The Case of the Vanished Sea Dragon by Gareth P. Jones Read Free Book Online Page B

Archie, jumping down from the fence into the alleyway.
    â€˜Don’t try and deny that I can turn invisible?’ laughed Holly. ‘OK, you’re right, I can turn invisible. I thought everyone could. Can’t you?’
    â€˜Course I can’t. That’s how you kept getting awayfrom me. How are you doing it?’
    â€˜I come from a long line of invisible people.’ Holly chuckled.
    â€˜Listen, I know what I saw and I saw you turn invisible.’ Archie was getting annoyed.
    â€˜Then go and tell someone. See if they believe you,’ replied Holly.
    â€˜They will when I get evidence. I’m going to stick so close behind you you’ll think I’m your shadow.’
    â€˜Yeah, you’ve done a great job of following me so far,’ she said sarcastically. ‘You don’t even know where I live.’
    â€˜Yes I do. Elliot Drive. Number forty-three,’ said Archie triumphantly. ‘I looked you up in the phone book. Why are you following them two blokes?’ he asked, standing in her way with his hands in his pockets.
    â€˜It’s none of your business what I do. Haven’t you got anything better to do than follow me about?’
    Archie thought about this before replying, ‘It’s the summer holidays. What else is there to do?’
    â€˜Just leave me alone,’ said Holly.
    â€˜Come on, we could follow them together,’ said Archie.
    â€˜Why would I want you anywhere near me?’ snapped Holly.
    â€˜It’ll be easier with two of us.’
    â€˜I thought you hated me,’ she said, thinking of all the names he had called her.
    Archie looked at his feet. ‘I didn’t know you,’ he said apologetically. ‘I am sorry about being so horrible to you at school.’
    â€˜You were really vile, you know.’
    â€˜I know.’ He looked her straight in the eye. ‘I tell you what, when we go back to school after the summer you can call me names in front of everyone. Any names you want. And I won’t say anything back. No, better than that. I’ll agree with you, whatever you say.’ Archie reached out a hand. ‘Come on, let’s be friends.’
    Holly looked at his grubby fingernails. No one had ever asked to be her friend. The only real friend she had was Dirk. She had spent too long hating Archie to trust him, but weighing up the options she could see that it would be easier to pretend to be friends than keep him as an enemy. Besides, she liked the idea of humiliating him in front of all his friends.
    â€˜Any name I want and you’ll agree?’ she said.
    â€˜Yep,’ replied Archie.
    They shook on it then Archie rummaged in his coat pocket and pulled out a couple of jelly beans. ‘Let’sseal the deal with a jelly bean,’ he said, offering one to Holly.
    â€˜Have they just been loose in your pocket?’ she asked.
    â€˜Yep,’ smiled Archie.
    â€˜No way,’ she replied.
    â€˜Suit yourself.’ He threw them both into his mouth. ‘So you’re going to tell me how you turn invisible?’ he asked.
    Dirk had once told her that the art of telling a good lie was to tell as much of the truth as possible and change only one or two key details.
    Holly said, ‘It’s called blending and it’s easy, you just have to stay very still and think like whatever it is you’re trying to blend with.’
    She left out the small detail of swallowing the blood of a Mountain Dragon first.
    Alba was still pulling against the chain but Dirk had decided it was better to conserve his energy.
    â€˜Where are we taking them, Pappy?’ asked Junior.
    â€˜When you is in the lithosphere tunnel, you ain’t never too far from a lock-up,’ replied Pappy.
    The Drake stopped in front of a metallic door, lifted up his droopy nose, and pulled out from underneath ita large key made from the same black metal as the door. He slipped it into the