Murder of crows, p.17
Murder of Crows, page 17
“But the children will be disappointed. I’m supposed to be heading into the city tomorrow to trade this in,” Abuela whispered.
“The book and payment, Sofia. I won’t ask again,” Mr. Green said in a stern voice I hadn’t heard him use before. I closed the door even more and watched as Abuela handed Mr. Green the gold nugget we’d found in the courthouse and the founder’s wife’s recipe book.
“Does she know about Ana?” Mr. Green asked.
“No, Charlie. I wouldn’t … you know I wouldn’t,” Abuela said, shaking her head. “It was bad enough she almost found out about Irena. I’ll keep a closer eye on her, I promise.”
“What’s going on?” Wyn said loudly behind me. I startled and pushed the door closed, but before it touched the doorframe, the door stopped.
Mr. Green was suddenly standing in the doorway, holding the door open the last centimeter with an iron grip. He moved so much faster and so much quieter than I ever thought possible. Almost faster than Franklin. I stared at him through the crack, frozen, silent. Mr. Green smiled kindly, his eyes crinkling, then put a single finger up to his lips.
“Have a good night, Sofia,” he called loudly down the hall.
Then he pulled the door all the way closed, jerking it powerfully out of my grasp with his incredible strength. When I managed to yank it back open, the hall was empty.
I looked down the hall in the other direction, and Abuela was standing in her doorway, looking back at me.
I cleared my throat. “Wyn and Max are hungry—can we get pizza?” I asked.
She visibly relaxed. “Oh! Of course, give me a moment to go get my wallet.”
Abuela disappeared into her room to hunt for her purse. I turned back to Wyn and Max, who were sitting up in the bed curiously.
“We have another case,” I said seriously.
“What?”
“Let’s order for pickup. I’ll tell you while we’re walking over.” I grabbed my sweatshirt and put it on.
“Can’t we have even a single night off?” Wyn huffed, covering her face with my pillow.
“Maybe this time, we’ll catch the killer before someone gets killed,” said Max hopefully.
I thought about the tone of Mr. Green’s voice and the trembling in Abuela’s.
“I wouldn’t bet on it if I were you,” I said, tucking my recorder into my pocket. “In Hollow Falls, you would always lose.”
Thank you so much to my wonderful agent, Eric, who keeps me on the level. My supportive partner, Kyle, who I wouldn’t be able to write without. The entire Scholastic and Lethal Lit team for their insight, persistence, and their deep love of Tig and her wonderful family of friends. Lastly, I would like to thank Samantha Swank for holding my umbrella during every brain storm. Your input was invaluable and your contributions to this novel were vital.
K. Ancrum is the author of the award-winning thriller The Wicker King; a lesbian romance, The Weight of the Stars; and the Peter Pan thriller Darling. K. is a Chicago native passionate about diversity and representation in young adult fiction. She currently writes most of her work in the lush gardens of the Art Institute of Chicago.
created by Heather Einhorn, Adam Staffaroni, Alex Segura, and Monica Gallagher
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K. Ancrum, Murder of Crows
