Park Beats & Bad Vibes

The first truly hot Saturday of the holidays always did something strange to the town. It made grown-ups melt into benches like forgotten ice creams. It made toddlers scream as if their very souls were offended by suncream. It made dogs pant like they’d just run a marathon in a furry coat. And it made the Slay Squad, now a little taller, a little louder, and definitely more confident than they used to be, treat the park like it was their own outdoor stage. Emily had claimed the flattest patch of grass near the bandstand, because apparently “a decent dance surface” was now a serious requirement for hanging out. Ruth had brought a tote bag that looked harmless until you realised it contained, in order: a water bottle, a snack box, two pens, a small notebook and a bigger notebook. Tallulah was setting up her phone against a tree, carefully angling it so the sunlight made everything look like a music video. She wore sunglasses that were slightly too dramatic for a normal day in the park, but that had never stopped Tallulah in her entire life. And Anna, Anna was fussing over a dog. Not their dog. A random dog belonging to a harassed-looking woman in a floral dress who had stopped nearby and was attempting to coax her Labrador away from a muddy puddle. “Do you have water for him?” Anna demanded, as if she were a small, angry vet. The woman blinked. “Um, yes. I, ” “Is it fresh?” Anna pressed. Emily, already stretching her arms like she was about to perform at Wembley, sighed. “Anna. It’s a Labrador. It’s basically a walking vacuum cleaner with a tail. It could drink out of a birdbath and still be fine.” Anna turned, eyes blazing. “That’s not the point.” Ruth murmured, half to herself, “The point is: it’s hot, animals overheat quickly, and Anna will fight anyone who looks like they’ve ever ignored an RSPCA leaflet.” Tallulah grinned. “Our Anna.. Clever. Furious. Powered entirely by justice and snacks.” Anna glared at all of them. Then she softened, just slightly, when the Labrador wagged its tail and leaned into her hand like it had decided she was trustworthy. “See?” Anna said, smug now. “He agrees with me.” Emily rolled her eyes. “He agrees with everyone. He would agree with a lamp post if it offered him a biscuit.” A voice drifted over from the path. “Okay, but.. lamp posts don’t usually offer biscuits.” They all turned. A girl their age who they knew from school, stood there with a relaxed half-smile, long hair scraped into a ponytail, and trainers that looked like they had actually been used for dancing rather than purely for fashion. Holly. She was new-ish to their orbit, one of those people who seemed to slot into a group like she’d always been there, partly because she was confident, and partly because she had the rare skill of not being intimidated by Emily’s sometimes berserk energy and unrelenting sarcasm. Holly lifted her chin in greeting. “You lot ready, or are you still arguing with the dog?” Emily pointed a finger at Anna. “She started it.” Anna pointed at the Labrador. “He started it.” She said, tickling his ears as the owner gently pulled him away to continue their walk. The Labrador panted happily, innocent as anything. Emily, stepped forward. “Hi, Holly. You made it.” Holly nodded. “I wouldn’t miss this. Isla’s on her way too, she said she had to ‘drop something off’ first. Which is suspicious, because Isla never drops anything off without a reason.” Tallulah gasped theatrically. “Isla has secrets. I knew it. She has mysterious main-character energy.” Emily snorted. “Tallulah, you call everyone a main character. You called the ice cream van a main character last week.” “It is,” Tallulah replied, offended. “It arrives when you need it most. It plays ominous music. It disappears before you can find the right change and you never see them filling up the chiller, it's like Mary Poppins' handbag! That’s storytelling.” Holly laughed, then clapped her hands once, like a dance teacher. “Right. Em, I’ve got a new routine from last weeks competition if you want to learn it. Not too hard, but it’s got a cheeky little foot switch that makes everyone look cooler than they are.” Emily’s eyebrows lifted. “Are you suggesting I’m not already cool?” Holly gave her a bright, unbothered smile. “I’m suggesting you’re aggressively cool. Like a hedgehog with attitude.” Ruth choked on a laugh. Anna muttered, “That might be the nicest insult I’ve ever heard.” Emily smiled, "I'll take it as a compliment. I think.." Tallulah adjusted the phone. “Okay! Everybody in frame. If this goes viral, I want it known that I carried the group with my facial expressions.” Emily eyed the phone. “If this goes viral, I’m moving