trust him.”
    Jenny grabbed Tom’s arm. “Please, Dad, don’t. He’s okay!”
    “Well – no coming home alone for the moment, either of you,” Tom said, pouring himself another glass of red. “I’ll have a word with this Robbie myself.”
    “No!”
    The girls glared at Tom as if he was a lunatic. I used their horrified silence to get a word in. “I think I may have met Robbie already,” I said quickly. “Well I think it was probably him that I hit earlier – with the car.” Now the glares swung to me. “He was a young lad with straggly, dark hair…” I had Tom’s attention now. No-one was eating anymore, not even Adam, who normally rams his food down his throat as fast as he can, and then leaves the table as soon as possible.
    “You hit someone? When? What happened? Was he okay?”
    “Yes, yes, he was okay. I didn’t actually hit him. He ran into me really. It was at lunchtime – when I was going back to school. I didn’t see him coming. He must have been pressed against the hedge or bending down or something. He clattered into the side of the car as I was pulling away outside the house. I got out to make sure he was all right, but he ran off.”
    “What makes you think it was the same boy?” Tom asked.
    I looked at the girls. “He was about Adam’s height, thin, dark. He had a skull-shaped ear stud and a Slipknot tee-shirt.”
    Sam raised her eyebrows and nodded. “It sounds like him. When was it exactly?”
    “About one-fifteen.”
    “What was he doing here at that time?” Sam said. “He’d know I’d be at the shop then. No wonder he was late for his shift. This gets creepier. You don’t think he was going to break in do you?” She looked scared now.
    Jenny shook her head. “Of course not. He’d be stupid to show himself if he was planning to break in. There’ll be a reasonable explanation. Maybe he was just exploring the village and stopped to tie his shoelace or