Read Online Monster in Miniature by Margaret Grace - Free Book Online
Authors: Margaret Grace
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her brother’s death but was most definitely my top priority.
After Susan left, I stayed up awhile longer, going back and forth between two important lists I was compiling. One was of harmless reasons why Ken’s name was among those of nefarious Lincoln Point businessmen and -women, and the other was of people who benefited most with Oliver Halbert no longer among the living.
The lists seemed to merge, and I didn’t know whether that was a good or a bad thing.
When I finally went to bed, I had a fitful sleep at best. I found myself in a fantasy world where a miniature list of names came to life, the letters leaping off the tiny page, each name taking the shape of a nasty-looking man or woman who might have killed Oliver Halbert and smeared Ken Porter’s good name.
Chapter 5
“Is it okay if I play with Taylor today, Grandma?” Maddie asked at breakfast.
Taylor was Maddie’s new best friend forever, “BFF” in text-messaging language, and Henry Baker, her grandfather, was my (here I always paused) friend, I’d decided. If it were up to Maddie and Taylor, in their preteen wisdom, Henry and I would become BFFs and, along with Taylor’s and Maddie’s parents, we’d all live together happily ever after.
Though I wasn’t ready for a major change in lifestyle, the more temporary arrangement of placing Maddie in Henry and Taylor’s care was appealing. It would give me time to organize my thoughts and create a plan for putting Oliver Halbert’s apartment key to use. It seemed a long shot, but I hoped the key would unlock the mystery of Ken Porter’s place among Oliver’s “potential” investigations.
“Did you call Taylor to see if she’s available today?” I asked.
“She TM’d me already.”
“Of course she did.”
“She says they’re both free all day. And Mr. Baker has a new project to show you. I think it’s a gigantic dollhouse. I think Mr. Baker likes you, Grandma.” Maddie spooned cereal into her mouth, not easy since her grin made it hard to eat.
I took a sip of coffee and cleared my throat, preparing for battle. “I have some things to do around town. But I can drive you over there whenever you’re ready.”
“You’re not free?” Maddie put down her spoon and looked at me, waiting for my excuse.
I waited her out, busying myself with adding another glob of cranberry and pear jelly to the last of my toast.
A light seemed to dawn. “I get it. I almost forgot. It’s The Case, right?”
I heard capital letters in her voice. Maddie had taken to giving simple names to difficult or important things, the better to handle them. Earlier in the year, her family had relocated from Los Angeles to Palo Alto, only ten miles from Lincoln Point, so her father could take a coveted position at Stanford Medical Center. It was a boon for me to have my family so close, but the transition was tough for Maddie. Until she met Taylor, she had a hard time adjusting and missed her L.A. friends terribly. She referred to that trauma as The Move. When she tensed up before a school quiz, she talked about The Test, each time putting equal and unmistakable emphasis on “the.”
In my experience, a coping skill was a coping skill was a coping skill, no matter how much sense it made to others.
“What case, sweetheart?” I asked, enjoying a new burst of fruit flavor in my mouth.
“You’re going to work on Mr. Halbert’s case with Uncle Skip.” Maddie could conjure up a scolding tone equal to that of the best ALHS teachers I’d worked with.
I could honestly shake my head. I had no plans to see Skip. At least not until I’d done some looking around myself. “No, I’m not. I have some errands.”
Maddie rolled her eyes. She didn’t need to say it: too many times she’d been parked somewhere while I did “errands” she’d have loved to have been included in.
“I’m going to spend some time with Mrs. Giles,” I said. I winced at my shading of the truth, leaving out that my errands
After Susan left, I stayed up awhile longer, going back and forth between two important lists I was compiling. One was of harmless reasons why Ken’s name was among those of nefarious Lincoln Point businessmen and -women, and the other was of people who benefited most with Oliver Halbert no longer among the living.
The lists seemed to merge, and I didn’t know whether that was a good or a bad thing.
When I finally went to bed, I had a fitful sleep at best. I found myself in a fantasy world where a miniature list of names came to life, the letters leaping off the tiny page, each name taking the shape of a nasty-looking man or woman who might have killed Oliver Halbert and smeared Ken Porter’s good name.
Chapter 5
“Is it okay if I play with Taylor today, Grandma?” Maddie asked at breakfast.
Taylor was Maddie’s new best friend forever, “BFF” in text-messaging language, and Henry Baker, her grandfather, was my (here I always paused) friend, I’d decided. If it were up to Maddie and Taylor, in their preteen wisdom, Henry and I would become BFFs and, along with Taylor’s and Maddie’s parents, we’d all live together happily ever after.
Though I wasn’t ready for a major change in lifestyle, the more temporary arrangement of placing Maddie in Henry and Taylor’s care was appealing. It would give me time to organize my thoughts and create a plan for putting Oliver Halbert’s apartment key to use. It seemed a long shot, but I hoped the key would unlock the mystery of Ken Porter’s place among Oliver’s “potential” investigations.
“Did you call Taylor to see if she’s available today?” I asked.
“She TM’d me already.”
“Of course she did.”
“She says they’re both free all day. And Mr. Baker has a new project to show you. I think it’s a gigantic dollhouse. I think Mr. Baker likes you, Grandma.” Maddie spooned cereal into her mouth, not easy since her grin made it hard to eat.
I took a sip of coffee and cleared my throat, preparing for battle. “I have some things to do around town. But I can drive you over there whenever you’re ready.”
“You’re not free?” Maddie put down her spoon and looked at me, waiting for my excuse.
I waited her out, busying myself with adding another glob of cranberry and pear jelly to the last of my toast.
A light seemed to dawn. “I get it. I almost forgot. It’s The Case, right?”
I heard capital letters in her voice. Maddie had taken to giving simple names to difficult or important things, the better to handle them. Earlier in the year, her family had relocated from Los Angeles to Palo Alto, only ten miles from Lincoln Point, so her father could take a coveted position at Stanford Medical Center. It was a boon for me to have my family so close, but the transition was tough for Maddie. Until she met Taylor, she had a hard time adjusting and missed her L.A. friends terribly. She referred to that trauma as The Move. When she tensed up before a school quiz, she talked about The Test, each time putting equal and unmistakable emphasis on “the.”
In my experience, a coping skill was a coping skill was a coping skill, no matter how much sense it made to others.
“What case, sweetheart?” I asked, enjoying a new burst of fruit flavor in my mouth.
“You’re going to work on Mr. Halbert’s case with Uncle Skip.” Maddie could conjure up a scolding tone equal to that of the best ALHS teachers I’d worked with.
I could honestly shake my head. I had no plans to see Skip. At least not until I’d done some looking around myself. “No, I’m not. I have some errands.”
Maddie rolled her eyes. She didn’t need to say it: too many times she’d been parked somewhere while I did “errands” she’d have loved to have been included in.
“I’m going to spend some time with Mrs. Giles,” I said. I winced at my shading of the truth, leaving out that my errands
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