My Unfair Godmother Read Online Free PDF Page A

into the braid. When that didn’t work, I took the braid out and combed my fingers through my hair the best I could. Which wasn’t all that well. My hair had still been a little damp when I braided it. Now it was wavy and looked wild and tousled.
    A middle-aged man opened the door and walked in. He held a coffee cup in one hand and a file folder in the other. Barely glancing at me, he settled into the chair on the other side of the table. “When the 34/356
    criminals are so bored they’re doing their hair, it means it’s time to talk.”
    They had been watching me. I felt myself blush. I wanted to say,
    “I wasn’t trying to make myself look nice for you, if that’s what you’re thinking.” But I had already decided not to say anything. Instead of meeting his eyes, I scrutinized his tie. It was pale blue with little cacti on it. Arizona: not just a place, a fashion statement.
    “So, Tansy, do you want to tell me what happened tonight?” I let out a gasp. I had no idea how he’d guessed my name. No, guessed wasn’t the right word. If he were guessing, he wouldn’t have come up with Tansy. In my entire life, I’d never met another Tansy.
    My father chose the name from some old book he loved.
    The detective smiled at my reaction. “You’re not in Queens anymore. People talk in small towns. They know things about each other.” How did he know I was from Queens? I had never seen him before in my life.
    He tapped his pen against the table impatiently. “Who was with you tonight?”
    I clutched my hands in my lap and didn’t answer.
    “Are you saying it was only you?” he asked. “Because if you’re taking responsibility for the damage, replacing those busted windows will run you between fifteen hundred and two thousand dollars. Hiring someone to repaint the side of the building will cost a few hundred more. If you want us to send the bill to someone else, you need to tell us who.”
    I tried not to let him see me flinch. I didn’t have that much money and my dad was about to lose his job. Still, I didn’t want to let this guy intimidate me into turning over my boyfriend. Or ex-boyfriend, probably. I hadn’t decided yet. After all, Bo might show up on my doorstep 35/356
    with flowers, begging for my forgiveness. He might offer to pay the fine.
    “You know, this isn’t the first building that’s been vandalized in the last month.” The detective held up a folder to show me the proof.
    “We’ve got a dentist’s office, a gas station, and a McDonald’s. Same sort of handiwork we found on the city hall. We’ve been searching for the vandals, and tonight we caught you.” He leaned back in his chair, his hands folded smugly in his lap. “It would be a shame if these got pinned on you too.”
    My stomach lurched. Bo hadn’t vandalized those other buildings, had he? Tonight had happened because he was mad about my father and stepmother losing their jobs. He had thrown those rocks for me.
    “You’re making that up about the other buildings,” I said.
    Without a trace of emotion, the detective flipped open the folder, took out a picture, and slid it to me. “Look familiar?” It didn’t. The photo showed a gas station with red slashes across the side of one wall, like a giant cat had scratched it. Why would Bo have sprayed graffiti on the other buildings?
    The detective put the picture back in the folder. “I don’t think you realize how much trouble you’re in, so I want your parents to come down and talk with you. Then you can decide what to tell me.” He pushed himself away from the table. “If you’re a smart girl, you won’t take the rap for someone else.”
    He stood up and motioned me to follow him out of the room.
    When we reached the lobby, he said, “Take a seat. It will be a while before Mary gets around to calling your parents. It’s been a busy night.” He glanced over at the waiting room’s other occupant, a teenage guy.
    He sat in the middle of the only row of chairs,