Trial by Fire (20 page)

I had to tell him I didn’t know much, only that she’d been arrested for breaking
into the barn and that no charges had been laid for the fire. She hadn’t meant for
it to start. It was an accident, after all. I hadn’t seen or talked to her since
the confrontation in the locker room at the park.

“Riley, do you—oh.” Aunt Ginny had a towel around her wet hair and was wearing bunny
slippers when she came into the kitchen. She stopped short when she saw we had company.
Her face turned scarlet. She scurried away. A moment later she was back, her hair
damp but combed out. “Aram,” she said. “Good to see you. You’ll stay for supper, I
hope. Riley made fried chicken.”

Aram smiled. “I’d be delighted.” From behind his back he produced a bouquet of flowers,
which he presented to Aunt Ginny. “And tomorrow night, I’d like to take you two out
to dinner—to thank you for everything you’ve done for my father and me.”

I heard my ringtone and reached for my phone. It was Charlie.

“Everything’s almost ready, Aunt Ginny,” I said. “You just have to let the chicken
drain for a few minutes.” I headed for the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Aunt Ginny asked.

“To a movie. With Charlie and Ashleigh.” With my new friends. Maybe this place wasn’t
going to be so bad after all.

NORAH M
C
CLINTOCK
writes mystery and crime fiction for young adult readers. She is
the author of the Chloe and Levesque, Mike and Riel, Robyn Hunter, and Ryan Dooley
series, as well as many stand-alone novels. Norah grew up in Montreal, Quebec, is
a graduate of McGill University (in history, of all things) and lives in Toronto,
Ontario. She is a five-time winner of the Crime Writers of Canada’s Arthur Ellis
Award for Best Juvenile Crime Novel. Her novels have been translated into sixteen
languages. For more information, visit
www.norahmcclintock.com
.