Eva and the Hidden Diary Read Online Free PDF

lady,’ he said. ‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.’
    Kate rolled her eyes, grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl, and then we ran from the room before her dad had time to protest.

    ‘I’m guessing this has something to do with Daisy?’ said Kate, as we got to our favourite place on the grass near the trunk of the huge tree.
    ‘Yes,’ I said, as I pulled the diary from my jacket pocket. ‘It’s about Daisy. Now make yourself comfortable while I tell you the saddest story in the whole wide world.’
    Kate rested her back against the tree, and stretched her legs out in front of her.
    ‘I’m ready,’ she said. ‘So start talking.’
    ‘As you know, in the beginning, Daisy’s life was kind of boring,’ I began. ‘A day of collecting blackberries was like an amazing event, and finding a new kind of seaweed was the most exciting thing ever. Mostly she just went to school, and hung out with her friend Rose, and helped her mum and dad around the house.’
    ‘That sounds a bit like my life,’ said Kate.
    I grinned. ‘Maybe. Except without TV and a computer and a phone and useful stuff like that. Anyway, all of a sudden, things changed. Daisy’s life got a whole lot more exciting – and not in a good way.’
    ‘What happened?’ Kate asked, edging closer to me.
    ‘I’ll let Daisy explain in her own words,’ I said, as I carefully flicked through the pages until I found the one I wanted.
    Kate lay back on the grass and I began to read.
    Dear Diary,
    Today something very strange happened. Garda Dillon came to the house and Daddy asked him in for a cup of tea and a slice of fruitcake that Mammy had just taken out of the oven. Garda Dillon went all red in the face and said it wasn’t a social call. He asked could Daddy go to the garda station with him to talk about a crime. Mammy cried all the time that Daddy was gone, and I didn’t know what to do to make her stop. When Daddy came back he hugged us both and said it was all a misunderstanding and we should forget about it. We had tea then; the fruitcake was lovely.
    ‘That doesn’t sound too serious,’ said Kate when I stopped reading.
    ‘That’s what I thought – and that’s probably what Daisy thought too, but unfortunately we were all wrong.’
    ‘So did you find out what the crime was?’
    ‘Yes. Somebody broke into a church inNewtown and stole a chalice.’
    ‘And was that such a big deal? It’s not like he held up a bank or something!’
    ‘The chalice was really old and really valuable, but that wasn’t the only reason it was a big deal. People were very religious back then, and stealing a chalice was like a super-big crime. The teachers in Daisy’s school got the kids to say prayers every morning, so that the chalice would be found and the thief sent to jail.’
    ‘But surely Daisy’s dad wasn’t involved?’
    ‘That’s what I thought too, and at first things went on pretty much as before. Then, a few weeks later, Daisy’s dad was charged with the crime, and he had to go to court. This is what she wrote:
    Dear Diary,
    Daddy’s court case is tomorrow. Mammy spent a long time ironing his clothes, so he would look decent for the judge. She was crying so much, though, tears kept fallingon his good white shirt and ruining it. In the end, I had to do it for her. Daddy says Mammy is upsetting herself over nothing. He said, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong, so I don’t have to be afraid. I will just tell the truth, and that will be the end of that. Justice is always done in the end.’ Daddy would never tell a lie, so I know it will all work out well.
    Now Kate sat up. ‘You said it was a sad story, so I’m guessing things didn’t turn out the way Daisy hoped.’
    I shook my head. ‘The trial only lasted for one day.’
    ‘And?’
    ‘And Daisy’s dad was found guilty and sentenced to five years in jail.’
    ‘Ouch!’ said Kate. ‘That’s awful. So what happened to Daisy?’
    ‘Some of the next entries are kind