Can You Keep a Secret?

by R. L. Stine

  I thought about how he reacted that night when Eddie and I told him about the money we found. Danny really did seem desperate, eager to take his share right away.

  But was he desperate enough to betray his friends?

  Eddie and I didn’t talk the rest of the way. I watched his eyes follow the yellow cones of our headlights, his jaw clenched tightly. His hands squeezed the steering wheel as if he was trying to strangle it.

  “Eddie, please—” No. I gave up. I could see there was no reasoning with him.

  Eddie bounced the car to a stop in Danny’s driveway, nearly bumping the back of the SUV parked in front of the garage. He swung his door open and jumped out. Then he raced to the front stoop without looking back or waiting for me.

  I hurried to catch up to him. He rang the doorbell. I heard chimes inside the house. The porch light flashed on and, a few seconds later, Danny’s father opened the door.

  Mr. Franklin is a short, trim man, very young-looking. He could pass for a twenty-year-old, I think, except there are patches of gray in his red-brown hair. He squinted at us through his black-framed glasses. He wore baggy blue shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt that showed off his skinny, pale arms.

  “Hey, guys,” he said. “It’s kind of late.” He had a bottle of Miller Lite in one hand. “You looking for Danny?”

  “Who is it, Shawn?” I heard Mrs. Franklin call from inside.

  “Danny’s friends,” he called back to her. He opened the screen door and gestured with the beer bottle for us to come in.

  “Sorry. We lost track of the time,” I said.

  “Danny’s up in his room,” Mr. Franklin said. “He has battle fatigue from playing World of Warcraft for two hours instead of doing his homework.”

  “I’ll do my homework in homeroom.” Danny said, appearing behind his father. He eyed us both. “What’s up?” He gazed at Eddie’s mud-caked jeans. “You have an accident or something?”

  Eddie didn’t answer. His jaw was still clenched tight. “Can we talk?”

  “How are your parents, Emmy?” Danny’s mom called. “I saw your mom having lunch at Driscoll’s, but I didn’t have a chance to say hi.”

  “They’re fine,” I said. “Mom is going back to work at the junior college in the fall.”

  “Nice. Tell her I said hello.”

  While this conversation was going on, Eddie and Danny had a staring match. Mr. Franklin took a long drag on his beer bottle, then disappeared into the living room.

  “Let’s go out back,” Danny said. “You two look grim. Everything okay?”

  “Not really,” Eddie answered.

  We followed him out the kitchen door to his backyard. They have a patio out there with a picnic table, a charcoal grill, a hammock, and several comfortable wicker chairs. Danny started to sit down, but stopped when he saw that Eddie and I intended to stand.

  “So? What’s up?” Danny said, scratching a side of his face.

  “Just give us back the money, and there won’t be any trouble,” Eddie said.

  Talk about getting right to the point.

  Danny jerked backward as if he’s been slapped. He narrowed his eyes in confusion and glanced from Eddie to me. “What did you just say?”

  Eddie squeezed his hands against the waist of his jeans. “I said give back the money.”

  Danny’s eyes went wide. He seemed unable to process Eddie’s words. “You mean the money we buried? It’s missing?”

  “I told Emmy you’d play dumb,” Eddie raised his hands and balled them into tight fists. I took a step back. I tensed every muscle. If Eddie started a fight, I knew I’d have to try to break it up.

  I’d learned a lot about Eddie’s temper tonight, and I wasn’t very happy about it.

  “But … I am innocent,” Danny protested, his voice rising. “You think I took it? Are you serious?”

  Eddie nodded, his gray eyes cold as ice.

  Danny let out a bleating sound, like an injured goat. “I don’t believe you,” he told Eddie. “I don’t believe you are accusing me. Aren’t we friends? I thought so. We all agreed that night in the woods. We agreed to leave it buried till it was safe. So why would you accuse me? Why do you think I would break our agreement?”

  Danny’s fists were knotted, too. The two boys were breathing hard now, standing stiffly, their backs arched, like cats preparing to attack.

  “Because you wanted the money. You really wanted it,” Eddie said, his eyes locked on Danny’s, as if trying to penetrate into his brain.

