Pulling up outside Guido’s, my heart beat faster. I pulled out the card from my pocket for the thousandth time.
He had to have written this, I thought. But his body was found… wasn’t it?

I found it hard to leave the car. I just couldn’t beleive it was Steve who was doing this. This was one practical joke too far. I fingered the key between my fingers, before pushing myself to get out of the car.

Through the murky front window, I could see that Guido’s was as empty as usual. Steve and I were the only regular patrons the place seemed to get.
No sign of Steve… yet.

The sky was a blue-grey by the time I willed myself out of the car and in through the double doors of the pizzeria. As I took my first step onto the sticky lino, a voice grunted behind me.

“Ant?”
“You’re real,” was all I could say as I turned to see my friend’s face.
“I’m sorry,” he said, grabbing my arm. “But this is important.”
He pushed me into Guido’s as my heart started up again.