Off on another case. Remember to lock the doors and if any real trouble arises, you know where the gun is. Order out if we come home late-the money is hidden in the jam jar. Have a nice day at school, 'kay Max?
Love,
Mom.
(P.S. Don't think about ditching again)
I sighed as I stared at yet another sticky note Mom had posted on the oven door in the kitchen. Then I turned around, opened the refrigerator, which was mostly filled with boxes of leftovers from the delivered Chinese food I've been ordering lately, and searched through it for a carton of milk.
Yep. That's how the awesome sixteen- year-old Max Martinez's (AKA me) everyday life starts: wake up, find out from a note taped onto some kitchen appliance that my Mom, otherwise known as Detective Valencia Martinez has ran off to another crime scene, and get on with the rest of my day.
Once finding the milk, I filled a bowl with cereal and poured it in. As I was munching on my oh- so elegant breakfast, the front door opened and in came Iggy.
There's not a whole lot to say about Iggy. He's kind of perverted, he loves bombs, he's my age, and he's my neighbor. And that's about it. We're pretty close; kind of like brother and sister, now that I think about it.
"'Sup Max," Iggy said as he pocketed the piece of wire he used to unlock the door into the house.
"Hey Iggy," I said through a mouthful of cereal, while flipping through old stacks of newspaper to find the comics.
"Mom out fighting crime again?" Iggy asked as he saw the bright pink note stuck to the oven.
"Yep. She-"
"Iggy! Iggy!" a voice shouted from outside, interrupting me. The voice was then followed by the doorbell of my house ringing repeatedly.
"Gazzy?" Iggy called as he went to get the door. Gazzy was Iggy's ten- year old brother, who I swear is like Iggy's version of Mini- Me. It was kind of cute the way he idolized Iggy… Moments later, the two of them made their way into the kitchen with Gazzy holding an armful of metal and wires.
"Okay, so was the yellow wire supposed to go here or through that tube?" Gazzy asked, holding up said wire.
"No, no, no." Iggy said, "See, you mixed some wires up. The red wire should be connected to here and…" Iggy trailed off as he became concentrated on fixing what I figured out was another bomb he and Gazzy were making.
"Hey guys, no bomb- making in the house, remember? Last time you almost blew this place up…" I reminded them.
"Aw, Max…" Gazzy whined.
"Relax, Max. This one isn't as dangerous- it has a timer, see? It won't go off until you set the time." Iggy said, holding up the now- completed weapon.
"Is that my Mickey Mouse clock I see taped to it? I've been looking for that for weeks!" I shrieked as I saw the beloved item stuck right in the heart of the bomb.
"Oh, is it?" Iggy asked with a mask of fake surprised.
"Iggy!"
"Fine, if you love the clock so much, then take the bomb. You know, for safety purposes…" Iggy said resignedly.
"Don't worry, I started another one at home," Iggy said, winking at Gazzy.
"Man, you guys and your bombs," I muttered, rolling my eyes good-naturedly as I placed the safety bomb under the kitchen sink.
"But that's why you love us," Gazzy sang as he went on his way back to his and Iggy's house next door in search of the other bomb Iggy had mentioned to him.
"Come on, we should be getting to school now," Iggy said as he shouldered his bag.
"Woo! Another day at Itex High," I muttered sarcastically as I began gathering my books, "Please, I'd rather get run over by a pack of demonic unicorns."
"Tell me about it," Iggy sighed as we went on our way.
Later that night was spent in my room with me trying to focus on some novel that my friend JJ made me promise that I would read, but so far, just attempting to get through the first chapter was agonizing. I mean, seriously, a supernatural love novel? Not that I have anything against them, but to me, they're pretty much the same nowadays: the main character is some sobbing weenie and in the end, somebody who's beyond sexy has to go and rescue said main character. The end.
Just as I was thinking about searching up a detailed summary of the entire book so I wouldn't have to read the entire thing, I saw a dark cruiser roar up in front of the house.
Looks like Mom's home early.
I guess it's about time for me to tell you all about the history of the Martinez family. My dad skipped out on Mom and I when I was little, so now it's just the two of us. Except now I'm not so sure it's really the two of us anymore. Ever since my "dad" charged off, Mom was left quite heartbroken. Now she copes with that grief by putting all she has into her work as a detective. Don't get me wrong, though. She still is an awesome person and makes the best chocolate chip cookies, might I add.
Anyways, back to the present.
As I was climbing down the stairs to greet Mom, the front door opened to reveal Mom and Jeb Batchelder, a detective as well as my mom's associate, helping a guy about my age into the house.
I stopped my descent on the stairs, watching intensely. Who was this guy?
He was fairly tall, with a mess of ebony hair that sort of fell over his eyes, which were a deep midnight color, as far as I can tell. His olive- toned skin looked pale, as though he just came out from a hospital or something (which would explain the gauze around his arm) and though his face was rather expressionless, there was something about him that made him seem haunted and a little paranoid somehow.
"All right, take it easy Fang. You're still a little banged- up," Jeb said to the guy (AKA "Fang") as he led Fang to the living room.
"Max! Good, you're still up! How was school today?" Mom smiled tiredly at me as I finally made my way down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Fine," I said. Then, in a lower voice, I whispered, "Who's that?" I tilted my head towards the living room where Jeb was sitting with this Fang person.
In an equally low voice Mom said, "That's Nick. Nick Ride, though according to most of the people we've canvassed, he goes by Fang. Remember stick note number eighty- seven?"
I nodded, glancing at the bright pink note still stuck to the oven door that told me that Mom was "off on another case".
"Well, Fang is related to the murder case I was assigned to today. His parents were shot by a gun multiple times and were both stuffed into the fireplace inside their home. And Fang…he was almost dead too when we got to the scene. We found him trapped in the basement and he had gashes running all over him, and it was just awful, Max," Mom said, shaking her head as she recalled what she had seen.
"I bet it was," I murmured, thinking about how haunted I thought Fang seemed earlier.
"Um… so do you have any leads yet?" I asked.
"None so far. Fingerprints are still being ran through the system and we haven't interviewed anyone who might give us a hint at who the bastard is…" Mom sighed, running her fingers through her dark hair.
"So, Mom, why is Fang here?"
"Good question. You see, Fang doesn't have anywhere to go. All his relatives live in far off countries, and weren't too willing to take Fang in either. It seems that Fang's parents were pretty much the outcasts of the entire Ride family. Nobody really wanted to have anything to do with them, as we found out when we called one of his uncles. And besides, I think that since Fang was part of the crime scene, he may be the key to cracking this case wide open. So I proposed that Fang stay here for the time- being, which brings us to now," Mom finished.
Okay, then.
New person in the house?
I guess I could deal with that.
A/N: I'm not too sure about this one… Any thoughts, anybody?
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