Death at Devil's Bridge Read Free Page B

It was a really windy day, and I was flying a kite tied to the line on a fishing rod. Everybody was watching because the kite was flying so high. I was concentrating hard, both hands on the rod and both eyes on the little speck high in the air, when suddenly an older kid named Tony came up behind me and pulled my bathing suit down around my ankles.
    Remembering it now, three years later, I could feel my face turning red with embarrassment all over again. I’d wanted to walk into the ocean and never come back to face all those kids—those girls —who had seen me naked.
    But Donny had saved me. He threw a beach towel over Tony’s head, and said he was going to pull off Tony’s suit unless he admitted that he was a creep for doing such a crummy thing.

    â€œSay it!” Donny had demanded. “Admit you’re a creep!” Everyone’s attention turned to Donny and Tony, and Tony was the one who ended up looking like a dork.
    Donny had seemed almost like a god to me that day. In a way, he still did. I decided I was making a big deal out of nothing. So Donny took Jeff for a ride in the Tomahawk. So maybe I wished Donny thought I was cool enough to go cruising around with him. So what? Get over it.
    â€œHey, Mom,” I said, “can I go over to Jeff’s after dinner?”
    â€œ May I go over to Jeff’s,” she corrected. Mom was a real grammar grouch.
    â€œ May I go to Jeff’s?” I tried, along with my biggest, sweetest smile.
    â€œYes, but I want you home by nine-thirty. You’ve got a full day of work tomorrow.”
    â€œOkay.”
    We sat down to eat, and Mom continued talking about the car. “The odd thing is,” she said, “that the boy who was driving never showed up to claim the car. He never reported it missing, either.”
    â€œI heard that,” I said. “Boy, I bet he’s in big trouble with his parents right now.”
    â€œWell, maybe,” Mom answered, “except that right now, I imagine his parents are more worried than angry.”
    â€œThey’ll have plenty of time to get mad later, right, Mom?” I grinned at her, remembering when I’d sneaked out in the middle of the night during last year’s fishing derby and scared Mom half to death. She sure hadn’t thought it was funny at the time, but I figured maybe she could joke about it now.
    â€œWhen he shows up, I hope they give him a big kiss and then ground him for the rest of his life,” she said sternly.
    I decided I didn’t really want to know if she was kidding around or not. When we’d finished eating, I quickly cleared the dishes from the table, rinsed them in the sink, and headed for the door.
    After calling good-bye to Mom, I pedaled up Lighthouse Road and coasted to a stop in the Mannings’ driveway. Hearing laughter coming from the garage, I headed in that direction instead of toward the house. Soon I heard someone talking. The words stopped me in my tracks.

Four
    â€œIt was just too perfect,” a voice said. “The stupid dork was stoned out of his mind. He left the car right on the boat ramp. All I did was let off the emergency brake. Maybe I gave it the smallest little push, you know what I’m saying?”
    There was a laugh, and another voice mumbled something I couldn’t understand. Then I heard more laughter.
    The first voice said, “I figured it would roll a little and end up stuck in the sand. He’d have to get it towed, and it’d be a major pain in the tail. But that sucker kept right on going! I didn’t mean to sink it, but, hey, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”
    I recognized that first voice. It was Donny. And the other person was Jeff.
    I stood frozen in place, my hands over my ears, not wanting to hear any more, not wanting to believe what I’d already heard. I wanted to run to my bike and ride away.
    Instead, maybe just to stop the voices from saying