Free Harper Madigan: Junior High Private Eye by Chelsea M. Campbell

the auditorium and the locker rooms and spot Danigail and Alexis farther down the hall. Arguing. Danigail’s face is twisted in a scowl, and Alexis’ is red, her arms crossed defensively across her chest. They’re keeping their voices low, whispering heatedly, and even though I can’t make out what they’re saying, there’s no mistaking the fact that this isn’t a peaceful get-together.
    Neither one of them has noticed me yet, too preoccupied with whatever they’re so angry about, and I take a step to the left, making myself scarce behind a row of lockers. I press my face against the cool metal and peer down the hall, glad that Austin had to scram, because he’d be blowing our cover right now, I’m sure of it.
    I strain to listen to the conversation, catching the words “theater,” “play,” and “secret.” Alexis’ eyes widen, and she looks like she’s about to either punch Danigail or burst into tears. “I thought I could trust you,” she says, her voice a growl, just loud enough for me to hear. She turns away, moving to storm off down the hall.
    Danigail catches her arm. “You can trust me. I’d never tell anyone. But I want to know the truth.”
    “You want to know how this is my big break, right?” Alexis narrows her eyes into angry slits. “I have to get changed,” she says, tearing her arm away from Danigail and stomping towards the locker room.
    “Fine!” Danigail screams, balling her hands into fists.
    “Fine!” Alexis shouts back, not even looking over her shoulder.
    Danigail whips around to leave, still seething, and that’s when I move from my hiding place. Our eyes lock for a second as she pieces together what just happened and what I might have heard.
    “What was that about?” I ask. “Something you want to tell me?”
    She bites her lip, glancing from me to the locker room. “It has nothing to do with the case.”
    “Come on, DG. I’m sticking my neck out for you all over the place. I’m putting everything on the line for you, and what are you doing? Keeping secrets?”
    “I told you, it’s not important. Did you talk to Oliver?”
    “Yeah, and he thinks you’re guilty.”
    “He’s mad at me.”
    “Because he thinks you pushed her?”
    She shakes her head. “Because I’ve become such an exemplary student. We don’t get along like we used to. Things have changed , Harper. They’re not like when you were around.” She doesn’t meet my eyes as she says that, turning instead towards the locker closest to her and running her finger up and down the slots, making a pinging noise as her nail scrapes against them. “Maybe he really does think I pushed her. I don’t know. I don’t want to know how he can think that.”
    “You’re not helping your case. You send me to talk to someone who thinks you’re guilty, you meet with one of my prime suspects and keep secrets—”
    “Suspects?” She raises an eyebrow.
    “Alexis was Veronica’s understudy. That gives her motive. That makes me suspicious of her, and that makes her a suspect. Plus she’s hiding something, and I know you know what it is.”
    She shakes her head, like she has no idea what I’m talking about. But even if Oliver says she’s changed, she hasn’t changed so much that I don’t know when she’s lying.
    “You want me to clear your name? Or did I misunderstand that part? Because right now it seems like you want to go down for this. If you didn’t, you might be a little more cooperative. I know you didn’t do it, but I need to figure out who did, and if it was her—”
    “It wasn’t, okay?”
    But I don’t know Alexis like I know Danigail. And even if Danigail vouches for her, it’s not enough. Not when I know Alexis is hiding something. “You didn’t see who did it, did you?” She was the only one else there, the only one—besides whoever committed the crime—who could have seen what happened.
    Danigail’s shaking her head. “I was bent down, painting one of the sets. I heard