  “We all wanted the money,” Danny said. “All of us. And guess what, Eddie? Most of us didn’t trust you. We didn’t trust you to keep it safe for us. And now you’re here telling me the money is gone. Very convenient. Do you really think you can fool us by accusing me?”

  Eddie lunged at Danny. Danny stumbled back against the picnic table.

  I uttered a cry. “Stop!”

  Before Danny could stand up, someone jumped out of the bushes at the side of the house. Someone big and heavy came charging out of the deep shadows. And when his face came into the light, I could see it was twisted in anger.

  “Riley?” I called. “What are you doing here?”

  20.

  Riley let out a cry, lowered his head, and tackled Eddie around his waist. Eddie dropped to the patio stones with a hard thud. Riley landed heavily on top of him.

  Danny and I both stared down at them as they wrestled, grunting and groaning at our feet. My mind whirred: What is Riley’s problem? Has he gone crazy?

  Finally, Riley gave Eddie a hard shove that made Eddie grab his gut. Riley rolled away from him and climbed heavily to his feet. His nose was bleeding. He rubbed it with the sleeve of his T-shirt.

  Danny squinted at Riley. “Didn’t your mother teach you any manners? First you say hello. Then you beat the crap out of someone.”

  “You never were funny,” Riley muttered, mopping at his nose. He turned to Eddie, who was still on his back on the patio floor. “Where’s the money?”

  Eddie groaned, holding his stomach. “I think you broke a rib or something.”

  “Where’s the money?” Riley screamed. “The money is gone, Eddie. And you took it.”

  Danny had his eyes on the back door. “Shut up, Riley. My parents are in the living room. They’ll hear you and be out here in a second.”

  Riley scowled at Danny. “The money is gone.” He wheeled around to face Eddie, who had slowly climbed to his feet. Eddie stood unsteadily, squinting at Riley as if he didn’t understand what language he was speaking.

  “We all trusted you,” Riley said, letting the blood flow from his nose over his lips and chin. “You promised you’d keep it safe. But I knew you’d take it.”

  Eddie swallowed a few times. “You went to the grave? You dug it up?”

  Riley nodded. “I didn’t trust you. I went to check, and I was right. You pig, Eddie. I knew you’d take it.”

  Eddie raised both hands. “Wait. Wait. When, Riley? When did you go to the grave?”

  “After dinner. About seven. Why?”

  “Eddie and I went to the grave to check on the money,” I chimed in. “We were there after ten, I guess. And the money was gone.”

  “I know it was gone!” Riley boomed. “Don’t try to lie for him, Emmy. I know who took it! I know who the thief is!”

  “No, Riley—please!” I screamed as Riley came at Eddie again.

  He pulled back his huge fist and pounded it hard into Eddie’s belly. And as Eddie started to collapse, Riley smashed him hard under the jaw.

  Eddie uttered a weak groan, shut his eyes, and crumpled to the ground, folded in on himself.

  I stared in horror. “Eddie? Eddie?”

  He didn’t move.

  21.

  “I think you should go to the emergency room,” I said. I was down on my knees beside Eddie, who was sitting up, working his jaw with one hand.

  “It isn’t broken,” he said. “I’m okay, I think.”

  “The doctors should
check you out,” I said. “You know how they always talk about internal bleeding on TV shows.”

  “I’m okay. Just sore,” he said. I tried to help him stand up, but he waved me back. He climbed to his feet, still working his jaw. “See? No problem. Just drive me home. I’ll be fine.”

  Riley had vanished after knocking Eddie out. He ran back into the shadows at the side of the house and disappeared the way he had arrived. When Eddie opened his eyes and sat up, Danny went inside the house. He didn’t want his parents to become suspicious.

  “Are you sure you can walk?” I said, holding Eddie’s arm.

  He nodded. “Yeah. I can walk. Do you believe Riley? Was he out of his mind or what?”

  “I think all three of you were acting crazy, Eddie. You were ready to fight Danny.”

  “But I didn’t attack him like a madman,” Eddie said, rubbing his jaw. “Riley didn’t give me a chance.”