to a different country.” Holly went through the moves a few times first, then after a few minutes started counting them in and started playing a song from her phone which they all already knew off by heart. “Five, six, seven, ” They moved together, better than they used to, honestly. They weren’t little kids copying dances in their bedrooms anymore. They’d been practising for months, and Holly, like Emily, had a natural snap to her timing that made the routine look effortless. Anna was surprisingly good, when she stopped thinking too hard and just let her body get on with it. Ruth a little less enthusiastic but her moves were precise and neat, like she’d mapped the rhythm in her head first and then executed it. Tallulah made up for occasional wrong turns with sheer performance. If she forgot a move, she simply invented a new one with enough confidence that it looked like she was doing a solo piece. They finished in a breathless burst of laughter. Holly whooped. “Yes! That’s it. Again, one more take, just in case Tallulah’s face does something.. you know.. a bit much.” Tallulah placed a hand over her heart. “My face is a national treasure.” Emily wiped sweat from her forehead. “Your face is an an emoji-factory!” Ruth looked past them, scanning the park in a way that suggested her brain never really stopped collecting information. “Where’s Isla anyway?” she asked. Almost on cue, Isla appeared at the edge of the grass, walking quickly with a small backpack slung across one shoulder. Isla wasn’t loud. She wasn’t dramatic. She had the calm, watchful vibe of someone who noticed things other people missed, like a cat. Or a detective. Or a cat who was also a detective. She raised a hand in greeting. “Sorry. I had to check something.” Emily immediately narrowed her eyes. “That’s suspiciously vague.” Isla’s mouth twitched like she was fighting a smile. “It was.. a thing.” Tallulah leaned forward, delighted. “A thing? Is it a secret thing? Is it a mysterious thing? Is it an illegal thing?” Anna brightened. “If it’s an illegal thing, tell me immediately. I've been reading about the law. Did you know it is illegal to disturb someone by ringing a doorbell without just cause?” "So, have you been knock-and-running Isla?" asked Emily with mock-intensity. "You could be in some serious trouble, young lady!" Isla’s eyes flicked to Anna, then Emily her look dripping with attitude, then to the path behind them, then back. “It’s not illegal. Probably. I don’t think.” Emily folded her arms. “Isla. That is not reassuring.” Ruth, gentler, but no less sharp, asked, “What did you check?” Isla hesitated, then said quietly, “There were posters.” “Posters?” Tallulah repeated. “Like.. posters of what? Please be a show in the park. Is it a concert?" not letting Isla finish. Isla’s gaze shifted again. “Missing pets.” Anna’s whole posture changed. Like someone had turned a switch. “What?” she snapped. “Where?” Isla pointed towards the noticeboard by the café kiosk. “Someone’s put up three new ones. One cat. Two small dogs. All from the last ten days.” Ruth’s eyes sharpened. “That’s.. a lot.” Emily opened her mouth to make a sarcastic comment, but it didn’t come out when she saw the way Anna sprung to her feet and was already marching off across the grass like she was about to personally interrogate the entire park. “Anna,” Ruth called out. “Don’t just run off, we haven’t even, ” Anna turned her head and shouted back, loud and focused. “Pets don’t just disappear!” Holly and Tallulah exchanged a look and hurried after them, with Emily following last, pretending she wasn’t as concerned while moving at exactly the same pace as everyone else. They reached the noticeboard, and Isla was right. A ginger-and-white cat called Marmalade, missing from a back garden. A black terrier mix called Pip, missing near the canal path. A tiny cream-coloured puppy, barely more than fluff with legs, called Daisy, missing from a front yard. Under Daisy’s photo, someone had written in thick black marker: PLEASE. SHE’S ONLY A BABY. Anna stared at that line like it had punched her. “Do you think someone could have taken her?” Anna whispered, voice shaking with emotion. “She looks tiny, she can't have wondered off very far on those legs!” Emily leaned in, reading the details. “She could’ve wriggled out through a gate. Puppies do that.” Anna whipped around. “Emily.” Emily held up a hand. “I’m not saying she did. I’m saying we don’t know. Yet.” Ruth was already scanning for patterns, dates, locations, overlaps. “All three are within walking distance of here,” she said quietly. “That’s not random.” Holly frowned. “Do people steal pets? Like.. properly steal them?” Anna’s eyes