Free On the Case (From the Files of Madison Finn, 17) by Laura Dower Page A
Authors: Laura Dower
feeling
: yeah but gut feelings don’t convict criminals on Crime Time do they?
: no but
maybe ur mystery obsession is making u a little paranoid now 2 like the whole world is guilty or something
: it is not like that y do u say THAT
: u really xpect me 2 believe that there’s some school conspiracy and people r stealing bags it sounds so dumb
: not people stealing bags just 1 person P. and how can u say it’s DUMB
: it seems dumb that’s all sorry
: WELL YOU ARE DUMB
Madison couldn’t believe she’d actually typed the words, but she had—in all caps, too. And she had hit SEND very quickly.
It was way too late to take it back now.
Madison waited, tapping her fingers on the keyboard. Aimee must have gotten Madison’s last post. Why hadn’t she responded yet?
: Aim?
Madison chewed on her lower lip and waited a little bit longer. She knew her BFF was still online. was still in the chat room. But no one was writing back anymore.
This wasn’t good.
: Aim? I’m sorry again. I didn’t mean that. AIM?
Madison took a deep breath.
Then she saw Aimee’s screen name pop up at last.
: *poof*
Aimee was gone? Just like that? Madison flipped. She raced to Mom’s room for the portable phone and dialed Aimee’s phone number, but all she got was a busy signal. Of course! The Gillespies didn’t have a separate line for the computer as Madison did. Aimee was obviously still online.
Madison thought about heading downstairs and grabbing Phin. They could walk over to Aimee’s and meet up with her, Blossom, Yin, and Yang. A long walk with the dogs present could clear everything up. Madison could apologize in person for saying two obnoxious things to her friend in the space of only one day.
But then Madison remembered that Mom was already out with the dog—and it was getting pretty late, anyway. Plus, there was a new episode of Crime Time on. Madison couldn’t miss the beginning of that, could she? Not with everything that had happened that day. A good detective needs to brush up on her crime-solving skills. Madison needed some serious help with her clues.
So Madison chose TV over BFF.
After all, there was no harm in waiting until the next day to sort things out with Aimee… was there?
Chapter 9
F RIDAY NIGHT’S CRIME TIME episode was one of the best Madison had ever seen. She felt bad about not talking to Aimee, but she was glad she’d stayed home to watch her show.
The new episode was titled “Red-Handed,” and it profiled a woman who had traveled cross-country hijacking cars and committing petty crimes for a while, but had then gotten into identity theft, credit card fraud, and a whole bunch of other crimes. The woman’s name was Frosty Smith, or at least, that was her name while she was on the lam. It turned out that the name was merely an alias. Frosty’s real name had been Myra Limp. Madison couldn’t believe any of the names were real.
Her mind danced around the idea of creating aliases.
What if Penelope, Mariah’s friend, wasn’t using her real name? What if she was just posing as a student at FHJH so she could commit crimes? Madison knew that that wasn’t even close to being true, but it was fun to think about. It was exciting to imagine being in the middle of an international intrigue, just like people in the movies and on Crime Time.
And what would Madison’s own alias be? She thought hard.
Charlotte Helena Isobel Marguerite Phoebe Antoinette?
Those were just a few of Madison’s favorite girl names, combined as one.
Madison turned up the volume on the TV when it came time for Major DeMille’s wrap-up of the show. This time he took live calls from viewers. Madison loved watching him work the bank of Crime Time phones. He would walk up and down the aisles at the soundstage where the show was filmed, stopping to answer callers phoning in to the switchboard. He
Madison couldn’t believe she’d actually typed the words, but she had—in all caps, too. And she had hit SEND very quickly.
It was way too late to take it back now.
Madison waited, tapping her fingers on the keyboard. Aimee must have gotten Madison’s last post. Why hadn’t she responded yet?
Madison chewed on her lower lip and waited a little bit longer. She knew her BFF was still online.
This wasn’t good.
Madison took a deep breath.
Then she saw Aimee’s screen name pop up at last.
Aimee was gone? Just like that? Madison flipped. She raced to Mom’s room for the portable phone and dialed Aimee’s phone number, but all she got was a busy signal. Of course! The Gillespies didn’t have a separate line for the computer as Madison did. Aimee was obviously still online.
Madison thought about heading downstairs and grabbing Phin. They could walk over to Aimee’s and meet up with her, Blossom, Yin, and Yang. A long walk with the dogs present could clear everything up. Madison could apologize in person for saying two obnoxious things to her friend in the space of only one day.
But then Madison remembered that Mom was already out with the dog—and it was getting pretty late, anyway. Plus, there was a new episode of Crime Time on. Madison couldn’t miss the beginning of that, could she? Not with everything that had happened that day. A good detective needs to brush up on her crime-solving skills. Madison needed some serious help with her clues.
So Madison chose TV over BFF.
After all, there was no harm in waiting until the next day to sort things out with Aimee… was there?
Chapter 9
F RIDAY NIGHT’S CRIME TIME episode was one of the best Madison had ever seen. She felt bad about not talking to Aimee, but she was glad she’d stayed home to watch her show.
The new episode was titled “Red-Handed,” and it profiled a woman who had traveled cross-country hijacking cars and committing petty crimes for a while, but had then gotten into identity theft, credit card fraud, and a whole bunch of other crimes. The woman’s name was Frosty Smith, or at least, that was her name while she was on the lam. It turned out that the name was merely an alias. Frosty’s real name had been Myra Limp. Madison couldn’t believe any of the names were real.
Her mind danced around the idea of creating aliases.
What if Penelope, Mariah’s friend, wasn’t using her real name? What if she was just posing as a student at FHJH so she could commit crimes? Madison knew that that wasn’t even close to being true, but it was fun to think about. It was exciting to imagine being in the middle of an international intrigue, just like people in the movies and on Crime Time.
And what would Madison’s own alias be? She thought hard.
Charlotte Helena Isobel Marguerite Phoebe Antoinette?
Those were just a few of Madison’s favorite girl names, combined as one.
Madison turned up the volume on the TV when it came time for Major DeMille’s wrap-up of the show. This time he took live calls from viewers. Madison loved watching him work the bank of Crime Time phones. He would walk up and down the aisles at the soundstage where the show was filmed, stopping to answer callers phoning in to the switchboard. He
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