Read Super for Free Online Page A

going to get to that. I was hoping to keep your detective brain distracted enough with Plunkett family conspiracies.…”
    “I’m not using my detective brain on this one. We’re friends, that’s all.”
    “You and Rohan are like two old ladies,” he said.
    “I’ve been asking him the same question,” said Rohan. “It looked to me like Eric didn’t just lose his grip on that car. Looked like he depowered or something.”
    “I’m fine!” said Eric. “That car was heavy, and I guess I must’ve blacked out for a sec. I just overdid it splashing you two with those cannonballs. No big deal.”
    “We’ve all seen you handle worse than that car,” said Daniel.
    “Yeah, well, I’d like to see you two try to lift it!”
    Daniel had never seen Eric this defensive before, which in itself was in some ways the most alarming thing of all. Or perhaps Eric was just tired of the questions, and maybe Daniel was looking for problems where there weren’t any. The easiest explanation would be that Eric had just been overly tired. Why couldn’t Daniel simply accept that and move on?
    Because as Daniel had learned, in Noble’s Green the easiest explanation was almost never the right one.
    He let the issue die for now, and the three friends walked a while farther without saying much of anything. Soon they came to the lonely intersection that marked Daniel’s street, Elm Lane. Rohan’s family lived on the corner, so he waved goodbye and headed indoors for the evening. Eric’s own neighborhood of Briarwood was several miles away, but that wouldn’t mean much to Eric. He could be home in minutes. But it was still a little surprising when Eric made the turn with Daniel onto Elm.
    “You’re not headed home?” asked Daniel.
    “Huh? Oh, in a while. I just thought you might want company.”
    Considering that for the last ten minutes his “company” had been silent and grumpy, Daniel guessed there was something else going on here.
    “Eric, is there a reason you’re not going home right away?”
    Eric stopped walking, shoved his hands into his pockets, and stared at the sky.
    “Bob’s back,” he said.
    “Bob? Oh, your mom’s boyfriend?”
    “Yeah. Only now he brought all his stuff. Mom says he’s making a commitment, but I think he finally got kicked out of his apartment. Staying with us is rent-free.”
    “Oh, I see.”
    Daniel had learned months ago that Eric’s home life was anything but perfect. His mom worked double shifts at the diner to pay the mortgage on their tiny Briarwood house, and when she wasn’t around, her on-again, off-again boyfriend treated Eric like dirt. The guy was rude at the best of times, but when he drank, he became downright scary.
    Which in turn scared Daniel. Bob had no idea what Eric really was, or what he was capable of. Daniel worried about the day that Bob pushed Eric too far.
    “I thought your mom had dumped him last time for good,” Daniel said.
    “It’s never for good. My dad was lousy too, but she kepton taking him back until he finally disappeared. In the end he found a family he liked better, I guess, which was fine with me. My mom and I don’t need anyone else. We definitely don’t need Bob.
    “Anyway, Mom’s back to pulling long hours, and Bob popped open his first beer of the day around noon. It’ll be at least seven or eight before he’s safely passed out on the sofa.”
    “Well, you could eat dinner at our house. My dad’s cooking tonight, so I can’t promise it’ll be good. I can pretty much guarantee the opposite, actually. But I can promise there’ll be no Bobs at the dinner table.”
    Eric smiled. “Thanks. That sounds awesome. Even the dad-cooked meal.”
    The two of them started up Elm, past the flickering early-evening streetlights. But they hadn’t gotten very far before Eric put out a hand, stopping Daniel in his tracks.
    “Smell that?” Eric asked, wrinkling his nose.
    “Hmm? What?”
    “Something awful.”
    Daniel looked around, sniffing.