flashed. “Yes.” Isla said softly, “My aunt volunteers at a shelter sometimes. She says it happens. Especially with small dogs. The bigger ones are, well.. bigger.” Tallulah hugged herself. “Okay, I officially hate the world.” Emily’s sarcasm returned, but it sounded tighter now. “Brilliant. We’re in a park, it’s boiling, and somewhere out there, people are playing Pokémon Go with other people’s pets.” Anna turned back to the posters, fists clenched. “If someone’s taking them, they’re not just taking them for fun. They’d sell them. Or.. or use them.” Holly’s face pinched. “Use them for what?” Anna swallowed, and for once her confidence didn’t look like fire, it looked like fear. Ruth stepped in smoothly. “We don’t jump to the worst-case. We gather facts.” Emily nodded. “Thank you. Ruth is correct. Facts first. Panic later.” Tallulah whispered, “I’m already panicking, but I can do it quietly.” Ruth tapped the paper gently. “Let’s go back. We came for a nice day and we can still have fun, but.. we stay aware.” Anna didn’t move. “I’m staying aware right now.” Emily softened her tone, just a fraction. “Anna. We can’t solve a mystery by glaring at a noticeboard. Come on, we might be able to help but we can't magic a dog out of thin air. Isla saw the posters so other people will have too. They might even have been found by now.” Anna's glare softened slightly, but only slightly. She was fired up but they they all started walking back to their patch of grass, but the park didn’t feel the same anymore. The laughter around them sounded distant. The sun felt harsher. Even the ice cream van’s music sounded a bit.. creepy. Like it knew something. They dropped onto the grass again, but no one launched straight into dancing this time. Tallulah fiddled with her phone. “Does anyone want to do another video, or is this now a sad documentary?” Holly sat cross-legged, looking thoughtful. “Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe those pets just ran off.” Ruth nodded slowly. “Maybe. But three in ten days is still a pattern. And patterns matter.” Emily gave Ruth a look. “You’re thinking it too.” Ruth didn’t deny it. “I’m thinking we should pay attention.” Anna was scanning the park with the intensity of a guard dog as the conversations started up again, albeit with a little less frivolity than when they arrived and she occasionally checked the time as the sun carried on moving across the sky. Then she froze. “There,” she said sharply sitting up straight. The others lifted their heard or turned to her, following her gaze. At the far edge of the park, near a line of bushes where the grass thinned into rough ground and the path bent toward the car park, a white van was parked, half-hidden, as if it had tried to tuck itself away without fully committing. It didn’t have a logo. It didn’t have bright delivery markings. It looked.. tired. Rust along the wheel arches. Dents in the side panel. Curtains over the back windows. Like someone had taken a normal van and tried to make it invisible with the worst possible tools. Emily squinted. “Has that been there the whole time?” Ruth’s voice was quiet. “I don’t think so. Can't say I noticed it earlier to be honest.” Tallulah leaned forward dramatically. “I feel like it’s looking at us.” “It doesn’t have eyes,” Emily muttered. “It has vibes,” Tallulah insisted. Anna was already on her feet. “That van is wrong.” Holly stood too, brows knitting. “It’s just a van Anna.” Anna’s jaw tightened. “It’s not just a van.” Isla stared, expression unreadable. “It’s parked weird.” and the others tilted their heads, not entirely sure what she meant, but they knew she was right, somehow. Ruth nodded. “Half behind the bushes, but not enough to be hidden. Like they want to see everything, but don’t want to be seen.” Emily exhaled sharply. “Okay. That’s.. actually a good point.” A football sailed across the grass nearby, chased by a group of kids, and for a second the van disappeared behind them like it was nothing. Then the ball rolled closer to the bushes near the van, and the kids ran after it, laughing. Anna stepped forward without thinking. Emily stepped in front of her, reading Anna's mind just from the expression on her face. “Ok, calm down. If there’s an animal in there, we handle it properly. We don’t just.. charge a mystery van in the middle of the park. It could be a camper having a nap for all we know.” Anna looked at Emily and raised an eyebrow. "Napping, in a heatwave, inside a rusty old van?" Emily couldn't argue with that one. Of all of the places you could relax, it was easily the worst option in the whole park, so she fell in beside Anna and managed to slow her march to a more casual walk. Ruth raised