The Underdogs Read Online Free Page B

off his face before they flopped right back down over his eyes. He dropped his cigarette and stamped it out with a worn sandal. He leaned back against the Dumpster and put his right leg up, like a stork, and waited.
    â€œHarmony Goldblatt?”
    Detective Ashlock came into view. He looked like he was melting again, but he still refused to take off his blazer. He had the handkerchief in one hand, and he extended his other to Harmony. Harmony looked at it like it was swarming with killer germs, but finally took it.
    â€œGold en blatt.”
    â€œI’m Detective Ted Ashlock. I have a few questions for you, if you don’t mind.” He stuffed his handkerchief in his pants pocket and took his notebook out of his blazer’s inside pocket.
    â€œI already gave my statement to your minions,” Harmony said. He was still in the stork stance, and his arms were crossed over his chest. “ And my alibi.”
    Ashlock didn’t have sunglasses, and considering it was sunny and about ninety-five degrees, I thought maybe he should get some. “Oh, right,” he said. “Of course. But since you found her body and you’re one of the only ones with a key to the place—”
    â€œWhoa,” Harmony said, making a face like the detective was a moron. “Who needs a key? You see that fence? A grade-school kid could hop that thing with a boost. A little stepladder and anyone could get into that pool.”
    It was true. The pool fence was only about eight feet high and it wasn’t like there were any spikes or barbed wire on it.
    â€œThat’s a good point, Harmony,” Ashlock conceded, and cracked a simpatico smile. “The thing is, we have evidence that indicates someone was in the pool with Annabel, and that they came in through that revolving door.” He pointed toward the club’s entrance.
    This Ashlock guy was turning out to have more gravitas than you could see at first glance. That voice , for one. It was like a radio announcer’s with a bit of sandpaper thrown in. And it didn’t go at all with his other standout feature, which was his smooth alabaster skin. In any case, Harmony was holding his ground against the voice and the questions, and Evie and I were cheering him on silently from our hiding place.
    He shrugged at Ashlock’s revelation. “Maybe so. But who knows who else could’ve come in over that fence?”
    Ashlock flipped to a new page in his notebook. “Harmony, I want to get your take on what you think happened. Help me get to know the victim.”
    Harmony kept his sunglasses on so we couldn’t read him, but his body relaxed slightly and he moved away from the Dumpster to face Ashlock head-on.
    â€œI understand Miss Harper was the kind of girl who drove the boys crazy,” Ashlock said.
    Harmony shook his head. “ No . Who told you that? It wasn’t like that. People didn’t understand her.”
    Ashlock raised his eyebrows. “And you did?”
    â€œPeople mistook her shyness for attitude. She was quiet because everyone always wanted something from her. She wasn’t going to give it up for just anyone. It was a self-protection thing.”
    â€œBy ‘it’ you mean … love? Boys?”
    â€œNo.” Harmony was gesturing forcefully with both hands. “You’re missing the point, like the rest of them. She was a beautiful girl. A work of art. And because of that, no one saw past her looks. Sometimes it was as if who she was and what she had to say didn’t matter.”
    â€œMmmhmm…” Ashlock was scribbling in his book. He looked back up at Harmony. “So you two were friends?”
    Harmony let out a frustrated sigh. “I didn’t say that. But I understood her. She spent a lot of time at the pool and so do I. We said hello, she was nice, but I wasn’t going to bother her. I wasn’t going to be another person trying to get something from her. I