MR. MIDNIGHT BOOK #61

MR MIDNIGHT

#61 - Who Was In That Coffin?

Chapter 1

It had just been another ordinary school day. You know what I mean - too much work, too many hassles, and a head full of headaches!

But now, as the sun went down on all that stress, I was having some fun.

My name is Nicholas Low, by the way, and I'm into jogging. Jogging lets me work off all the pressure - it never fails!

And I always jog, twice a week, with the same two friends, at the same time, in the same place.

There's Yee Wei Wah - he's one of the fastest runners in our school, and no wonder. He's so handsome, girls are always chasing after him. Ha ha!

And then there's Kyna Sim. She lives in the same apartment block as Wei Wah and me. She's the only girl we know who doesn't give us any trouble. She's very cute, and her glasses make her look even cleverer than she is. She wears them wherever she goes, even when she's jogging.

(I wear glasses too - but only when I'm watching TV.)

We always jog along the same track beside a fast-flowing river in the nature reserve, not far from our apartment block.

So there we were, pounding along the grassy path, pumping lots of fresh air into our lungs, when Kyna cried out, "Did you hear that?"

"What?" I asked. All I could hear were my heartbeats throbbing through my brain.

"It sounded like a car," she called.

Wei Wah looked puzzled. "Who'd bring a car down here?"

As we rounded a bend in the river, I caught sight of the old bridge looming above the water. We pass it every time we go jogging, and I never give it a second glance. Nobody uses it anymore, not since the highway was built.

But today was different!

I could see the top of a black car that had stopped in the middle of the bridge, its engine still running. Two men were peering over the rail. It was too dark for them to see us on the shadowy track, but we could make out their shapes by the dying light of the sun.

They disappeared, only to return a moment later, and I could tell by the way they moved that they were carrying something heavy.

And that's when the weirdest thing happened.

They lifted a long wooden box onto the rail and pushed it over.

"Oh yuck, they're dumping their trash in our nice clean river," complained Kyna in disgust.

The box went sailing through the air. It struck the water with a huge splash. A moment later we heard the car speed away.

We raced over to the bank, peering through the reeds as the current carried the box toward us.

And that's when Kyna let out a scream. "It's not a box - IT'S A COFFIN!"

Chapter 2

Kyna was right. There was no mistaking the shape of the coffin. The broad top where the dead person's head and shoulders would be, tapering down to where their feet would rest. And with the richly polished wood and gold handles...hey, what else could it be?

"People don't throw coffins away!" Wei Wan blurted out. "They've got bodies in them!"

"And they don't throw them off bridges," I added, my eyes goggling at the sight of the coffin bobbling along in the river.