Barnyard Murder: A Cozy Mystery (Strawberry Shores Mystery Book 2) by Mak K. Han Page A
Authors: Mak K. Han
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focusing on Emily. Her green eyes. Her blond hair tied up in a bow. Her mouth, speckled with crumbs from a chocolate cupcake.
“One more time,” Emily said. “My mom's name is Dawn.” She paused. “Strawberry Shores used to be called Strawberry Shoreline.” Another pause. “Alex and I first met in second grade.”
I nibbled my lip and listened for the static. One of the three statements was a lie. I had the ability to tell when someone wasn't telling the truth because if there was a radio nearby, I heard static in my head when they were lying. We were testing my ability to hear the static when there wasn't a radio.
This was the twelfth round of questions, six from Alex and six from Emily. Alex was keeping track of which ones I'd gotten right and which ones I'd gotten wrong.
“The second one,” I said. “Strawberry Shoreline sounds stupid.”
Emily giggled. “Wrong-o. Alex and I didn't meet until you came to town, Laura!”
I sat back in the chair and relaxed, rubbing my eyes. The tension drained from the room. I felt like I'd been under the microscope for the last hour. Emily stuffed the rest of her cupcake into her mouth and headed to the kitchen for another. I looked to Alex. “How did I do?”
Alex counted up the right answers. “Three out of four. Good. Not great.”
I shook my head. “Not good enough. I want to be at a hundred percent.”
“The only time you've been at a hundred is when you had the radio on in the background,” Emily said as she returned from the kitchen, her mouth filled with a cupcake.
It was true. We'd already tested it with a radio and sure enough, I'd been able to tell precisely when one of the girls was lying. The static had been unmistakable. However, without the radio, I had a harder time figuring out which was the lie and which was the truth.
I sat back and rubbed my eyes. I'd had enough fun being under the microscope for one night. I turned to Alex.
She was wearing one of her custom outfits: a t-shirt, painted and glittered. It had been black at one point until Alex had glittered it to look like outer space with the word 'REBEL' written in pink capital letters. She was wearing black stockings with matching heels; her shoes had also been customized with stars and glitter. Alex's tagline was Stand Out from the Crowd: be a Superstar , hence the emphasis on stars. Her black hair had a fluorescent orange streak in it and was clipped to one side with one of her custom clips, also adorned with stars.
“How goes the clothing business?” I asked her.
Alex interlaced her fingers behind her back and propped her feet up on the table. It was an unconscious gesture. She did something similar every time someone asked about her clothes. Putting her hands behind her head gave full visibility to the shirt and putting her feet on the table gave full visibility to her shoes. “It goes, I guess,” she said. “I made a Facebook page and I have about ten likes. I don't have enough money for a web page yet. I'm hoping that by wearing my clothes more often, people will talk about them.” She sat up straight. “Hey! I have an idea!”
Emily and I looked at her. She looked at us. Whenever Alex had an idea, she got this rather manic look in her eyes and rubbed her hands together. She looked like a mad scientist.
“You guys could wear my clothes around town! And then whenever people ask about your clothes, you can point them my way!”
I chuckled. “I think I'm all set, Alex.”
She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You could definitely use a wardrobe adjustment.”
“Hey!” I looked myself over: jeans, t-shirt. “What's wrong with the way I dress?”
“Nothing,” Alex said. “It's just a little boring. Spice it up!”
“Yeah!” Emily chirped. “Alex has a style. I have a style. You need a style too, Laura.”
I opened my mouth to interject but Alex beat me to it. “You have a style?” She said to Emily. “What, the 1950s look? You look like
“One more time,” Emily said. “My mom's name is Dawn.” She paused. “Strawberry Shores used to be called Strawberry Shoreline.” Another pause. “Alex and I first met in second grade.”
I nibbled my lip and listened for the static. One of the three statements was a lie. I had the ability to tell when someone wasn't telling the truth because if there was a radio nearby, I heard static in my head when they were lying. We were testing my ability to hear the static when there wasn't a radio.
This was the twelfth round of questions, six from Alex and six from Emily. Alex was keeping track of which ones I'd gotten right and which ones I'd gotten wrong.
“The second one,” I said. “Strawberry Shoreline sounds stupid.”
Emily giggled. “Wrong-o. Alex and I didn't meet until you came to town, Laura!”
I sat back in the chair and relaxed, rubbing my eyes. The tension drained from the room. I felt like I'd been under the microscope for the last hour. Emily stuffed the rest of her cupcake into her mouth and headed to the kitchen for another. I looked to Alex. “How did I do?”
Alex counted up the right answers. “Three out of four. Good. Not great.”
I shook my head. “Not good enough. I want to be at a hundred percent.”
“The only time you've been at a hundred is when you had the radio on in the background,” Emily said as she returned from the kitchen, her mouth filled with a cupcake.
It was true. We'd already tested it with a radio and sure enough, I'd been able to tell precisely when one of the girls was lying. The static had been unmistakable. However, without the radio, I had a harder time figuring out which was the lie and which was the truth.
I sat back and rubbed my eyes. I'd had enough fun being under the microscope for one night. I turned to Alex.
She was wearing one of her custom outfits: a t-shirt, painted and glittered. It had been black at one point until Alex had glittered it to look like outer space with the word 'REBEL' written in pink capital letters. She was wearing black stockings with matching heels; her shoes had also been customized with stars and glitter. Alex's tagline was Stand Out from the Crowd: be a Superstar , hence the emphasis on stars. Her black hair had a fluorescent orange streak in it and was clipped to one side with one of her custom clips, also adorned with stars.
“How goes the clothing business?” I asked her.
Alex interlaced her fingers behind her back and propped her feet up on the table. It was an unconscious gesture. She did something similar every time someone asked about her clothes. Putting her hands behind her head gave full visibility to the shirt and putting her feet on the table gave full visibility to her shoes. “It goes, I guess,” she said. “I made a Facebook page and I have about ten likes. I don't have enough money for a web page yet. I'm hoping that by wearing my clothes more often, people will talk about them.” She sat up straight. “Hey! I have an idea!”
Emily and I looked at her. She looked at us. Whenever Alex had an idea, she got this rather manic look in her eyes and rubbed her hands together. She looked like a mad scientist.
“You guys could wear my clothes around town! And then whenever people ask about your clothes, you can point them my way!”
I chuckled. “I think I'm all set, Alex.”
She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You could definitely use a wardrobe adjustment.”
“Hey!” I looked myself over: jeans, t-shirt. “What's wrong with the way I dress?”
“Nothing,” Alex said. “It's just a little boring. Spice it up!”
“Yeah!” Emily chirped. “Alex has a style. I have a style. You need a style too, Laura.”
I opened my mouth to interject but Alex beat me to it. “You have a style?” She said to Emily. “What, the 1950s look? You look like
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