Madhattan Mystery Read Online Free PDF

shades of blotchy red. “Before it’s total soup?”
    â€œNah, I don’t do dairy. Lactose intolerant.”
    Lexi froze.
She did
not
just say that!
Almost against her will, Lexi’s hand slipped into her pocket and pulled out the sample of Dairy-Eze Chewables she had taken from the human milk carton in Grand Central. On the back it read,
Fast-acting dietary supplements for lactose intolerance. Enjoy the dairy foods you love without stomach upset
. Was this some sort of weird fate? Lexi, not wanting to mess with the powerof the universe, begrudgingly handed Kim Ling the free sample. “Here, knock yourself out.”
    â€œWhat?” Kim Ling looked down and her eyes widened. “
Gracias
, Lexington Avenue! Man, I hope you’re around if I ever need a kidney.”
    Lexi had to admit that Kim was kind of funny—for a psychopath. But it hardly made up for her quick temper, made-up curse words, and the way she tromped around like she was queen of the universe. Lexi could never imagine being friends with this girl. Witty, city, brainy, zany. She seemed totally in control and Lexi was anything but. Together they were like a left-to-right-hand handshake—they just didn’t fit.
    Lexi quickly polished her spoon on her shirttail and was handing it to Kim Ling as a final goodwill gesture when the burglar alarm went off again and Aunt Roz came barreling through the door.
    â€œThere you are!” she cried, her hands covering her ears. “Oh, that wretched, wretched sound! I thought you kids were on the front stoop but Miss Carelli told me she saw you heading up—oh, Kimmy, make it stop!”
    â€œWhat is it?” Lexi shouted with a pang of concern. “What’s happened?”
    Aunt Roz waited for Kim Ling to rush into the building and turn off the alarm. “It’s your father,” she said, panting. “Nothing’s wrong. He phoned from Paris and wants you to call him right back—before he and Clare leave the hotel.”
    Kevin bolted through the door and thundered down the steps followed by Aunt Roz, but Lexi stayed put.
    â€œLemme guess,” Kim Ling said, inching toward her. “Not getting along with the new stepmom, eh, Cinderella?”
    â€œWhy would you think that?”.
    â€œDon’t kid a kidder, kiddo. It’s written all over your face.”
    Lexi closed her eyes, wishing Kim Ling would disappear.
Why is there never a fairy godmother around when you need one?
    The ringing in her ears must still be from the burglar alarm, she was thinking, but when her eyes popped open she realized the noise was coming from the street. Kim Ling was back at the roof’s edge, and when Lexi joined her, the sound of at least fifty screaming sirens was piercing the air.
    â€œA fleet of squad cars,” Kim Ling reported at the top of her lungs, “parading around town! It usually happens when the city’s on high alert, like, if there’s a bomb threat or a major crime—to warn criminals they’d better watch out.”
    â€œSo many flashing lights!”.
    â€œIt must be because of that Cleopatra jewel heist. You’ve heard about it, right?”
    Lexi stiffened. “No electricity, remember? I—don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
    As the motorcade disappeared down West End Avenue, Kim Ling turned and headed for the door, but with thesmuggest look on her face. “Uh, that newspaper headline sticking out of your back pocket begs to differ.”
    â€œOh, yeah,” Lexi muttered. “Right.”
    And she was left alone, biting her bottom lip and staring into New Jersey.

4
DISORIENTATION
    It was just after midnight when the electricity returned to the brownstone and the AC kicked on with a loud rattle. “Hallelujah,” Lexi mumbled to herself. “Maybe I’ll finally get some sleep.” The guilt, however, from not talking to her father on the return phone call kept