Can You Keep a Secret? by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online

suspense? Why did you two sneak off in the first place?”
    “Eddie’s telling the truth,” I said. “We found it in this tree. Let’s go back to the campsite and relax,” I said. “Eddie and I will tell you all about it. I swear.”
    And that’s what we did. We settled in front of the fire. Riley popped open a few more beers. I took one, too. I felt so jittery and tense, I thought it might help calm me.
    Eddie opened the case and showed everyone the stacks and stacks of hundred-dollar bills. “There’s got to be a hundred thousand dollars in here,” he said.
    Danny slapped his forehead. He jumped to his feet and did a wild dance. “We’re rich! We’re totally rich!” He and Riley bumped fists.
    Then Riley tilted back his beer can and emptied it in one gulp. He crushed it and heaved the can against a tree. Then he joined Riley and Eddie and they bopped around like lunatics, laughing and shouting.
    I saw that Callie and Roxie had grown very quiet. They didn’t dance or laugh or cry out or join the celebration in any way.
    When the boys finally settled back down to the ground, the argument began. Callie spoke first, softly, timidly. “We have to take it to the police. You’re not really thinking of keeping it—are you?”
    “Of course we’re keeping it!” Danny cried. “We can divide it up tonight. The money goes six different ways—and then who will be able to find it? No one.”
    Eddie frowned. “Divide it up tonight? Well…”
    “What’s wrong with that?” Danny’s tone suddenly turned angry, challenging. “You want to keep it for yourself?”
    “No way,” Eddie said. “For sure, we’ll share it. But…”
    “We have to be careful,” I said. “I mean, this much money … it could be really dangerous to keep it. We don’t know who hid it in the tree. We don’t want to put ourselves in horrible danger.”
    Callie stood up. Her legs were trembling and she had both hands down at her sides curled into tight fists. “We can’t argue about this,” she said through gritted teeth. “Why are we even talking about it? We have to turn it over to the police. It has to be stolen money. Maybe there was a bank robbery or something. And we—”
    “There wasn’t any bank robbery in Shadyside,” Eddie told her. “You know my stepdad is a cop. If there was a bank robbery, trust me, he’d be talking about it. He’d be talking about it day and night.”
    “Then where did the money come from?” Roxie demanded. “Look at that case. It’s fresh. It wasn’t in that tree for long. Someone just put it in there. And they’ll be coming back for it real soon.”
    “That’s why we’ve got to split it up right away,” Danny said. He turned to Riley. “You agree?”
    Riley shrugged. “I’ll take my share now. No problem.” He laughed.
    “Don’t be stupid,” Eddie said, latching the case. “We have to hide the money till we know it’s safe to spend it.”
    “He’s right,” I said. “What if it’s marked money? You know. Like in a bank robbery. And we start spending it, and we’re caught. And then they think we’re the ones who stole it.”
    Callie was still tensely on her feet, her body rigid, her fists tight. “Whoever hid that money is guilty of something bad. It has to be from some crime. We can’t take the risk. The police will be looking for it. We have to take it to them—right now.” She shuddered. “What if the person who planted the briefcase is still in the woods?”
    Those words sent a chill down my back.
    “You all can argue all night,” Danny said, shaking his head. “I’ll take my share now.” He dove forward and grabbed the briefcase out of Eddie’s hand.
    Eddie uttered an angry cry and grabbed Danny by the shoulders. He shook Danny hard, and the case fell to the ground.
    Eddie gave Danny a hard shove, sending him tumbling backward. Danny stopped himself before he fell into the campfire.
    “Whoa!” Riley cried. “Whoa!” He tried to block Danny from