  “Did you and Riley fight before?” I asked. “Did you have issues with him?”

  “Not really. We weren’t good friends or anything. You know. We just found ourselves in each other’s classes and sometimes we hung out.” He let out a long breath. “But that big hulk is nuts. He is seriously psycho.”

  I held Eddie’s arm and led the way to the car. He was walking unsteadily. And I saw that his jaw was starting to swell.

  He groaned as he lowered himself into the passenger seat. He gazed up at me, holding his gut. “Is it possible to break a stomach?”

  “Probably just sore,” I said. “I can take you to the ER. Really.”

  He pulled the car door shut. I climbed behind the wheel, feeling shaky, my heart doing butterfly flips in my chest. I started to slide the key into the ignition, but he grabbed my wrist. “Let’s just sit and talk for a few minutes.”

  “Okay.” I settled back against the seat. I stared out at the purple night sky. No stars. The porch light went off on the front of Danny’s house. The light in the front window flashed off, too.

  “So … the briefcase was gone hours before you and I went to dig it up,” Eddie said. “It was already gone by the time Riley showed up there at seven.”

  I nodded. “I don’t think Danny took it. Did you see the shock on his face? That wasn’t acting.”

  “Then, who?” Eddie said. His voice sounded strained, I guess, because of his swollen jaw. “Was it one of our friends? Or was it someone else?”

  I turned to him. “You mean—?”

  “Was someone else watching us that night? The night we buried the money there? Could someone have seen us and come back later for the briefcase?”

  “I had a strange feeling that night,” I said. “That we were being watched. But it was just a feeling. I didn’t see anyone.”

  Eddie gazed out the window in silence for a long time, thinking hard. The houses on Danny’s block were all dark now. It was nearly midnight. I knew I’d have to sneak into the house. I hoped I could get into bed without waking Sophie.

  Eddie leaned forward suddenly, his eyes wide. “I just thought of something.” He grabbed my arm. “The security cameras.”

  I squinted at him. “The what?”

  “Mac installed those security cameras, remember? Because so many people were dumping dead dogs in the cemetery at night. Maybe one of the cameras—”

  “Will show us who stole the briefcase.” I finished his sentence for him. “Yes! Maybe one of the cameras was aimed in the right direction, and we can see who it was.”

  Eddie’s silvery eyes locked on mine. “I think we can check the recordings tomorrow after school. Mac said he was going to be away for a day or two.”

  “It’s a date,” I said. I started the car and headed for Eddie’s house.

  * * *

  Sophie sat up in bed the moment I stepped through our bedroom door. “Emmy? What’s up?” She rubbed her eyes. Her short black hair was matted to one side of her head. She brushed a hand through it.

  I sighed. I’d hoped she wouldn’t be awake. “Did I wake you up?”

  She shook her head. “I wasn’t really asleep. I was waiting for you.”

  I kicked off my sneakers and quickly changed into the silky blue nightshirt I’d left draped over my dresser that morning. Then I dropped onto the edge of my bed, suddenly feeling a heavy wave of weariness roll over my body. I yawned, my eyelids heavy.

  Sophie appeared wide awake now. “So where were you?”

  “With Eddie,” I said.

  “No. Really,” she insisted. “You never stay out past midnight on a school night. Where were you?”

  “Not your problem, Mom,” I said nastily.

  Her head pulled back. I could see she was hurt. “Emmy, I’m your sister. You can’t tell me anything? Am I like an enemy or something?”

  I could feel the weariness pressing me down. And then another feeling. A feeling like I had to tell someone what was going on. A sudden strong urge to confide in Sophie. Not just because it would make me feel better to share the story with someone. But because it might help change Sophie’s harsh attitude.

  Sure, I had a guilty conscience. I felt terrible about Sophie’s resentment of me and her feeling that I didn’t care about her and didn’t want her to be close to me. But somehow, I never did anything to make anything better.

  Now, feeling so exhausted and so frightened, so totally unsure of what I should do, I decided to tell Sophie everything. I crossed the room to her bed, dropped down beside her, and began to talk, my eyes on the floor, my voice just above a whisper.

