Read Online Alien in the Family by Gini Koch - Free Book Online Page B

nodded and scooted his chair closer to Gower’s. I saw him put his hand on Gower’s wrist and assumed they were communicating in some way.
    “For the time being,” Chuckie said with a small smile. He seated himself in the chair on my other side. “How do you like the place?”
    “It’s okay. Is this room clean?”
    “It’s spotless. The maid service is impeccable.” Chuckie looked at me, and pointed to the centerpiece on the table. It looked like a bizarre pineapple, only it was orange and purple and pretty freaking ugly.
    Gower’s eyes looked glazed. I assumed he was having ACE share with everyone that it was quiet time.
    “Ah, good to know. I’d love to stay here, then.” Great. Bugged. Presumably by the C.I.A. But I figured I’d better be sure. “How’s things with your parents?” They were both in Temecula, California, where he’d moved them once he’d made his money. It had been their dream to retire there, he’d just moved them a lot sooner than they’d expected. And I knew how they were, because I kept in touch with them, just as he kept in touch with my parents.
    “Oh, they’re fine. I don’t see them very often, but we talk all the time. They send their love.” He shook his head.
    Okay, it was an audio bug, not visual, thank God for small favors. And it wasn’t from the C.I.A. So, why was Chuckie letting it sit there? “Your sisters and brothers?” Like me, he was an only child.
    “Fine, you know, the usual.” He shook his head again. Okay, so not an American agency. So, who?
    “How’s Australia been?”
    “Great, you know how I love the travel.” He shook his head again, harder.
    Not foreign. Not national. So, who? I could only come up with one other idea. “I’ll bet the view of the Luxor’s pyramid laser light show must be awesome from up here.”
    “Best view you could hope for. Like being on top of a mountain watching it.” He nodded, emphatically.
    Bingo. But how?

CHAPTER 9

    MARTINI GOT UP. “You mind if I have a bite to eat?” “No, go ahead, that’s what the food’s for.” Chuckie nodded and Martini shrugged.
    “Christopher, you look a little pale. You might want to eat something too.” Martini jerked his head, and Christopher got up.
    They started talking about baseball while Chuckie and I continued to chat about family members who didn’t exist. The others got the clue, and soon the whole room was filled with aimless chatter.
    Martini picked up the centerpiece and examined it. He shot a look at Chuckie while discussing the merits of the Diamondbacks over the Dodgers. Chuckie shrugged and pulled a small, black, rectangular thing out of his pocket. He put it near me: nothing. He got up, wandered around the room, still talking about his nonexistent siblings, while he put it near the others in the room. When it was by humans, nothing happened. When it was by Gower it turned purple, and when it was by Martini, Christopher, or the girls, it turned green.
    Chuckie waved the alien-detector near the centerpiece. It turned red. He then pulled the Unity Necklace out of his pocket—I hadn’t realized he’d taken it, but then, I hadn’t been thinking about wearing it after what had happened earlier. He put the box near the necklace, and it turned red.
    Martini nodded, and he looked seriously pissed, but not at Chuckie for once. He and Christopher started to take the centerpiece apart, carefully. Inside the ugly pineapple thing they found an oddly shaped piece of metal. I could see it and, like the necklace, it didn’t look human-made.
    Martini put his hand out, and Chuckie gave him the Unity Necklace. Martini played around with it a bit, and all of a sudden the two pieces fit together. Martini looked angrier, and Christopher looked pretty pissed off, too.
    His hands moved so fast I couldn’t see them, and I had to look away or get sick. So I looked at his face. Hey, I didn’t have to look far away. Martini finished whatever he was doing and held out the combined