Page 9 of Always Murder

“Looking at what?”I asked.

“Super Smash Bros.Ultimate.A couple of weeks ago, this copy came through.The package was already open, okay?It was halfway out of the box, and it was a release day drop, and I wanted to do a quick stream of me with it, you know, because literally nobody had seen one yet.It’s not like it matters—if a package gets opened, we tape it up again and deliver it.There was no reason for Ms.Hernandez to go ballistic.”

I caught a look on Keme’s face that was somewhere close to envy.I tried to keep my own expression smooth—a certain young man, if he behaved himself and quit trying to give me a dead leg every time I beat him inHalo, was going to get a copy ofSuper Smash Bros.Ultimatethis Christmas.The game had only come out a couple of weeks before, and it had been one of the most anticipated releases of the year.My gamer self could understand the excitement of seeing a copy in the wild, so to speak, on release day.On the other hand, that didn’t make Paul any less of an idiot for taking it out of the package to live stream himself with it.

“You’re so dumb,” Millie informed Paul.

“I didn’t do anything wrong!Jeez, you’re as bad as Mom!”

“That’s all?”I asked.“They didn’t fire you?”

“Not that time.But she yelled at me.Alot.It doesn’t matter—everybody hates her.One time, she put Jesse on suspension because she said Jesse had a bad attitude.And she gets on Andrea’s case all the time, and Andrea’s her daughter.All she cares about is her stupid dog; Andrea says she spendssomuch money on it, and she won’t even help Andrea buy a car or anything.”He shot the TV a look, in case his game had miraculously come back on.“Oh man!What ifMs.Hernandezdid it?It’s, like, the perfect inside job.She’s in charge of loss prevention.Who’s going to investigate her?”

None of us, it turned out, had an answer to that—although Keme did roll his eyes.

After a moment, though, Millie brightened.“What if it’s a GHOST?”

Those of you playing along at home may not be surprised; Millie’s first instinct, when anything strange happens, is to suspect that a ghost might be involved.

“Is there anyone else you can think of?”I asked.“Someone you noticed on your route?Someone who talked to you?Someone following you?Someone who asked about the packages?”

“Oh yeah, somebody asked me if I knew what was in those packages and which ones were valuable and if I’d mind if he took some of them.”Paul gave me a withering look and added, “Der.”

I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced the sudden knowledge that you’re capable of murder—if you’ve raised a teenager, or worked with teenagers, or know a teenager, the odds are high that you have.I was currently exploring that flash of self-awareness.

Bobby got a surprisingly firm grip on my arm and said, “We’re going to step out into the hall now.”

Millie and Keme followed, and as soon as the door closed, I said, “Der?Der?How oldishe?I’m going to—I’m going to—I’m going to fight him.No,Bobby’sgoing to fight him!”

“No,” Bobby said, “I’m not.”

I stopped.I glared.“Fine.Whatever.That’s okay.I don’t need you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Keme will fight him for me.”

The boy perked up at this, but then he cast a glance at Millie, deflated, and shook his head.

“I don’t need any of you,” I said.“I’m going to tell his mom!”

“Okay,” Bobby said, grabbing my arm again.“Let’s save that for when you’re not hopped up on sugar bars.”

“Oh, they weren’t sugar bars,” Millie said.“They were sugarcookiebars.With triple frosting.”

In his very Bobby way, he said, “Uh huh.”And then, he added, “Millie, I know you’re hoping Dash can help with this, but I’m not sure what you want him to do.The best thing would be to wait, see if the business files a complaint, and then figure out what evidence they have against Paul.If he’s innocent, they’re not going to be able to make the charges stick.”

Having been wrongly accused before, I wasn’t so sure about that.But one thing you learn about having a boyfriend is to save your fights for the stuff that matters.(Like eating Oreos in bed.) On the other hand, I didn’t disagree with Bobby—Paul’s problem wasn’t exactly life-threatening.

Before I could say this, though, Millie spoke.“I know he’s a jerk.I know he’s immature.I know he’s not taking this seriously.But you don’t understand—Ryan and Paul are, well, you know.And it’s really hard for my mom.I haven’t seen her this happy in so long.If she finds out Paul got fired for stealing packages, it’s going to break her heart.”She had tears in her eyes.Her voice was thick.She actually, literally sniffled.And then she said, “And it’s Christmas.”

Chapter 3

“I’m not made of stone,” I said.

Bobby didn’t respond.I decided to believe this was because he was brushing his teeth.

We’d come home to Hemlock House after that conversation with Paul.I was lying on our bed, in our bedroom, in my undershirt and trunks.The ugly sweater was on the floor, waiting to be burned so that I’d never have to wear it again.Bobby, of course, had folded his neatly.

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