Read Online The Case of the Disappearing Corpse by June Whyte - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: June Whyte
Tags: Children's Mystery
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was untying knots with his teeth. It wasn’t so bad when he chewed through the knot but when he swallowed the whole cord it left me with nothing to keep my dressing-gown together. And there was always the smelly twenty centimeter doggy-do to pick up on the back lawn.
The only good part of the day was school. No-one checked my every movement, pulled power plugs on the television and computer, or offered a mop and broom as a way to fill in the long boring hours.
While sitting on the grass leaning against a tree at lunch break, Jack threw himself down beside me. Almost took my eye out with his elbow.
“Find out who K is yet?” he asked as he removed the lid from his giant sized lunch box. I watched him shove sandwiches, cake, miniature pizzas and something that looked like long yellow worms into his mouth with awe. Mum always said Jack was a growing boy, but wow…how much bigger did he want to grow?
I grabbed a handful of raisins from his lunch-box and shook my head.
“The pink handkerchief is old news.” I glanced around to make sure no-one was watching, then snuck the microfilm from my pocket. “How’s this for a clue?”
He leant forward his blue eyes sparkling. “Cool. What’s it from—a digital camcorder?”
“Don’t know. Found it in Patsy’s tracksuit pocket. Could be hers, but I’m betting it belonged to Frank.”
“It wouldn’t belong to Patsy.” Jack shook his head. “That woman’s a total techno-dummy. She doesn’t know a computer byte from a dog bite.” He took a healthy swig from his Coke. “How come you haven’t given it to the police?”
Before I could answer, one of Jack’s mates appeared, boots in one hand, football in the other.
“Hurry up Jacko,” he called, tossing the football in the air. “Coach wants us on the field in two minutes.”
“Gotcha, Dingo,” Jack answered, closing the lid of his lunch-box. Turning to me he hissed. “You have to tell the police, Cha.”
“Mmmmm…” I mumbled in a sort of perhaps voice.
“At least don’t do anything dangerous unless you check with Tayla or me first.”
“Okay,” I promised, watching him walk away. “I will if I can.”
Tayla wasn’t at school. She was staying with her grandparents for a couple of days. Whenever her mum was at the flowers and chocolates stage of a romance like she was with Stevie, she didn’t want Tayla hanging around.
Her mum often screwed up Tayla’s life like that. And yet, in between boyfriends, she was a great mum. Except she acted like Tayla’s big sister instead of her mother. Tayla said it was because her mum didn’t want to grow up. She said her mum had this weird hangup about getting old.
Being grounded, I wasn’t even allowed to ring Tayla at her grandparents when I arrived home from school. I was so bored I almost offered to scrub the kitchen floor. Almost—but I’m not that crazy. I didn’t even have Sarah to fight with. She was at the mall with friends and wasn’t due home for another hour. So when Ken asked me to take his books back to the library I gave a yell of excitement and danced around the room. You’d have thought I was on my way to Disneyland instead of the local library.
“See if the latest Nora Roberts book is in, will you, Cha? I’ve had my name on the list for a month now.” Mum flicked water at Ken from the sink, then giggled when he used an extra fast tea towel to flick her back. “And don’t hurry back. Have a look around the library and see if there’s anything you want to borrow. A few good books should keep you out of mischief for the next week or two.”
It was while I was riding my bike over the Birkenhead Bridge into Port Adelaide that I spotted Constable Nick Roberts. The young cop was hurrying in the direction of the shopping mall. He looked different out of uniform. Dressed in black jeans and a black Nike tee-shirt, like a normal guy.
On the spur of the moment I decided to practice my P.I. skills and tail the cop—keep out of
The only good part of the day was school. No-one checked my every movement, pulled power plugs on the television and computer, or offered a mop and broom as a way to fill in the long boring hours.
While sitting on the grass leaning against a tree at lunch break, Jack threw himself down beside me. Almost took my eye out with his elbow.
“Find out who K is yet?” he asked as he removed the lid from his giant sized lunch box. I watched him shove sandwiches, cake, miniature pizzas and something that looked like long yellow worms into his mouth with awe. Mum always said Jack was a growing boy, but wow…how much bigger did he want to grow?
I grabbed a handful of raisins from his lunch-box and shook my head.
“The pink handkerchief is old news.” I glanced around to make sure no-one was watching, then snuck the microfilm from my pocket. “How’s this for a clue?”
He leant forward his blue eyes sparkling. “Cool. What’s it from—a digital camcorder?”
“Don’t know. Found it in Patsy’s tracksuit pocket. Could be hers, but I’m betting it belonged to Frank.”
“It wouldn’t belong to Patsy.” Jack shook his head. “That woman’s a total techno-dummy. She doesn’t know a computer byte from a dog bite.” He took a healthy swig from his Coke. “How come you haven’t given it to the police?”
Before I could answer, one of Jack’s mates appeared, boots in one hand, football in the other.
“Hurry up Jacko,” he called, tossing the football in the air. “Coach wants us on the field in two minutes.”
“Gotcha, Dingo,” Jack answered, closing the lid of his lunch-box. Turning to me he hissed. “You have to tell the police, Cha.”
“Mmmmm…” I mumbled in a sort of perhaps voice.
“At least don’t do anything dangerous unless you check with Tayla or me first.”
“Okay,” I promised, watching him walk away. “I will if I can.”
Tayla wasn’t at school. She was staying with her grandparents for a couple of days. Whenever her mum was at the flowers and chocolates stage of a romance like she was with Stevie, she didn’t want Tayla hanging around.
Her mum often screwed up Tayla’s life like that. And yet, in between boyfriends, she was a great mum. Except she acted like Tayla’s big sister instead of her mother. Tayla said it was because her mum didn’t want to grow up. She said her mum had this weird hangup about getting old.
Being grounded, I wasn’t even allowed to ring Tayla at her grandparents when I arrived home from school. I was so bored I almost offered to scrub the kitchen floor. Almost—but I’m not that crazy. I didn’t even have Sarah to fight with. She was at the mall with friends and wasn’t due home for another hour. So when Ken asked me to take his books back to the library I gave a yell of excitement and danced around the room. You’d have thought I was on my way to Disneyland instead of the local library.
“See if the latest Nora Roberts book is in, will you, Cha? I’ve had my name on the list for a month now.” Mum flicked water at Ken from the sink, then giggled when he used an extra fast tea towel to flick her back. “And don’t hurry back. Have a look around the library and see if there’s anything you want to borrow. A few good books should keep you out of mischief for the next week or two.”
It was while I was riding my bike over the Birkenhead Bridge into Port Adelaide that I spotted Constable Nick Roberts. The young cop was hurrying in the direction of the shopping mall. He looked different out of uniform. Dressed in black jeans and a black Nike tee-shirt, like a normal guy.
On the spur of the moment I decided to practice my P.I. skills and tail the cop—keep out of
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