The Mysteries of Megan Glen

The Ring Maker: 3

As soon as the folders were delivered to my house the next day, I grabbed them and hurried upstairs, hoping there was more behind this mystery than the others I’d worked on lately. I quickly knocked on Danny’s door before going into my own room. I hadn’t seen him today since I’d been experimenting with some chemicals and lost track of time, but I figured he was in his room.

I wasted no time in opening the first folder, the one titled ‘Charlie McDaniel’, and spreading the contents onto the desk in front of me. I sat the other next to my computer and drummed my fingers along the tabletop, waiting for Danny. Five minutes passed before I sprung up and went back to his door.

I knocked more rapidly this time, wondering if he was still asleep. However, instead of Danny coming out of his room, Lacey came out of hers. The smell of smoke followed, making me cringe inwardly. “He went out with some friends and asked me to tell you.” I tried to hide my shock behind a small nod.

“You should really stop that, you know, it’s killing you,” I replied, starting for my room again.

Lacey shrugged. “We all die sometime. I mean, neither of my parents smoked and look where that got them.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “But you’ll probably die sooner if you smoke, or you’ll get cancer or something- you should be happy you’re alive.”

She brushed her blonde hair out of her face so she could glare at me. “Why don’t you stay out of my business?”

“I-” She was slamming her door before I could say anything else. I went back into my room, closing the door behind me this time. I sat at my desk and started reading over the folder on my own.

When a knock came at my door, I had just finished reading through the folder on Charlie McDaniel and about to move onto the folder with the threats inside. I put both down and opened my door, already knowing who would be standing there.

Danny smiled at me as I looked over him. He was wearing a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt with a pair of sneakers. His shoes were covered in mud and his shirt had a small ketchup stain near the collar that someone had attempted to rub off with a napkin. His hair had been combed, but was now on the wilder side. His hands were coated in a light brown dust.

“Okay, I know that look- stop it,” Danny complained, making me raise my eyebrows in surprise. I shook myself and returned to my chair.

As I sat, I asked, “What are you talking about?”

“You were analyzing me,” he stated, slumping into the other chair. “You know, trying to figure everything out; it makes me feel like you’re reading all my secrets.”

I shrugged and turned back to the files. “I wasn’t trying to figure everything out, I was just curious.”

“Okay, so tell me exactly what I’ve been doing,” he challenged smugly. He knew I wouldn’t miss a chance to prove what I had figured out, even if it meant admitting I’d been analyzing him.

I spun my chair in one fast circle and then started, “Your friends picked you up and drove you over to get lunch at McDonalds. After you ate, you all walked over to a playground where you hung out for a while and played some basketball. Then they drove you back here. But that was easy to deduce.”

Danny raised his eyebrows at me, his hazel eyes sparking with amusement. “That is not easy to deduce- how did you know?”

“Your shoes are muddy therefor you were outside and you’re sweating so you worked out a bit; you don’t seem to play any sports but basketball so that was easy. You have a ketchup stain on your shirt, but mud on your shoes and all the nearby parks have rocks, not dirt. My mom took the car so a friend of yours had to have picked you up. See? Easy.”