The Magician's Bird Read Online Free Page A

PAST!
EXCLUSIVE!!
TUTWEILER’S DIRTY SECRETS
REVEALED! ALL THIS WEEK
----
    â€œWhat’s this about?” Laurie said, staring at the paper. “Criminal past? What does that mean?”
    Calliope shrugged. “Like I know. I wouldn’t have even seen it if LeFranco hadn’t handed it to me.”
    Walker LeFranco was the former school board president who’d been out to shut down Tuckernuck Hall, until Laurie and Bud had found the treasure and messed up his plans. Last Laurie’d heard, he had quit and had gone into the newspaper business.
    â€œHe’s not trying to bring down the school anymore, is he? That’s all over. He lost. We won.” Laurie frowned and handed the newspaper back to Calliope.
    â€œYeah, well, not according to LeFranco. He’s got plans. Big plans. And he’s going to make sure this school gets shut down, one way or another.”
    â€œHow do you know that?” Misti squeaked, glancing back over her shoulder at the hole.
    â€œBecause when he handed me the paper, he said, ‘I’ve got plans. Big plans. And I’m going to make sure your school gets shut down, one way or another.’ So that tipped me off.” Calliope rolled her eyes. “Look, I’ll let you get back to . . . doing nothing, okay? Just thought you should know.”
    â€œYeah, well. Thanks,” Laurie said. She knew sheshould be more apologetic and grateful, but the whole hiding-the-corpse thing made it tough to be buddy buddy.
    â€œWhatever,” Calliope said, and stomped off across the lawn.
    Misti and Laurie stared after her without moving as she rounded the corner.
    ----
    Note to Self
by Calliope Judkin
    Laurie Madison and Misti Pinkerton are hiding something and acting in an EXTREMELY suspicious manner.
    (Is Laurie Madison EVER not doing something suspicious?) Investigate.
----
    â€œHe’s dead, isn’t he,” Misti said without emotion.
    â€œProbably,” Laurie said. Bud hadn’t made a sound since he’d fallen. Laurie took a deep breath and tried not to freak out.
    She didn’t even want to think about what she was going to say to Bud’s dad. He’d really loosened up since they found the treasure—he’d stopped being all strict about studying for college and let Bud hang outa lot more. And where did it get him? With a kid who was dead or unconscious with a broken leg. Not good. Laurie braced herself for the worst and scrambled over to the hole. It wasn’t going to be pretty.
    â€œBud?” she whispered loudly, peering down into the darkness. “Are you still alive?”
    Bud’s head poked up between the broken boards. “Oh, man, you guys!”
    Misti squealed. “You’re alive?”
    â€œYeah, I’m alive. And you’re not going to believe this. I think I’ve found a secret room.”

PART TWO
THE SECRET ROOM
    The first thing Bud thought when he fell through the floor was, Wow, Misti was right after all. The second thing was, Man, that’s going to bruise. Any other thoughts disappeared pretty fast as he looked around and realized where he was.
    He’d expected to be under the floor of the shed, in a crawl space with rattraps, maybe. He didn’t expect to be at the foot of a short stairway leading up to the shed floor. But that’s just where he was. And in the gloom, he could see a narrow passageway leading off to his right. This wasn’t some crawl space. This was something someone had built. This was a hallway.
    Laurie’s and Misti’s voices drifted down through the hole. They were talking to someone up outside the shed, and it sure didn’t seem like they were that concerned about what had happened to him. Well then, he didn’t think they’d mind if he took the opportunity to do a little exploring on his own before he filled them in. Especially if he didn’t tell them about it. It wasn’t every day that he got to make a