Free Haunted by Melinda Metz - Fingerprints - 2 Page A

skateboard shop and the comic book store, and the place that sold all the loose candy. Jesse loved the atomic fireballs there. Jesse’s school. The 7Eleven, although Jesse didn’t hang there very much without Anthony.
    “Any ideas on where to-” Rae began.
    “I’m thinking,” Anthony interrupted, without looking at her.
    “Well, don’t let me disturb you,” Rae muttered.
    He pretended he hadn’t heard her. He had to keep focused. Where else? He thought Jesse played b-ball at the park over on Magnolia. He didn’t go to the mall that much, but he might have ended up over there. What was the name of that kid with the fully loaded computer? He and Jesse played some kind of on-line game over there. Was he even from Jesse’s school? “I know you’re thinking and everything, but if you’re still taking me home, you should have turned left back there,” Rae told him.
    Anthony made a U at the next light, without bothering to comment. His silence clearly made her somewhat pissed at him, and he kind of thought that was a good thing-focuswise. He split his attention between the road and coming up with more places to look for Jesse. When he pulled into Rae’s driveway, she jumped out like her butt was on fire.
    “So pick me up after school,” she said, then slammed the door and strode toward the house without looking back.
    He had this impulse to run after her, and, he didn’t know, apologize or something. But it wasn’t like he’d actually done anything to her. He couldn’t help it if she was so freakin’ sensitive. Anthony backed out of the driveway and headed for home.
    When he walked in the front door, he wished he was still in New Orleans-even in the chicken man’s freaky front room. His gaze flicked from Carl, who was eating what looked like Lucky Charms off the living-room carpet, to Anna, who was watching the Powerpuff Girls at an eardrum-piercing level while trying to keep the remote away from Danny, who was yelling almost as loud as the TV. Zack, the so-called babysitter, was nowhere to be seen.
    Neither was his mother.
    Anthony strode over to the TV and shut it off, which briefly stopped the fight between Anna and Danny because they both started yelling at him. Zack wandered in from the kitchen, holding a box of Snackwells. “I scored lunch,”
    he announced.
    “Lunch,” Anthony repeated. “Lunch. That’s lunch?”
    “Luuunnch. What part of it didn’t you understand?” Zack shot back as he ripped open the box.
    Anthony didn’t answer. He just headed into the kitchen. All the cabinet doors were hanging open, and he was starting to see how Snackwells could seem like lunch. It wasn’t like they could eat a box of baking soda or some vanilla. He slammed the closest cupboard shut. What was his mom thinking? Yeah, she was always sort of a flake, but she usually managed to remember to go grocery shopping.
    This was so not his problem. But what was he supposed to do? “Everybody in the car,” he shouted.
    “McDonald’s run. If you don’t know what you want by the time we get there, you’re not getting anything.” He didn’t plan on making a many-houred excursion out of the trip. And Tom and his mother were paying him back.
    “Can I get large fries?” Danny asked.
    “Yes, you can get large fries,” Anthony answered, imitating his little brother’s shrill voice. He heard the front door bang shut, and by the time he reached the living room, it had been cleared out. He checked the front pocket of his jeans to make sure he had the keys, then headed out to the car.
    When they got to McDonald’s, Anthony automatically did a quick scan of the place. It was possible that Jesse could be there. But he wasn’t, although Anthony spotted Brian Salerno.
    “Yo, fat ’n’ smelly,” Salerno called from across the room. Zack snickered at Anthony’s grade school nickname but only for a second-only until Anthony gave him a fast knuckle to the back of the neck.
    “Hey,” Anthony answered. He didn’t