Alibi High

“Sure,” I said , nodding . “But if it is someone connected to the school, I think those two are the most likely suspects . And I do think it was someone connected to the school. I mean, if you were gonna steal a bunch of computers, would a school be the first place you'd think of?”

He thought for a second. “Maybe. What school doesn't have computers?”

That was a fair point. “Well, yeah, but don't you think a robber would just, like, grab random computers rather than just focus on a lab? They'd have to know the alarm system and the layout of the school and all that if they weren't familiar with the school. It feels to me like they knew exactly what they wanted – and where to find it.”

“ I guess,” Jake said. Jake considered this. “But it still doesn't mean it's one of them.”

“No, but I wouldn't think the pool of suspects would be much larger,” I said. “How many more people would have weekend access to the building?”

“No idea,” he said. “That's why you're the investigator.”

I smacked his chest again. “I'm not an investigator.”

“You practically are,” he said, laughing chuckling . “The body in the coal chute. Windy Vista. Now this. You're like Jessica Fletcher , – just seventy t -t hree more times attractive.”

“I cannot believe you just compared me to that old lady in Cabot Cove,” I said, not nearly as offended as I sounded.

“Come on e ,” he said, still laughing. “It's a fair comparison at this point. And like I said earlier . A , a s much of this nosing around as you're doing, maybe we need to check on getting you your private eye license. You can hang out a shingle and get paid for this kind of stuff.”

“I don't want to get paid for this kind of stuff!” I said. “I want it to stop happening!”

“Well, it just keeps seeming to find finding you,” he said. “You 're kind of like a must be some sort of crime magnet.”

I frowned at him. “Can we go back to the part about me being way more attractive than Jessica Fletcher?”

He leaned over and switched off the light. He pulled me closer to him and nibbled on my earlobe .

I shivered. and I sighed.

“Seventy - four times,” he whispered. “Seventy - four times more attractive than old what's-her-name.”

Flattery got him everywhere.

THIRTY

I slept well for the first time all week like a dead person . I wasn't sure whether it was the conversation with Jake, the end result of his flattery, the beer , or my complete exhaustion, but once I closed my eyes, I didn't open them again until my alarm beeped in my ear.

Sleeping the entire night made a huge difference in how I felt when the alarm went off. I didn't groan and I didn't hit snooze when the alarm sounded. I almost jumped was out of bed, my eyes w ere ide open , ready to put the disappointment and negativity of the previous day behind me. and I felt like I could've run five miles if I believed in exercising or running when you weren't being chased. I showered, got dressed and made breakfast , a plateful of homemade waffles, before anyone else was even out of bed.

Emily was the next one up. Her morning routine was extremely long and detailed, as a fifteen - yea r r- old girl apparently needs hours to get ready to look exactly perfect for a normal day of school. The amount of time and detail she gave to her hair and makeup each morning rivaled what I assumed NASA gave allotted to building the space shuttle. When she was finally ready for launch, she sauntered out to the kitchen table for a waffle.

“Okay,” I said, sittin g now g down next to her with my , my cup of coffee freshly topped off . “ We need to make some decisions.” Hand me your phone.”

She took speared a waffle from the plate and eyed me. “ About What ?”

“ About our act for the talent show.” “You owed me an idea for the talent show,” I said. “Last night. Dinner was your deadline. And you didn't deliver.”

“ What??” Her eyebrows almost disappeared into her hairline.

I held out my hand. “Hand it over.”

“ Oh, that's easy,” she said. “We aren't doing one.” Her expression was horrified. “No!”

“ Emily ? ” “So you have an idea, then?” I asked sweetly. “For the show?”

“ I'm not doing it .”

“ Emily?”

“ What?” Yes,” she said bitterly. “We should cancel it.”

“ Too late,” I announced. “Guess I'm gonna need your phone.”

“ Wait,” she said, her fork hovering in the air. I shifted so she wouldn't be tempted to stab me with it. “Hang on.”

“ Are you getting an idea?” I asked.

“ I'm trying,” she said, her eyes narrowed. She stared down at her uneaten waffle. “We just...don't have any talent.”

“ You don't have a choice,” I said. “We're doing it and if that embarrasses you, I'd suggest getting over it now because it's not going away. I'm organizing the show – for your school, that you so dearly love, I might add – and we are going to be performing in the show. Get over it. Today.”

Her shoulders slumped and I could see her shifting into whiner mode. It wasn't often that I felt the need to flex my mother muscles, but this seemed like an appropriate moment. I was sympathetic to her potential embarrassment, but I was doing all of this for her. If she wasn't at Prism and if she didn't like the school as much as she did, I would've been home with the other three kids, causing all sorts of mayhem. I might not have been volunteering at the school specifically for her, but I was absolutely there because of her and there was no way she was going to get out of participating.

Plus, I believed that a little embarrassment was good for the soul.

“ We don't have any talent,” Emily muttered, staring into an abyss of waffles and syrup.

“Nonsense,” I said. “There are plenty of things we are talented at.”

“I don't think that you cooking and me doing my makeup would be very entertaining.”

“Thank you for the backhanded compliment,” I said. “You know, the easiest thing to do would be a lip-synch of some sort.”

“The easiest thing to do would be to run away,” she whispered.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“ I didn't think so,” I said. “In high school You know , I actually came in second place in the talent sho w w when I was in high school .”