The Ghostwriter Secret Read Online Free PDF Page A

said.
    â€œYeah,” said Dana, grinning.
    The pelican, its mouth drooping, flew upward.
    Steve hesitated before speaking again. “Don’t you think it would be weird if your girlfriend’s name was Dana?” he asked.
    â€œWhy?” Dana replied, too quickly.
    Steve shrugged.
    Dana looked at the ground.
    The boys walked a little further.
    â€œWell,” Steve said, “aren’t you going to ask me how my case is going?”
    â€œNo,” said Dana.
    Dana was what Steve called a “silent partner” in the Brixton Brothers Detective Agency. Being a silent partner meant that Dana didn’t carry a business card, that his name didn’t appear on the company letterhead, and that he wanted nothing to do with the Brixton Brothers Detective Agency.
    Dana sighed. “How’s your case going?”
    â€œNot great.” Steve shook his head. “Chief Clumber called me this morning to say the fingerprints on the drill didn’t match anything in their database. I expected that, since the drill was just a decoy. After school I told the nurse I needed to call my mom, but I called the police station instead to see if anyone had taken the drill. They hadn’t. But that’s all right—the thief’s probably waiting for the case to get cold and the police to lose interest. And even then, he’ll probably break in at night.”
    Dana nodded, but Steve could tell he wasn’t really paying attention.
    Steve stopped in front a blue mailbox and took an envelope out of his backpack. It was his letter to MacArthur Bart. Steve paused and rubbed the envelope against his chin. “I wrote Bart about my case,”Steve said. “Maybe now he’ll write back. Although it’s not like guarding a diamond is as exciting as a Bailey Brothers adventure.”
    Dana frowned. “Steve, maybe being a detective isn’t always like the Bailey Brothers books.”
    Steve felt the skin on the back of his neck get tight. “What do you mean?”
    â€œJust that in real life, being a detective might not always be big clues and danger at every turn and stuff.”
    Just then, something whizzed past Steve’s head, missing his temple by inches and hitting the mailbox with a large clang. Dana dropped to the ground and yanked Steve down with him. They both lay like snakes with their bellies on the road while more stones rained down from above.
    Steve covered his head with his arms. “We’re under attack! Someone’s trying to kill us!”

CHAPTER IX
DEATH THREAT
    A BARRAGE OF ROCKS HIT THE GROUND , throwing up dust all around Steve. He crossed his fingers on one hand and used the other to dig
The Bailey Brothers’ Detective Handbook
from his backpack. He opened it to a section called “Falling Rocks!”
    When rocks fall from the sky, it can only mean one thing: rock slide! Every detective runs into a landslide or two on the job, so the Bailey Brothers are experts at avoiding them. You can be too! When rocks fall from above, it’sa good bet the ground underneath you is about to slide away. But Shawn and Kevin have a nifty trick to avoid going splat—if you’re swept over a cliff, all you need to do is grab on to a tree or sturdy weed and hang there until help arrives! Oh, and one more thing: Don’t get walloped on the noggin by a boulder.
    Steve was pretty sure this wasn’t a landslide, since they were on a flat stretch of land next to a beach, but he grabbed a dandelion patch with his left hand, just in case. He used his right hand to place the handbook on top of his head, and just in time, too. A stone ricocheted off the shiny red cover and bounced on the ground.
    â€œAre you crazy?” Dana shouted. “You almost hit him on the head!”
    Suddenly the rocks stopped flying. Dana and Steve stood up and brushed the dust off their shorts, squinting in the direction of the attack. A bulky form emerged from behind one