  I started to tell the story, and it just poured out of me. I told her again about the overnight campout in the Fear Street Woods. Yes, for some reason, I wanted to start at the very beginning.

  Then I told her what I kept from her the first time. I told her about finding the briefcase in the hollow tree, about how it was filled with thousands of dollars.

  “Oh, wow. Oh, wow.” Sophie kept shaking her head. “You’re not making this up?”

  “It’s all true,” I said. “It sounds crazy. I know it doesn’t sound real, but—”

  “Emmy, what did you do with the money?” she demanded. “You didn’t take it—did you?”

  “Yes,” I replied in a whisper. “We all decided. It … it was so much money, Sophie. It would change our lives forever. We took it.”

  Her face filled with confusion. “But … what did you do with it?”

  I told her everything. How we buried it in the pet cemetery. How I was afraid the robber was coming after us because Eddie carved our names on the tree. How someone dug up the briefcase and the money was gone.

  “I- I’m so frightened,” I stammered. “It was so exciting at first, Sophie. So thrilling to think about how we could spend thousands of dollars. But now … it’s a total nightmare, a dangerous, frightening nightmare.”

  I took a deep breath. My heart was pounding. The words had just spilled out of me, and now I felt more exhausted than relieved. Looking up, I glimpsed tears in Sophie’s eyes.

  She leaned across the bed and wrapped me in a hug. “Emmy … you’re shivering,” she whispered, holding me tight.

  We stayed like that for a long moment, our cheeks pressed together. When we pulled apart, I felt a little embarrassed. Sophie and I weren’t the huggy type. We almost never touched each other.

  “Thank you for telling me about it,” she said softly, wiping her eyes. “Thank you for trusting me.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that. I just lowered my gaze and sighed.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” Sophie asked. “Anything at all?”

  I raised my eyes to her. “I don’t think so. But … I’m glad we can talk like this.”

  I crossed the room to my bed and climbed under the covers. A warm breeze fluttered the curtains at the open window. Sophie clicked off the light.

  So weary … so exhausted. But my mind was still spinning. Surprisingly, I fell asleep quickly. Fell into a deep sleep and found myself in another dream that seemed as real as my wak
ing life, the colors so vibrant, my vision so clear. I could smell the fresh air. Something sweet on the air.

  In the dream, I was running, running on all fours through the sweet-smelling pasture. Tall grass brushed my sides. I thudded heavily, pounding out a steady rhythm.

  I’m an animal, I told myself in the dream. I lowered my fur-covered head and trotted, the grass nearly up to my face, tickling me, brushing me with its prickly blades.

  Day became night, and I was running through darkness. Running under a full moon, quivering above me.

  The dream ended suddenly at the edge of the pasture.

  I woke up in the darkness of my room. Saw the fluttering window curtain. And raised my head to howl.

  Sitting up in bed, I howled like a wolf. Howled at the window, my wails shrill as a siren, howled and couldn’t stop.

  And then Sophie was beside me. She wrapped her arms around my body as I howled. “It’s okay,” she said calmly, quietly. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” She repeated the words until I lowered my head and became silent.

  “It’s okay, Emmy,” Sophie said. “I won’t tell Mom and Dad. I promise. I won’t tell them what’s happening to you.”

  22.

  “I promise. I won’t tell them what’s happening to you.”

  I thought about Sophie’s words all day in school. I couldn’t think about much else.

  What IS happening to me?

  The answers were too frightening. Too weird. Was I going totally insane?

  I was desperate for a distraction. I tried to shut everything from my mind as I drove to my after-school job.

  Three days a week, I have an after-school job as a nanny. I take care of this sweet little boy named Martin in a house four doors down from Shadyside High. Martin is only fourteen months, and he’s just learned to walk and to run. This means he falls down about a hundred times an hour.

  It’s fun to take care of him. He babbles nonsense words all the time I’m there. But the hard part of my job is keeping right beside him and making sure when he falls a hundred times that he doesn’t hit his head or get a bruise that might cost me my job.