Read Online Death of the Mad Hatter by Sarah Pepper - Free Book Online

forget to put on your detective hat,” I said.
    If she heard the mockery in my comment, she pretended not to notice. “You know of my uncle—the probation office for the county. Well, he’s a computer illiterate and had some technical difficulties over the weekend. Since I know all of his passwords, I did a little digging on the Edgar family. Turns out, there is no death certificate for your dad.”
    I looked around and spoke in a hushed tone. “My mom and I are under federal protection services.”
    She stepped closer. “Why?”
    “ Because Dad was killed,” I said. “The records were expunged, but every once in a while some naïve high school girl uncovers the truth and we have to skip town again.”
    “ Do you ever tell the truth?”
    “ I like to mix it up. Keep you on your toes,” I said and then wiggled my finger closer. “If you dig deep enough, you’ll find that there were other members in my family who bit the dust prematurely.”
     
    Thankfully, I wasn’t the only person to recognize Alice Mae was off balanced, so it wouldn’t be far-fetched to think she called in sick to avoid being picked on. Still, rumors about her and a mystery man couldn’t possibly be good for me. I definitely didn’t need anyone, especially Courtney, thinking that I was into the crazed girl. Nonetheless, when she graced us with her presence after lunch, I was secretly pleased. Only because I needed to make sure she didn’t go off and tell everyone that the rumors were true and I was the mystery man.
    “ Where were you at first?” I asked, trying not to make a face because of her outfit.
    Faded pink tights should never be worn—period. Nevertheless, it was easier to overlook that fashion no-no because she wore an oversized tie-dyed shirt. At least she made it a little more stylish by tying the shirt’s back into a knot with a ponytail holder. A navy blue duffle bag hung from her shoulder.
    “ Chez wouldn’t get out of the oven, and my aunts were trying to bake sweets.” She held her finger along the wall, tracing the brick line as we walked down the hall to the freshman hall.
    “ Who’s Chez?” I asked, walking alongside her.
    “ A spy. He doubles as an annoying, super-villain feline. It would seem that making sure I received a tardy slip on week two was on that cat’s top priority list.”
    There were far too many oddities about her comment. “Why was there a cat in your oven?”
    “ He was curious .”
    “ Is this cat real or is he a figment of your imagination?”
    That earned me a slap across the face.
    “Do you think I’m dumb as well as deaf? I know when I’m at the butt of a joke, so I’d advise you to choose your words wisely, or one day they will get you into trouble not even you can talk your way out of, Ryley, or should I say mystery man?” she paused to take in my reaction. I kept my face as blank as possible. “So you heard that one too? Here’s your warning Ryley, make me mad and the whole school will think that we were swapping spit.”
    I bit my tongue, not addressing that topic. She knew she had me so I changed topics. “You think I’m a smooth talker?”
    She made a one-eighty so we were no longer walking in the same direction. “Edgars are notorious smooth talkers, until they meet their demise because of their slick words... Speaking of which, I heard a rumor that your family is in the witness protection program.”
    I couldn ’t stop a grin from forming. Becky could never keep her mouth shut, especially if the secret was juicy. It had been too easy, putting the idea in her head that my family had a murderous past. Whatever. I didn’t care as long as it got her looking somewhere other than at my old man. The entire town of Rockingham didn’t need to know that he was chilling in a straightjacket on the other side of the state.
    Instead of following Alice Mae like I really wanted to, I left for the men’s locker room, changed into my gym clothes, and read the daily weight lifting