Alice-Miranda Shines Bright 8 Read Online Free Page A

a terribly good listener and a few times she could have sworn that his mouth almost twitched into a smile. Once, she even thought he’d giggled.
    Sloane said what the other girls were thinking. ‘So, he’s dead?’
    â€˜Heavens, no.’ Mrs Parker glared at Sloane, her lips pursed as if she’d sucked a lemon.
    Millie was confused. ‘So, he’s not dead?’
    â€˜I really wouldn’t know,’ the old woman huffed.
    The girls exchanged puzzled looks.
    â€˜I’m sorry, Mrs Parker, but I don’t understand,’ said Alice-Miranda as she helped the woman to her feet.
    â€˜Why don’t you know if he’s dead?’ asked Sloane. ‘Is he breathing?’
    â€˜I wouldn’t know because . . . because he’s gone.’ Myrtle dissolved into shuddery sobs.
    â€˜Gone where?’ Millie wondered when he had woken up. Everyone knew that Reginald Parker had been asleep on a hospital bed in the middle of the Parkers’ sitting room for the past three years. He’d fallen off the roof while cleaning the gutters, broken a leg and a taken a nasty bump on the head. It had looked as if he’d make a full recovery but every day, when Mrs Parker visited the hospital and presented him with an increasing list of jobs to get done, he seemed to grow more and more exhausted. One day he fell asleep and never woke up.
    Mrs Parker found it all a dreadful inconvenience. Her afternoon tea parties were ruined by having to converse with her friends over the mound of bedclothes. Nevertheless, Mr Parker had the best of care and everyone hoped that one day he would finally awake.
    Myrtle scowled at Millie. ‘If I knew where he was, I’d go and get him, wouldn’t I? It’s just like him to wake up and head straight out for a walk. Couldn’t wait to leave, I’m sure – and I have so many jobs for him. Selfish man.’
    â€˜Seriously, could you blame him?’ Sloane whispered behind her hand to Jacinta.
    Jacinta shook her head.
    â€˜What was that, young lady?’ Sloane hadn’t expected Mrs Parker to have such sharp ears.
    Sloane smiled tightly. ‘Nothing.’
    â€˜But Mrs Parker, that’s wonderful news,’ said Alice-Miranda, beaming. She had been so looking forward to meeting Mr Parker properly. ‘He’s woken up. He’s come back to you. I think we should split up and look for him. And if we don’t find him, then we should alert Constable Derby. I’m sure the doctors would like to see him. It must be a medical miracle!’
    â€˜He’ll need another one of those if I get my hands on him first,’ Mrs Parker sniffled. ‘And as for that nurse – just wait until I get hold of her. Unreliable woman!’
    Alice-Miranda wondered what poor Nurse Raylene had done to upset Mrs Parker this time.
    Sloane rolled her eyes. ‘They probably made a run for it together,’ she whispered to Jacinta.
    Alice-Miranda ignored this and set about organising the search. ‘I’ll go with Millie. Jacinta, you and Sloane take the high street, and Mrs Parker, why don’t you check the back garden and the shed? Did Mr Parker like to spend time up there?’
    Myrtle Parker nodded. Her husband had spent rather too much time in the shed for her liking.
    â€˜We’ll meet back here in half an hour. Make sure to ask anyone you see if they’ve spotted him. What was he wearing?’ Alice-Miranda thought it was probably his pyjamas but she wanted to be sure.
    â€˜His blue striped pyjamas, of course,’ Myrtle replied. She stared at the children. ‘Well, don’t just stand there.’
    With that, Alice-Miranda and Millie ran towards the end of the lane. They would wind their way through each street until they met with Sloane and Jacinta. Winchesterfield wasn’t terribly big and Mr Parker probably hadn’t got far. Alice-Miranda just hoped that he hadn’t had a