The Tell-Tale Start Read Free

continued.
    Institution
?
    “You’re not talking about a…
mental
institution, are you?” Edgar asked.
    Mr. Archer laughed and shook his head no. “We’ve been observing you boys for a long time,” he continued. “And we’ve concluded that this is the moment to take control.”
    “Control of what?”
    “The two of you.”
    “Hey, nobody controls us,” the boys snapped in unison,wondering if they might have overestimated the skull earring as a sign of the man’s good character.
    “Boys, boys, boys,” Mr. Archer said, holding out his small hands in a reassuring gesture. “What I meant was control of your case.”
    “We’re not a ‘case,’” Allan said.
    “OK, perhaps that’s not exactly the right word either,” Mr. Archer admitted, his eyes narrowing.
    “Maybe you should go back to school to study vocabulary,” Edgar suggested.
    Mr. Archer’s face froze, like a mask, and he fixed the boys with a glare. How could such a small man suddenly seem so big? “Don’t mistake my organization for the PTA, boys,” he said with a growl.
    Edgar and Allan kept silent.
    Then Mr. Archer smiled, suddenly friendly again. “Do you boys like science experiments?”
    They looked at each other. “Yes, particularly messy ones,” they answered cautiously.
    Mr. Archer nodded. “Egad! Indeed, we’re very ‘messy.’”
    He moved quickly toward the boys as if to shake their hands, but instead removed something shiny from his jacket pocket—tweezers! In a flash, he reached up and plucked several hairs from each of their heads.
    “Ouch!” they shouted, jumping away.
    He slipped each sample into its own small plastic bag and tucked the bags into his jacket.
    The boys started toward the little man, their faces set in identical expressions of anger. But before they got close enough to snatch back the bags of hair, the office door burst open.
    It was Mr. Mann, followed by their uncle Jack and aunt Judith.
    “Mr. and Mrs. Poe have arrived a few minutes early,” Mr. Mann announced apologetically as he bustled in.
    Mr. Archer turned toward the trio of adults and froze. After a moment, he murmured, “Excuse me,” and without another word disappeared out the door.
    Gone.
    “That was Mr. Archer,” the principal said to Uncle Jack and Aunt Judith. “Pay him no mind. He’s, um…a school custodian.”
    “
Custodian
?” the twins exclaimed, their scalps still stinging.
    Mr. Mann brushed past Edgar and Allan to stand behind his desk. “Mr. Archer’s profession is neither here nor there, boys.”
    “Mr. Mann, we’re not here to talk about a custodian,”Uncle Jack snapped. He cleared his throat and began to roll up his sleeves, something he did whenever he was nervous, angry, or both. “Edgar and Allan may create a stir from time to time,” he admitted. “But they never really hurt anybody.”
    “No?” Mr. Mann replied. “What about the time their computer hacking knocked out the electrical grid for the entire city of Baltimore?”
    “That was accidental,” the boys answered.
    “And since then we’ve forbidden them to use computers or cell phones,” Aunt Judith added.
    “This isn’t about computers.” Mr. Mann said, shaking his head ruefully. “It’s about cheating on their standardized test.”
    A tell-tale vein in Uncle Jack’s forehead began to pulse. “These boys aren’t cheaters!”
    Mr. Mann cleared his throat. “Allow me to express my regrets that it’s come to this,” he said. “Please sit down, Mr. and Mrs. Poe.”
    Neither Uncle Jack nor Aunt Judith sat. Instead, they took up positions on either side of their nephews.
    “As a retired schoolteacher, I understand a lot about standardized testing,” Aunt Judith said. The boys had always considered her “a good egg” (and not only becauseof her shape). Usually her eyes were kind and her voice soft. But now her eyes had narrowed, and her voice had an edge. “As my husband said, these boys do
not
cheat.”
    “Well, their answer sheets