Death and the Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones Read Free Book Online

for a small processing fee.”
    “Noted,” Brooklyn said. “Next time I need a jar opened…”
    He raised his hands and mimicked choking her.
    I couldn’t help but snicker as my two best friends went at it. I also couldn’t help my gaze from roaming the area for the thousandth time, looking for Riley High’s newest arrival, wondering where he might be. It hadn’t escaped my attention that Tabitha Sind was absent as well. If he was with her, who could blame him? Tabitha was gorgeous, even with her bobble head. It was hard to compete with near physical perfection. Now, if Jared was more interested in IQs, I might have a chance.
    “That’s an interesting look for them.” Brooklyn gestured with a nod toward the door as the Southern twins, Ashlee and Sydnee, walked in. They looked utterly exhausted, their clothes disheveled and their hair barely combed. Until about a month ago, the Southern twins rarely looked like anything less than cover models, but lately, they looked more like homeless teens. Since their father was the richest man in town and they rarely wore anything but designer shoes, I doubted they’d gone belly up. Their shoe collection alone could buy me a new wardrobe. Or a car. Or a house on the Riviera.
    “What’s up with those two anyway?” Glitch asked.
    “I don’t know,” I said, “but something’s not right.”
    “Hell-o.” Brooklyn waved a hand in front of our faces. “Their mother practically abandoned them, running off with that investment broker like she did. And I heard the divorce was heartbreaking. She didn’t even ask for custody of the girls.”
    “That had to be painful, I know, but that was months ago, Brooke. This is different. They’re different. Desperate.” I tapped my fingers on the table in thought as Brooke took another bite of my salad. “I’m telling you, something is very wrong.”
    “That’s too bad. I’d be more concerned if I weren’t so busy breathing.” When I cast her a look of amazement, she continued, “Those two are evil, Lor. Did I ever tell you about the time they tripped me in the sack race?”
    Only 729 times. While my archenemy was Tabitha Sind, Brooke had always felt a tad resentful toward Ash and Syd. Things had never been the same since they took the sack race trophy at the fall festival. True, it happened in the third grade, but things like that were hard to get over. Apparently.
    “Well, here,” Glitch said, interrupting our conversation to hand me a small box.
    “What’s this?” Glitch wasn’t exactly the gift-giving type. I had to force him to buy Brooklyn a birthday present every year, and I was pretty secure in the knowledge that she had to do the same thing for me on mine.
    He shrugged. “Just something to maybe help you feel better.”
    Feel better about what? I opened the lid to find a shimmering gold pendant on a delicate chain. It was a sculpture of a mother and a father with a child in their arms. After a soft gasp, I lifted it out of the box and turned it over. It read FOREVER.
    I sat stunned for a solid minute, astonishment sucking the air from my lungs, before looking back up at him.
    “It’s nothing really,” he said, playing it off as only a guy could. “You know, for your parents and all.”
    After swallowing back the lump that suddenly formed in my throat, I said, “Glitch, I don’t know what to say.”
    “Neither do I,” Brooklyn said, baffled. “Way to score brownie points, G.” She raised her hand for a high five, but he hit her with an annoyed glower instead.
    Lifting her brows in pure attitude, she took the necklace from me and fastened it around my neck as I held up my hair.
    I turned toward them when she’d finished. “What do you think?”
    Brooklyn nodded. “You did good, Glitch.”
    He shrugged again and stuffed the last of his burger into his mouth. Boys were so funny.
    Letting the cool metal slide between my fingers, I was just about to thank him when a thick hush blanketed the cafeteria. I