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make sense, Jeremy. According to you, they shouldn’t even know you were helping Twitchett. Sorry, but there’s got to be a logical explanation. Let’s find out what it is.”
    I trotted after her (keeping my head ducked down) as she walked casually back toward the school. “But…”
    Agatha shot a scornful look back at me. “Relax, they’re not going to hurt a couple of kids. And I’m not going to be an idiot about it. Like some people.”
    Yeah, put-downs were really what I needed. That’s the thanks I get for trying to be a good guy. We got to the back entrance of the school, but the whole way I was sure that any second now, guys in suits were going to jump me from behind.
    Tori Bartholomew was jogging out of the door as we came up. Agatha shot a hand out and grabbed her by the arm as she hurried past, jerking her back like a rag doll.
    “Hey, Tori, what’s up?” Agatha flipped her hair over her shoulder, all casual, like she hadn’t just jerked Tori’s arm half out of the socket.
    Tori scowled at her, rubbed her arm, and pulled her tights up. Very attractive move, the hitching up of the tights. Just a shade more attractive than the wiping of the nose.
    “Oh, they were making an announcement for you. Your uncle’s here to pick you up? You need to go to theoffice.” Tori finished fiddling with her tights and swung her backpack over her shoulder.
    “My uncle?” Agatha raised an eyebrow and shot me a significant look.
    “Yeah, that’s what they said, so look, I gotta go,” Tori said in one breath. “Oh, your uncle too, Jeremy. What, are you related?” She gave her tights one last tug and hurried off around the building without waiting for an answer.
    Agatha folded her arms and looked thoughtful.
    “Let me guess. No uncle?”
    Agatha shook her head. “Not that I know of. You?”
    Nothing like a little validation to make your day. “Nope. And what does that tell you?” I bragged.
    “That I need more information.” Agatha glared at me and stalked into the building, maybe a little bit more slowly than before.
    I have to say, I did notice that people were staring at us as we walked through the hall, but I thought it was because I was with Agatha. (Or because they thought we were related, which really, I don’t even want to thinkabout.) I didn’t realize that it was because I’d been pegged as a criminal fugitive from justice. I didn’t figure that out for a whole two minutes more, when I saw the Mr. Suit types searching my locker. They were at Agatha’s, too.
    I half-expected Agatha to explode and go beat them up for daring to touch her Einstein pinups, but she didn’t; she just hung back and gaped. I think she finally realized maybe I wasn’t as brain-dead as she thought.
    To be fair, I was doing my own fair share of gaping when Nick Hurley punched me on the shoulder. “Way to go, man. What’d you do?”
    I shrugged. “Nothing much.” I jerked my head at the Suits. “What’ve you heard?” I have to admit, as bad as things were, I was pretty psyched. This jackalope thing could be just what I needed to ramp up my rep.
    “That they’re the Feds and that you guys are arms dealers. Also, that you’re on the run for embezzling money from the Mob. Or that your uncles are staging an intervention and searching your lockers for drugs.” Nick grinned. “Nobody has a clue, so you’re in the clear. But nobody believes those guys are your uncles.”
    I nodded. That uncle story was pretty lame. Especially since they were using the same story for me and Agatha. I had to hand it to them, though—it was a sneaky way to get access to our lockers. Principal Turner’s so freaked out about alienating parents and family members that she would’ve opened our lockers for the family dog.
    “I’d clear out if I were you, though,” Nick said, keeping an eye on the locker situation. “They’ll be done there soon, and they’ll find you. But me? I never saw you.” He punched me again and headed off