her notebook slightly, a signal. “Let’s observe first. Like we always do.” Tallulah, whispered, “Operation Puppy Protection?” Emily shot her a look. “Urgh.. Do not name it yet, if anything, it's Operation Rust Bucket!” Holly looked between them, uncertain but intrigued. “Is this.. a thing you do? Like.. you see suspicious stuff and then..” Ruth answered calmly, “We investigate.” Emily added, “Unfortunately.” Anna added, “Successfully.” Isla murmured, “Usually.” Tallulah beamed. “Iconically.” Holly’s smile widened. “Okay. I’m in.” They moved, casual at first, like they were simply wandering, like they hadn’t just formed a six girl investigation squad in the middle of a public park. Tallulah grabbed her phone again, holding it like she was filming a dance take. Emily muttered, “If anyone asks, we’re rehearsing.” Tallulah nodded solemnly. “For our new performance: The Van and the Vibes.” They drifted nearer, hearts thumping faster with each step. The closer they got, the more wrong it felt. The curtains were too thick. The doors were shut tight. No windows cracked open for air. And then, A sound. Faint. Muffled. A small, sharp yip. Anna’s face changed completely. “Did you hear that?” she whispered. Ruth’s eyes narrowed. “Yes.” Another sound, scratching, maybe, against metal. Holly’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my gosh.” Emily’s voice was low, controlled, but there was an edge to it now. “Okay. That’s not.. normal van behaviour.” Isla stared at the van like she was trying to memorise every detail at once. Tallulah’s grin vanished. “That’s an animal.” Anna stepped forward so fast Ruth barely managed to keep pace. “It’s too hot,” Anna hissed. “If there are animals in there, they could, ” Emily grabbed her arm this time. “Anna. Wait. We need to think.” Anna spun, furious. “Think? While something is trapped in there?” Emily didn’t back down, older now, braver, sharper. Her eyes locked onto Anna’s like she was about to argue a case in court. “If you bang on that door and you’re wrong, we look like idiots. If you bang on that door and you’re right, whoever’s inside panics and drives off before we can do anything. Either way, we lose.” Anna’s breathing was fast. “So what do you suggest, Miss Debate Club?” Emily’s mouth twitched. “First of all, rude. Second of all, evidence.” Ruth slid smoothly into the moment, voice steady. “We record what we can. Plate number. Time. Sounds. Then we decide whether we call someone or confront them.” Tallulah’s phone tilted slightly. “I’m already recording.” Holly whispered, “Should we call the RSPCA?” Anna nodded instantly. “Yes.” Emily hesitated. “Or the police. If it’s theft.” Isla spoke quietly, surprising them. “Either way, get the plate.” Ruth pointed subtly. “Emily. You’re closest. Can you see it?” Emily crouched slightly, peering past a clump of nettles. She read it under her breath, twice, to be sure. “K, N.. no. Wait. K N.. 5.. 8.. something. The dried mud’s covering it and its faded.” Anna’s hands curled into fists. “That’s it.” Emily snapped her head up. “Anna, ” But Anna was already moving. Not charging blindly. Not screaming. Just marching straight toward the van like she’d made a decision and dared the universe to stop her. Ruth’s eyes widened. “Anna, don’t..” Anna lifted her hand. And rapped the side of the van with her knuckles, hard. The muffled yipping inside went frantic, like a storm in a box. Emily swore under her breath. “Oh, brilliant.” Tallulah whispered, “We’ve crossed the point of no return.” Holly’s face was pale. “Anna, what are you doing?” Anna didn’t turn around. Her voice came out fierce, steady, and terrifyingly clear. “I’m making them open it.” For a beat, nothing happened. No door. No voice. Just the heat shimmering off the metal, and the animals inside scratching and whining like they were begging. Then, from the front of the van, a shadow shifted. A door creaked. Someone was inside. And they were coming out. Anna squared her shoulders. Ruth’s pen hovered over her notebook like it was about to write history. Emily leaned slightly forward, ready to argue whoever it was into the ground. Tallulah held the phone perfectly steady. Isla’s gaze sharpened, calm but alert. Holly swallowed hard. And the Slay Squad, plus their two newest members, who were already proving they were all in, watched as the driver’s door opened a little wider. A man’s voice, rough and annoyed, spilled into the sunlight. “Oi. What do you think you’re doing?” Anna lifted her chin. “What I’m doing,” she said, “is making sure those animals don’t die in there.” And the park, moments ago full of music, laughter, and dance, suddenly felt like the stage for something much bigger.