Read Online Novel - Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer - Free Book Online Page B

street. I looked over my shoulder to see a large, gold, 70’s BMW pull up to the footpath, almost nudging the Devereux station wagon. This was the Sharkeys’ car and everyone in town knew it. It had been doing the rounds of Lock since before I was born. Local legend had it that Papa Sharkey won the car from a millionaire German tourist in a game of boules . Legend also had it that the lock on the driver’s door was broken and Papa never bothered to have it fixed, because no thief would be stupid enough to steal Papa Sharkey’s car.
    The front window came down smoothly, and a huge head dipped into the light. The face was mostly wild black beard, with two laser-blue eyes that calmly took in the situation.
    “Get in the car, son,” said Papa Sharkey. “We’re going to the grave today.”
    His voice was impossibly deep and smooth. Like someone had mixed the bass guy from a soul band and the guy who does the movie trailers together in a vat of treacle. A voice like that was difficult to disobey, but maybe Red had practice, because he held on as tightly as before.
    Papa spoke again, his tone a shade harder.
    “Red. In the car. Now.”
    Red glowered for a moment, then swallowed it. He shot me one last loaded look, then released my shoulder, crossing the road to the BMW. He climbed inside the dark interior, and the car pulled away slowly. I didn’t take my eyes off the big sedan until it cut through the estate and out of sight. It would be about three hours before my heart slowed to normal speed.
    Mr. Devereux got out of his car and straightened my shirt. “Steer clear of that one, young Moon. He’s trouble. Just like the rest of his family.”
    I was inclined to believe it. The police files confirmed that the Sharkeys were indeed trouble. It seemed as though Red was following in the family footsteps, in spite of May’s faith in him.
    “Thanks, Mr. Devereux.”
    Mr. Devereux slapped a patch of dust from my shoulder. “Call me Gregor. What was that all about, anyway?”
    May began loading the stall into the back of the Volvo. “Red is a suspect.”
    Gregor Devereux collapsed the legs on the folding table. “Maybe you should just leave that alone, Fletcher. It’s not worth the trouble for a lock of hair.”
    I was surprised to find that I was as pigheaded as my mother always said. “I can’t do that, Gregor. I’ve already been paid, so I have to see this through. And anyway, it’s not just the hair anymore. There’s something strange going on in Lock.”
    Mr. Devereux sighed through his nose. “Oh, really?”
    “Strange little thefts. Mini-disks, record player needles. I need to know why someone would want all these things.”
    “I see April has signed you up for Paranoia 101,” said Mr. Devereux. “Okay. It’s your hide. Are we ready, girls?”
    April was a million miles away. Probably imagining herself walking down the aisle toward the pop star of the day.
    “April, let’s go. May has to practice her dancing. The school show is next week. This year we’re coming home with the trophy. That will show her mother.”
    April blinked back to the real world, then ran around to the passenger side, catching my sleeve on the way past “Keep me up to speed.”
    I nodded, watching the Volvo full of pink-clad girls draw away.
    Up to speed? Suddenly, everyone’s a detective.
    That night, back in my office—I say office, but it’s actually my bedroom that I think of as an office. It sounds better if you say to a client: I’ll need to run a few tests back in the office, rather than: I’ll have a look at this with a magnifying glass after I put my PJ’s on.
    Officially I was asleep, but actually I was working the evidence. Twenty minutes past Cinderella’s curfew and I was still trawling through the police reports. September seemed to be a busy month for the Sharkeys. Maybe they were getting a head start on their Christmas list.
    I had scanned an ordinal survey map into my iBook, layering it over a