Dismantled

Dismantled Read Online Free PDF Page A

Book: Dismantled Read Online Free PDF
Author: Jennifer McMahon
Tags: thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Adult, Young Adult
parents A Long Time Ago . She hardly hears Mel speaking, and when she does, it takes her a minute to remember where she is, how she got here, who it is who’s speaking to her.
    “It’s a journal by someone named Suz,” Mel says, holding the heavy black book. “You’re not gonna believe this, Em! Your parents were part of some group called ‘the Compassionate Dismantlers.’ They had a manifesto and everything!”
    “Manifesto,” Emma repeats, not 100 percent sure what the word means, but thinking it sure doesn’t sound like anything her parents would ever be involved with.
    Emma looks back across the workshop to Danner, still perched on the top of the shelves, to see if she’s catching all this. Danner gives her a wink.
    “Listen to this,” Mel reads, “‘ To understand the nature of a thing, it must be taken apart. ’”
    Emma just nods. She thinks of Francis the moose. “Nine,” she whispers without thinking, looking back down at the photo in her hand. Suz is the lady who painted Francis. Is she the one with the gun or the one giving the camera the finger? And who had taken the picture?
    “What’d you say, super freak?” Mel asks.
    “Nothing.”
    Emma tucks the photo into the back pocket of her shorts, then looks up again, searching for Danner, but she’s gone. Danner’s like that. Here one minute. Gone the next.
    “Holy crap!” Mel says, holding the journal out to Emma. “Check it out: there are addresses in the front for all the group members. We’ve gotta write to them!”
    “And say what?” Emma asks.
    Mel studies the names and addresses, thinking. Then, she smiles so big that all her teeth are showing. “Oh my god!” she howls. “This is it!”
    “What?” Emma asks.
    Mel holds the book out in front of her in both hands, shaking it like a tambourine. “Don’t you get it? We’ve gotta write to these people and find a way to make them come back. Maybe if we can remind your parents of their old college days, they’ll like go back in time and be all gaga for each other again. This is our answer.” She shakes the book again. “Right here. It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for!”
    “But these addresses are like ten years old,” Emma says.
    Mel nods. “They were in college. Which means these are probably their parents’ addresses. And parents can stay in the same house forever. Trust me.” Mel pulls a small spiral notebook and pen from the back pocket of her grungy army fatigues and copies the addresses from the journal. When she’s done, she puts the journal and photos back into the toolbox. “I’ll get the bikes and meet you out front. Go tell your mom we’re going to D.J.’s for Cokes. And get some money.”
    Emma shakes her head. “I’ve got to clean up the spilled paint first.”
    Mel looks over at the huge green mess on the floor. “Great going, super freak,” she says, shaking her head. Then Mel goes over, grabs a bunch of rags, and starts wiping it up.
     

    A T D.J.’ S G ENERAL S TORE , they choose three cheesy Vermont postcards from the spinning rack (each with a moose, in honor of Francis) and stamps. Bernice sells them to the girls, and says, “Doing a little correspondence this morning, huh?”
    Bernice has run the store forever. Even Emma’s grandpa couldn’t remember there ever having been a D.J.
    “Yes, ma’am,” Mel says with a proud smile. “We’re writing to our friends at summer camp.”
    Mel says that Bernice is a textbook case of split-personality disorder. Sometimes, you walk in and she’s all smiles, and gives you a free piece of licorice. Other days, she snarls, “This ain’t the place to window-shop. If you don’t have money, go on home.”
    “Maybe it’s menopause,” Mel guesses, and Emma nods, but has no idea what she means.
    The best part is, you can always tell which Bernice you’re up against by her face: on the days when she’s evil Bernice, she’s got on makeup—little circles of pink rouge, orange frosted
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