Page 43 of A Dead Girl's Guide to Living
“Cool, cool,” I murmured, unzipping the duffel bag at my feet and pulling out the two sandwich bags, one empty, one filled with dust from Margaret’s vacuum.
“What the hell is that?” Ellis demanded, her eyes going wide as she clocked them.
“The less you know, the better,” I said quickly, tucking the empty bag into the waistband of my pants.
“That’s what someone says before they commit a felony,” Liv sang, bouncing in the back seat and clapping her hands gleefully.
“I promise it’s not a felony,” I said. “Maybe, like... a minor misdemeanor. At most.”
“This is the best road trip I’ve ever been on, and we haven’t even left the city yet!” Liv shrieked, smacking the back of the seats. “Let’s go!”
I sighed grabbed my empty tote bag, tucking the dustbuster-filled bag inside.
“All right, time to go then,” I muttered, stepping out of the car. I heard Ellis’s door open, and Liv appeared beside me almost instantly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “This way.”
We walked in silence. The only sounds drifting through the still morning air were distant traffic and the occasional birdcall. It was still cold, but not quite as chilly as it had been when Ellis picked me up from the shop twenty minutes earlier.
I tried to look casual in case any neighbors were out and about on their weekday morning. I didn’t want to draw attention, and I was especially grateful that Liv’s visibility waslimited to just Ellis and me. A girl with bright pink hair and clubbing clothes would’ve definitely turned heads.
I turned toward the side alley entrance of Uncle Bill’s house when Ellis’s arm suddenly curled around my bicep. My stomach flipped at the contact, and she tugged me to a stop, her expression puzzled.
“Shouldn’t we use the front door?” she asked, tension laced through her posture.
“No,” I muttered, shaking off her arm, for my own mental self-preservation, because apparently my brain had decided it was attracted to this snotty girl, and I couldn’t think with her touching me. “My grandmother always said front doors were for guests and Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
Ellis raised a brow but said nothing. After a beat, I turned on my heel and hopped over a flowerbed, heading for the locked side gate. I silently prayed Uncle Bill was still clueless enough not to have changed the code since the last time I’d come through here.
2–5–0–7.
His birthday.
The man had the imagination of a toddler and far too much faith in his fake security system.
The gate clicked open, and I slipped through, the other two following close behind. I eyed the annoyingly manicured garden as we moved deeper into the yard. Liv wandered a few paces ahead, eyeing the stone statues like she was silently judging his taste.
“Oh my God!” Ellis gasped, grabbing my arm again and jerking me to a stop as she pointed upward. “A camera!”
I sighed and shook her off, already irritated. “It’s fake,” I hissed. “This is why I wanted to come alone!”
“Well, excuse me,” Ellis snapped as I kept walking. “It’s not every day I do shady shit with a stranger and a ghost.”
I ignored her, though I was mildly concerned to see Liv now standing on the diving board over the pool, arms stretched wide like she was about to dive in.
“Third pot plant...” I muttered, approaching the line of oversized terracotta pots along the back patio.
“Do this often, huh?” Ellis asked, crossing her arms.
“Yeah,” I muttered, kneeling beside the third pot and shifting its base with my hands. “I’m an expert at stealing dead grandparents.” My fingers brushed against the cold key hidden beneath, and I dragged it out, a satisfied grin spreading across my face. “Bingo.”
“What—what do you mean?” Ellis hissed, her voice rising an octave. “Dove, what the actual hell are we doing here?What do you mean stealing dead grandparents?”
“Quiet!” I snapped, rising to my feet and turning to face her, only to find Liv suddenly standing right beside her, eyes wide with curiosity. “From this moment on, I want zero questions. I don’t want to hear a sound out of either of you. This is supposed to be a quick in-and-out, and you’ve both already made it take longer than necessary.”
I turned away from their matching looks of protest and slid the key into the lock. With a soft click, it opened.
Liv slipped past me before I could even take a step, practically vibrating with excitement. I rolled my eyes and ushered a cautious-looking Ellis through the door before following after them, shutting it softly behind me and pocketing the key.
“From this point forward,” I muttered under my breath, “no commentary from either of you.”
