"L. Lee Lowe - Mortal Ghost" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lowe L Lee)

'Look, I didn't mean to compare you to your mother,' Jesse said. 'Or to pry.'

'Oh yeah?'

'OK, maybe I am a bit curious,' he conceded. 'Do you blame me?'

Sarah had a mischievous glint in her eyes, the same look he'd seen on a small girl who'd found a stash of
chocolate and a single disintegrating cigarette hidden under his mattress. On Emmy. He didn't notice that he
was biting his lip till he tasted a trace of blood.

'I'll offer you a trade,' Sarah said. 'One fact about yourself for one about my mum.'

'It wouldn't be a fair exchange,' he said curtly. 'There's nothing worth learning about me.'

He walked away, leaving Sarah to stare after him. His shoulders were hunched as if against a chill wind.

Sarah led them through a cemetery where she stopped to point out a row of small graves whose headstones all
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bore inscriptions dating from as far back as the 1890s. Though not quite overgrown, the plots were no longer
carefully tended, and the sweet smell of the honeysuckle which clambered rampantly through a nearby lilac
added to the slight air of neglect.

'I don't know why,' she said, 'but I always like to take this detour. You'd think the sight of these tiny graves
would be sad, but it's not. In a strange way they're like children I've met. Sometimes they even seem to be
whispering to me. Comforting me when things go wrong, or I'm just lonely and depressed.' She pointed to a
crooked headstone at the end of the row. 'Amelia Holland. She was four and a half when she died. I feel as if I
know her best. She'd have become a teacher, I think.' She looked up to see that Jesse's face was set in stone.
'Sorry, it's silly, I suppose.'

Jesse shook his head but said nothing. Then he moved away towards the honeysuckle. Head bent, he plucked
a handful of blossoms from the vine and crushed them between his fingers, releasing their scent. Without
understanding what was the matter, Sarah could tell that she'd made a misstep, that she was encroaching on
hallowed ground in some way.

She tried to make amends. 'It's just that it's very peaceful here. Sometimes I bring a book and read.'

Jesse flicked the crushed petals away and brushed his hand off on his jeans.

'It's getting late,' he said. 'Let's go see this park you say is so amazing.'

'Hedgerider Park.'

Jesse lifted an eyebrow.

'That's its name.' She looked down at the dog, who was lying in a patch of sunlight. 'Come on, Anubis.' She
grinned. 'Nubi.'

As they walked along, Jesse stole an occasional sidelong glance at Sarah, but either she was unaware of his
curiosity, or most likely indifferent to it. A girl like this, he reminded himself, would have no reason to lack