Read Online Madhattan Mystery by John J. Bonk - Free Book Online Page B

everyone woke up the next morning a half hour late—and a little queasy. Lexi and Kevin skipped showers, threw on their identical puke-green City Camp T-shirts, grabbed their backpacks, andran out the door with Aunt Roz at their heels, forcing granola bars on them.
    â€œI don’t care if you’re not hungry, you have to eat something. Take it! Take it!”
    They were almost run over by a cardboard-box carrying man on the first floor who came flying out of Mr. Carney’s smelly apartment—and without so much as a “pardon me.” Then he had the nerve to race them down the front steps of the brownstone so he could catch his precious cab. Lexi thought it was the same guy they had seen two days ago, but it was definitely a different weirdo. This one was covered in tattoos.
    â€œWell, excuse
you
!” Aunt Roz called out after him. “Lord,” she said, turning to Lexi and Kevin, “that cat-man sure has a lot of strange people coming and going at all hours. Kimmy says they’re his relatives but I don’t know.” She looked back at the brownstone. “Where is she anyway? Is she meeting us at the City Camp bus?”
    â€œOh, that’s long gone,” Lexi said, checking her watch. It turned out to be the perfect excuse—this waking-up-late thing. “It’s already nine twenty. The bus leaves at—”
    â€œA quarter to,” Kevin finished, lying through his teeth. “Kim Ling probably left.”
    â€œWell, we can cab it.” Aunt Roz sucked her teeth, looking toward the intersection. “We’ll be able to get one quicker if we spread out,” she said, which led her into a mini-lesson in Taxicab Hailing 101. “C’mon, you kids have to learn
some
time. Arms nice ‘n’ high like you mean it. Good! Okay, I’llman the corner and we’ll see who can flag down a cab first. Ready? Go!”
    Aunt Roz’s high heels went scraping down the sidewalk and Lexi and Kevin were left on the curb, looking like Tweedledum and Tweedledumber waiting to be called on in class. No cabs in sight, but a shiny black Lincoln Town Car, like the one they had seen on Sunday, turned off West End and circled the block like a hungry shark.
Spooky
.
    â€œGeez, you’re such a girl.” It was Kim Ling on the front stoop, mimicking Lexi and snorting. “It’s not like you’re working the Miss America runway or anything. No self-respecting cabby’s gonna pick you up with that wimpy wave.”
    Lexi’s cheeks were instantly on fire, trying to think of a quick comeback.
Oh, yeah? Well, at least I don’t boss people around like a drill sergeant. At least I think before I open my mouth. At least I don’t dress like a nearsighted clown …
Nothing came to her that was acid enough, and the window of opportunity for a comeback had quickly passed.
    â€œTruce, okay?” Kim Ling said to the back of Lexi’s head. “I get it now. But yesterday when you swore me to secrecy, I thought certain parties already knew about the Grand Central thing—namely, your B-R-O-T-H-E-R.”
    â€œI’m ten,” Kevin said. “I can spell ‘brother’!”
    â€œI mean, I assumed he was right there with you at the time.” Kim Ling paused to slather her mouth in lip balm.“My bad. But next time be specific. The devil’s in the details.”
    â€œMaybe in a perfect world.” Lexi had no idea what that meant but at least it was something.
    A shrill whistle came from the corner. From Aunt Roz? She was motioning to them wildly with one hand and opening the door of a crookedly parked cab with the other. Lexi, Kevin, and Kim Ling ran up the block and scrambled into the backseat. “Well, look who showed up after all. Good morning, Kimmy.”
    â€œMorning.”
    â€œForty-Fourth and Park, please,” Aunt Roz instructed the driver. She would be riding shotgun on the other side of