Secret, Silent Screams by Joan Lowery Nixon

Author:Joan Lowery Nixon [Nixon, Joan Lowery]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-54556-5
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 1998-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER • 8

For a few minutes after their conversation had ended, Marti stood by her parents. bed, staring down at the telephone. Her stomach churned and fury rose in hot waves, burning her chest, scalding her cheeks, She stomped to her own room, looked up the Millers’ phone number again, and dialed. Emmet answefed.

“Where's your brother?” Marti demanded.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don't play dumb. A police officer just told me that Thad was released from the detention center two weeks ago.”

There was a moment of silence before Emmet asked, “How come the police told you that? What have you got to do with anything?”

“I told the police that Barry didn't commit suicide.”

“Yeah. After what you said in assembly, I guess you would.”

With embarrassment Marti remembered the scene she had made. “Barry was murdered. I know it.”

“So you said. That's real dumb. Going to the police was even dumber. They aren't going to help you.”

“Then youhelp me. Tell me where Thad is.”

Emmet chuckled-, and the sound was so smug and mocking that Marti shuddered. “If you think you can stick Thad with anything, you're crazy. Thad's with Mom and Dad. They took him to a place near Austin. He's going to live with one of our uncles on his cattle ranch. He's got an alibi—has he ever!—for anything you might dream up.”

Marti couldn't help feeling disturbed, no matter what Emmet had told her. “You're sure of this, Emmet?”

“You asked me a question. I answered it. Stop bugging me,” he said, and slammed down the phone.

I don't believe him,Marti thought. He's lying to protect his brother.The more she thought about it, the more she was sure. There was something odd in Emmet's voice that snaked through the hostility and smugness. Emmet knew more than he had told her. Emmet was hiding something.

Marti dialed Tony's number. Still busy.

She called Kim. “I'm sorry,” Marti said the moment Kim answered. “I got busy. I forgot I was coming over. I forgot everything.”

“Were you talking to Dr. Emery all that time?”

“No,” Marti said, “but other things came up. “Can I fill you in later? Please?”

As soon as Kim reluctantly agreed, Marti said a quick good-bye, snatched up her shoulder bag and car keys, and ran down the stairs. “Gould I borrow the-car?” she called into the dew, where her parents were watching a situation comedy on television. She could hear bursts of canned laughter from theset.

“Don't you want some pizza?” her father called.

Her mother shouted, ‘It's after eight o'clock. Where are you going?”

“To Tony's house. I won't be long. I've just got to pick up something, And I'm not hungry. Really.”

Martf could hear a low murmur of voices as hear parents talked to each other. “It's better that she's out and busy than up in her room brooding,” she heard her father say. Her mother murmured something, which was drowned out by another loud burst off television laughter. Then her father called, “Take the car, Marti, but ddntt stay out too late.”

For an instant Marti felt

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