Berglund, was being bombarded with calls from reporters. Buddy, as usual, simply forwarded all his calls to Nick.
To make matters worse, last night’s storm had knocked over dozens of trees and electric lines. They hadn’t gotten their power back at home until almost six in the morning.
Roni stayed in her room reading stupid magazines and mourning her deceased laptop. She felt completely cut off from the world outside her bedroom. At one point she got so bored she decided to look in the mirror and give herself a pep talk.
“Hey, it’s just for a day or two, then Nick will forget she grounded you.”
“Nick never forgets anything.”
“She’ll get tired of you moping around the house. By the way, you could stand to lose a few pounds.”
“My weight is normal for my height.”
“Yeah, but you’d look a lot better if you were ten pounds lighter.”
“I’m not obsessed with my appearance.”
“Then why are you looking in this mirror?”
Oh well, so much for the pep talk.
Nick finally left at eleven. As soon as she drove off, the phone started jangling again. Roni ignored the ringing, laced up her good walking boots, threw on her pea green trenchcoat and a pair of sunglasses, and headed for Brian’s house.
“I spent all morning trying to get hold of you,” Brian said. “All I got was meep-meep-meep on the phone, and you never answered my e-mails.”
“It’s been kind of a zoo,” Roni said. “We lost our power last night, my computer got fried, and Nick was on the phone all morning doing damage control. Alicia’s disappearance has hit the news big-time.”
“I know. My mom got about fifty phone calls last night, too. So who is this Douglas Unger?”
“Douglas Unger is Driftwood Doug,” Roni said. “I think.”
“What makes you think that?” Brian asked.
They were walking along Mississippi Avenue toward downtown. The tails of Roni’s trenchcoat slapped against her calves in the brisk September breeze. She liked the flapping sound, and wearing the trenchcoat made her feel mysterious and purposeful, like an investigative reporter. Or a spy. And it looked cool.
Brian, on the other hand, was wearing corduroy pants, a Spider-Man sweatshirt, and a puffy red down vest with feathers leaking from the seams.
Oh well, Roni thought, at least no one will think he’s my boyfriend.
She said, “Douglas Unger used to own Bloodwater House, and then he went bankrupt, his wife hanged herself, and he lost the house. I think that was him and his wife in that picture we saw on the boat. And of course Douglas Unger’s name is Douglas. As in Doug. As in—”
“—as in Driftwood Doug.” Brian finished her thought.
“Exactly!”
“I still don’t see how that makes him a kidnapper.”
“It makes him a suspect. ”
“But we don’t know for sure that was Driftwood Doug in the photo. Also, Alicia was seen getting into an SUV. Driftwood Doug drives a canoe. And let’s not forget about Maurice. He drives an SUV, and he was mad because Alicia broke up with him, and he left school early that day.”
“We definitely have to talk to Maurice again. But I still think Douglas Unger is our prime suspect.”
“My mom seems to think Alicia’s real dad is the prime suspect. They’ll find him in a day or two, and we’ll have wasted our time chasing some bearded boat bum.”
Roni stopped walking and turned on Brian. “If you don’t want to do this, fine.”
“Do what ?” Brian said. “I don’t even know where we’re going. ”
“We’re going to the hospital.” Roni turned her back on him and started walking again.
“Why?” Brian called after her.
“Because, Stink Bomb, it’s the scene of the crime.”
26
scene of the crime
The trouble with girl reporters, Brian decided, was that they were pushy, irrational, aggressive, dangerous, impulsive, and moody. And that was just for starters. He watched Roni walking away.
This is completely stupid, he thought. He didn’t even know
To make matters worse, last night’s storm had knocked over dozens of trees and electric lines. They hadn’t gotten their power back at home until almost six in the morning.
Roni stayed in her room reading stupid magazines and mourning her deceased laptop. She felt completely cut off from the world outside her bedroom. At one point she got so bored she decided to look in the mirror and give herself a pep talk.
“Hey, it’s just for a day or two, then Nick will forget she grounded you.”
“Nick never forgets anything.”
“She’ll get tired of you moping around the house. By the way, you could stand to lose a few pounds.”
“My weight is normal for my height.”
“Yeah, but you’d look a lot better if you were ten pounds lighter.”
“I’m not obsessed with my appearance.”
“Then why are you looking in this mirror?”
Oh well, so much for the pep talk.
Nick finally left at eleven. As soon as she drove off, the phone started jangling again. Roni ignored the ringing, laced up her good walking boots, threw on her pea green trenchcoat and a pair of sunglasses, and headed for Brian’s house.
“I spent all morning trying to get hold of you,” Brian said. “All I got was meep-meep-meep on the phone, and you never answered my e-mails.”
“It’s been kind of a zoo,” Roni said. “We lost our power last night, my computer got fried, and Nick was on the phone all morning doing damage control. Alicia’s disappearance has hit the news big-time.”
“I know. My mom got about fifty phone calls last night, too. So who is this Douglas Unger?”
“Douglas Unger is Driftwood Doug,” Roni said. “I think.”
“What makes you think that?” Brian asked.
They were walking along Mississippi Avenue toward downtown. The tails of Roni’s trenchcoat slapped against her calves in the brisk September breeze. She liked the flapping sound, and wearing the trenchcoat made her feel mysterious and purposeful, like an investigative reporter. Or a spy. And it looked cool.
Brian, on the other hand, was wearing corduroy pants, a Spider-Man sweatshirt, and a puffy red down vest with feathers leaking from the seams.
Oh well, Roni thought, at least no one will think he’s my boyfriend.
She said, “Douglas Unger used to own Bloodwater House, and then he went bankrupt, his wife hanged herself, and he lost the house. I think that was him and his wife in that picture we saw on the boat. And of course Douglas Unger’s name is Douglas. As in Doug. As in—”
“—as in Driftwood Doug.” Brian finished her thought.
“Exactly!”
“I still don’t see how that makes him a kidnapper.”
“It makes him a suspect. ”
“But we don’t know for sure that was Driftwood Doug in the photo. Also, Alicia was seen getting into an SUV. Driftwood Doug drives a canoe. And let’s not forget about Maurice. He drives an SUV, and he was mad because Alicia broke up with him, and he left school early that day.”
“We definitely have to talk to Maurice again. But I still think Douglas Unger is our prime suspect.”
“My mom seems to think Alicia’s real dad is the prime suspect. They’ll find him in a day or two, and we’ll have wasted our time chasing some bearded boat bum.”
Roni stopped walking and turned on Brian. “If you don’t want to do this, fine.”
“Do what ?” Brian said. “I don’t even know where we’re going. ”
“We’re going to the hospital.” Roni turned her back on him and started walking again.
“Why?” Brian called after her.
“Because, Stink Bomb, it’s the scene of the crime.”
26
scene of the crime
The trouble with girl reporters, Brian decided, was that they were pushy, irrational, aggressive, dangerous, impulsive, and moody. And that was just for starters. He watched Roni walking away.
This is completely stupid, he thought. He didn’t even know
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