Alice-Miranda Shines Bright 8 Read Online Free

Raylene had fallen asleep on the reclining chair in the corner again.
    â€˜Honestly, Reginald, I told her that I was popping out to the shop and she knows better than to leave you alone,’ Myrtle fussed. She turned around and was about to continue upbraiding the nurse when she stopped in her tracks.
    â€˜Reginald?’ Myrtle’s voice fluttered like a paper bag in a windstorm and she gulped loudly. ‘Reginald, where are you?’
    Myrtle Parker stared at the hospital bed that took up most of the sitting room. It was empty. The machines that usually blipped and blinked stood silent. She caught sight of Newton, her treasured garden gnome, staring at her from the mantelpiece.
    A wave of nausea engulfed her and Myrtle reached out to steady herself on the side of the bed.
    â€˜Well, where is he?’ she demanded of her little concrete friend. But of course, if Newton knew anything, he wasn’t telling.
    Myrtle stood still for a few moments before taking off as fast as her legs could carry her; down the hallway, opening and closing bedroom doors, and calling out her husband’s name. He was nowhere to be seen. She ran to the front door and down the steps to the driveway.
    â€˜Reginald! Reginald Parker, where are you?’ she called. Her face drained of colour and she felt as giddy as a six-year-old on a carousel.
    At the other end of Rosebud Lane, Alice-Miranda, Millie, Jacinta and Sloane were on their way to Wisteria Cottage to see Jacinta’s mother when they spied Mrs Parker. Alice-Miranda hadn’t even been sure that Jacinta still wanted her friends to go along, after their upset that morning. But when she’d asked, Jacinta had said of course she did, as if nothing had happened at all.
    â€˜Oh, no,’ Millie groaned. ‘I was hoping we’d get to the house without running into Nosey. She’s bound to have a whole list of jobs that need doing – and of course she won’t be afraid to ask.’
    â€˜Millie, please don’t call her that. Mrs Parker’s perfectly lovely; she’s just lonely,’ Alice-Miranda said.
    â€˜Seriously, Alice-Miranda, she’s the biggest busy­body in the whole village,’ Millie scoffed. ‘I don’t know why you can’t see that.’
    â€˜Whatever she asks, just say no,’ said Sloane. ‘She can’t make us do anything.’
    â€˜Really? You obviously don’t know her as well as Millie does,’ Jacinta added. ‘Mrs Parker got my mother – the woman who, up until a few months ago, wouldn’t even touch dirt, let alone dig in it – to give her garden a full makeover. I’m pretty sure Mrs Parker could get Queen Georgiana to do her washing up if she put her mind to it.’
    Millie giggled. She’d just seen a glimpse of their true friend making her way out of that grumpy impostor’s body.
    Jacinta grinned too.
    Myrtle Parker momentarily regained her balance before stumbling down the drive into the middle of the lane, her arms flailing about like a windmill.
    â€˜I think something’s wrong,’ Alice-Miranda said. She ran towards the old woman.
    The other girls hung back for a moment but when Mrs Parker fell to her knees, they raced after their friend.
    â€˜Mrs Parker, whatever’s the matter?’ asked Alice-Miranda.
    The old woman’s face was wet with tears. Alice-Miranda fished about in her pocket before handing over a tissue.
    â€˜Mrs Parker?’ the girl tried again. ‘Has something happened to Mr Parker?’
    Myrtle nodded slowly and took in a deep breath.
    The other girls reached the scene. ‘It’s Mr Parker,’ Alice-Miranda explained. ‘Millie, run inside and call an ambulance.’
    Mrs Parker shook her head. ‘No!’ she said sharply. ‘He’s gone.’
    Alice-Miranda felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. They were too late. She’d loved reading to Mr Parker each week; he was