Free Deprivation House by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

the deal with Olivia. He was way too entertained by her sneaking up to my bed, but he agreed that my joining her alliance was a good call.
    He socked me on the shoulder. “If she tries to make you sign something in blood, I’d—”
    â€œEverybody, get up to the living room—great room—whatever. Now!” Kit shouted through the intercom. “Right now!”

Screaming House
    â€œI think this place should be called Screaming House or Shrieking House instead of Deprivation House,” I told Frank as we dashed up the stairs. A few people were ahead of us, a bunch behind.
    â€œWhat? What?” Mikey burst out. He was one of the first into the great room.
    Kit pointed at the plasma screen. On it, Ripley was plunging a needle full of epinephrine into Bobby T’s thigh.
    â€œThat’s our room,” exclaimed Hal.
    â€œThat’s me,” Bobby T said, pushing his way to the front of the group.
    â€œWhat is this?” Brynn asked Kit.
    â€œ Baristas, ” Ripley answered for her. “It’s a gossip show.”
    â€œIt’s a gossip show with coffee,” Kit corrected. “I figured if I couldn’t drink it, it might help to watch other people drink it.”
    The clip disappeared and was replaced by two twenty-something women standing behind a coffee bar. “That’s a Ripley Lansing we haven’t seen before,” the one with the long brown hair said.
    â€œIt seemed like she was thinking about that boy instead of herself,” the one with the long blond hair agreed.
    â€œThat’s not—,” Ripley began, then bit her lip.
    â€œWhat does she mean, ‘that boy’?” Bobby T scowled at the screen.
    â€œThat boy is actually Bobby T,” Long Brown told Long Blond. “He and Ripley are going to be on a new reality show together. They are locked in a house—a villa in Beverly Hills actually—right now. The details are hush-hush. Bobby’s saying as much as he can on his blog, but he hasn’t said what the show is actually about.”
    â€œHuh. So that was Bobby T. I guess he’s good with Photoshop. He doesn’t look much like the pictures on his blog,” Long Blond commented.
    James snickered.
    â€œBut back to our Ripley. She was like somethingout of that doctor show we’re addicted to. Young. Beautiful. Saving lives,” Long Brown continued.
    â€œShe might even get herself off Santa’s bad list in time for Christmas,” agreed Long Blond.
    â€œSpeaking of Santa, did you see that hilarious clip on YouTube?” Long Brown asked.
    â€œHow do you think they got that tape?” Wilson said.
    â€œVeronica leaked it to them, of course,” answered Olivia.
    â€œAt least they mentioned the blog.” Bobby T didn’t sound happy.
    But Ripley had a big smile on her face. I thought about what Frank had told me during our bathroom break. Could Ripley have slipped Bobby T the peanut oil just so she could “save” him?
    With cameras everywhere, she could have figured the rescue would get out sooner or later. And Ripley was right there almost at the moment Bobby T ate carpet.
    SUSPECT PROFILE
    Name: Ripley Lansing
    Hometown: Malibu, California
    Physical description: 5’10”, 140 lbs., straight brown hair, blue eyes.
    Occupation: High school student/heiress.
    Background: Only daughter of rock star dad and cosmetics company CEO/owner mom. One older brother, one younger. The wild kid of the three.
    Suspicious behavior: She found Bobby seconds after he collapsed.
    Suspected of: Contaminating Bobby T’s toothpaste with peanut oil so she could save him.
    Possible motive: Needs to improve her bad-girl public image or she’ll be financially cut off until she’s thirty.
    I was liking my theory—and then I remembered that everyone on the show had gotten death threats. Would Ripley have sent them? How would that fit in with a plan to be nice? Threatening