Framed & Dangerous (9780545443128) by Kim Harrington Read Free Book Online Page A

come to school early in the first place.
    â€œWe have to get to Hunter’s locker for the ambush!” Darcy said, and broke into a jog. I followed, thoughts of the Prom Killer swirling through my head, and we were at his locker only a minute later.
    Darcy straightened. “Here they come.”
    I wrung my hands nervously. I was all for getting answers, but I wasn’t good at the confrontational stuff.
    â€œHey, jerks, come here!” Darcy called.
    She didn’t have much of a problem with confrontation.
    Slade rolled his eyes, and he and Hunter sauntered over. They were both equally tall and broad-shouldered, the biggest kids in our grade, but you could always tell who was who from a distance because of their hair. Slade had a buzz cut. Hunter had a big mop of black hair that hung down so far it almost covered his eyes.
    â€œWhat?” Slade snapped.
    Darcy stepped forward. “We need to talk to you.”
    Hunter looked at Darcy with a confused expression. Maybe even a little hurt. “I thought we had a truce.”
    â€œFunny,” Darcy said. “So did we.”
    I cleared my throat. It was easier for me to explain why we were there rather than get up in their faces like Darcy was. “Zane has been framed for the field house fire. Someone dropped his wallet at the scene and e-mailed him, telling him he’d be blamed. He’s been suspended. The police are getting involved and everything.”
    â€œAnd so,” Darcy cut in. “The only people we could think of who might want to do something like this to Zane would be …”
    Slade tilted his head, trying to figure things out.
    But Hunter cried, “Us? You think we set the fire in the field house and framed Zane?”
    Darcy crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s what we’re asking.”
    Slade shook his head. “It wasn’t us.”
    â€œNo way,” Hunter insisted. He roughly shook the hair out of his eyes. “Maya can vouch for me. I walked to school at the same time she did Monday morning. The field house was already on fire when we got there.”
    I was surprised by how angry he looked. He seemed almost as mad as I was.
    Hunter took a few deep breaths and his face reddened. “Look,” he said. “I used to think Zane was nothing but a goody-goody teacher’s pet.”
    â€œDon’t hold back,” Darcy quipped.
    â€œBut I’ve gotten to like the kid,” Hunter continued. “Slade and I don’t want revenge. We’re thankful he — and you — helped us.”
    â€œWhat about … the others?” I asked, meaning — for the most part — Slade’s nasty older brothers.
    Slade’s mouth turned down. “No. They’re not out for vengeance either. They’re scared of you guys.”
    My eyebrows rose. “Us?”
    â€œYeah,” Hunter said. “After you found out their secret with your last case, they just want to lie low for a while. It’s not them.”
    Which made sense, but left us … without a suspect.
    Â 
    By lunchtime, tons of people were whispering about Zane’s suspension. He’d told a few of his friends, we’d told Hunter and Slade, and the news grew from there. I imagined Zane at home, all alone in his room, looking depressed and hopeless. My heart ached.
    I’d tried to call him the night before, but his mom answered and said he wasn’t allowed to come to the phone. Not only was he suspended, he was majorly grounded. No phone, no e-mail, no nothing. And I felt useless because I had no idea what to do next.
    I brought my tray over to our usual table and sat down with a sigh. It was pasta day, my favorite, but I just pushed the spaghetti around with my fork. I wasn’t hungry.
    Darcy slumped down beside me and tore open her brown bag. “This stinks,” she muttered. “I’ve beenrunning over everything in my head. We need a clue. But we have