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

charging back at Eddie. But Danny swerved around him. He tackled Eddie around the knees. Eddie fell to the ground. Scrambled to his knees. Made a grab for the briefcase.
    Danny kicked it out of Eddie’s reach. Eddie dove for it.
    And I screamed as I saw the revolver fall from Eddie’s jacket pocket.
    Both boys saw it, too. Danny dropped to his knees and stretched his hand toward it. But Eddie got there first.
    I saw Danny’s hand wrap around Eddie’s. They were both grunting and groaning. They looked like two arm wrestlers, struggling and straining, their hands closed over the gun.
    I screamed again, a shrill scream of horror, as the gun exploded. The sound of the shot echoed off the trees all around.
    My scream cut off. I started to choke.
    I watched Danny grab his stomach and crumple to the ground.
    “You killed him!” Callie’s scream throbbed in my ears. “You killed him! You killed him!”

 
    13.
    Still screaming, Callie ran to Danny and dropped beside him.
    Danny raised his head slowly. He gazed around, his eyes unfocused, as if he was dazed.
    “Danny? Danny?” Callie cried, reaching for him.
    He sat up. “I’m okay.” He ran his hands down his chest, then his legs. “The shot—it frightened me. I just dropped. Reflexes, I guess.”
    Callie held onto him, hugging his shoulders. “You’re not shot?”
    Danny shook his head. “I felt the bullet whiz past me. Like a burst of air. And the sound—” He covered his ears with both hands.
    Eddie moved quickly and lowered a hand to help Danny up. The rest of us stood in place. No one spoke.
    Eddie tucked the gun into his jacket pocket. Then he stood Danny up and brushed him off. His way of apologizing, I guess
    “Sorry about that,” he said finally, his eyes on the ground. “It was an accident. You know that, right?”
    Danny nodded. “We were both being stupid,” he murmured.
    “Maybe this will bring you guys to your senses,” Roxie said.
    “I’ll second that,” I chimed in. “Okay. We found some money. We can’t fight about it. We have to stay calm and figure out the best thing to do.”
    “Everyone knows the best thing to do,” Callie said, still on the ground. “But no one wants to do that.”
    “You mean turn it over to the police?” I said.
    She nodded.
    “That’s crazy—” Eddie started.
    But I held a hand up to silence him. “Let’s not start fighting again. Let’s vote. Settle it right away.”
    “I vote that we take the money and we all buy new Corvettes,” Riley said. “We have a Corvette Club, all six of us, and we meet every week and go roaring around together, terrifying everyone in town.”
    “Shut up, Riley,” Roxie said.
    He pretended to be hurt. “Come on. It’s a plan—isn’t it?”
    Riley’s uncle once showed up in a new red Corvette and took Riley for a ride in it, and he’s been obsessed with Corvettes ever since. He draws them and puts together plastic model Corvettes. He even made his parents take him to the Corvette factory in Kentucky one summer so he could watch them being made.
    “Are we going to vote or not?” Callie demanded, ignoring Riley’s suggestion.
    “Okay,” I said. “How many want to take the bag of money to the police?”
    Callie and I raised our hands. No one else.
    Eddie laughed. “You’re outnumbered. So … now what? I say we hide the money in some safe place till we know more about it.”
    Danny eyed Eddie suspiciously. “And you get to choose the safe place?”
    “Stop it, Danny,” I said. “We’re starting over, remember. We have to keep the secret, all six of us. And we have to trust each other. We’re friends, right?”
    “Sure, we’re friends,” Danny said. “But we never had thousands of dollars before.”
    “And you think that could mess up our friendship?” Eddie demanded.
    Danny backed away. “I just meant someone might be tempted to … you know … maybe take some of it. I mean, no one here is rich. We’ve all got money problems, right? I just