Dead Girl in Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

Top was scratched out with a dark scrawled NO . Green Briar’s only notation was today’s date. Liberty had tomorrow’s date with a large, black-inked question mark.
    I had plenty of question marks, too.
    Was this list for a new photography project? Alyce often took pictures of macabre headstones at creepy cemeteries. But there was nothing creepy about Green Briar, with its gleaming showroom and lush manicured cemetery. So what was the connection between the names (places?) on the list? It looked like Alyce had gone to Red Top at some point, then Green Briar today. I guessed the others were planned for the remaining days of spring break.
    Did this have something to do with the GEM’s cryptic message about Alyce searching for “the lost”? How could I find something without knowing what I was looking for?
    Frustrated, I began returning things to the backpack, searching meticulously for more information. Alyce had been searching, too—for something at the places on her list. But why? And did this quest have anything to do with her crisis? The only thing I knew for sure was that I completely trusted Alyce and would do anything to help her.
    So where was that damned purple notebook?
    A flash of purple caught my eye, sticking out of Alyce’s World History textbook. But it wasn’t the notebook—just a folder with a green bush symbol on the label. Looking closer, I recognized the symbol.
    Green Briar Mortuary.
    A knot formed in my gut, tightening like a noose.
    Alyce had stolen from the mortuary—and I held the proof in my hands.

Of course, I snooped inside the file.
    But scored only disappointment.
    Nothing but useless old papers, typed in tiny uneven print that probably came from a manual typewriter, listing names and purchases from customers in 1947. The list wasn’t even complete, only showing Green Briar customers with last names beginning with B and C . Alyce had to have had a good reason for stealing this. I tried to reconstruct the sequence of events that must have occurred before I replaced Alyce. I imagined her sneaking into the Green Briar office, searching through cabinets until the saleswoman showed up. Then Alyce grabbed the file and hid inside the casket—where I took over.
    What was so damned important about these papers?
    Night folded around me as I studied the papers, losing myself in confusing thoughts as I flipped back and forth, rereading names that meant nothing to me. All I gained was a headache. Not the kind of mild headache that could be banished with a few Tylenol. Alyce often complained about migraines, and although I sympathized, I’d secretly thought she was exaggerating. I mean, how could a headache be that bad?
    Now I knew.
    Pain intensified, crashing into my brow and spreading out across my head. I rubbed my forehead, moaning. Dizzily, I leaned back on Alyce’s pillow, eyes closed as I waited for the misery to ease. Not getting any better, either. My stomach reeled with nausea … so awful … sick … OMG!
    With one hand on my head and the other on my stomach, I jumped off the bed and ran for the bathroom.
    Afterwards, my stomach was emptier and my pain numbed to a dull ache. I was relieved to find a migraine prescription in the medicine cabinet. I also noticed rows of prescriptions for Mrs. Perfetti—for sleeping, pain, and depression. Not a surprise considering her erratic behavior.
    Alyce’s migraine pills made me dizzy, exaggerating colors and shapes. As I returned to Alyce’s room, I caught my reflection in the mirror over a long, dark-wood dresser. High, hollowed cheekbones; deep, dark slanted eyes with long black lashes; and long, velvety raven hair. Full rosy lips parted into a startled “O” on a flushed face. For a startled moment, I forgot who and where I was, struck by a guilty sense of trespassing.
    The night-black ceiling and dark-red walls crowded in on me; familiar sights taking on frightening shapes. But there was nothing to fear, I assured myself, not in this