The Sleuth Will Set You Free - A Gallagher Girls Story

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"I never did like him," said a sweet, southern accent. "Never trust a man who doesn't share his ice-cream—that's what I always say."

"You've never said that once in your life," replied the skeptical voice of my CoveOps teacher.

"Well I've always thought it."

"Sure you have."

If Bill's room had been a desert when he'd woken up, then Eleanora Sutton's room was the Gardens of Versailles. Life flowed from every last person in that room—Aunt Liz, Alice, Dad—but no one had so obviously blossomed like Charlotte Woods. She was in full bloom, looking at Ellie like she was the sun and it had been a very long winter indeed. Woods needed her. Woods couldn't grow without her.

And, well, she was right. With her golden locks and bright smile, Ellie was the sun. There was no doubt about it. Except I'd never seen her so bright before—never seen her light up the way she did when I walked into the room, as if I was the highlight of her day. "Speak of the devil," she said, and suddenly I knew why my ears had been burning. "Miss Morgan Goode. You know, they all told me to watch out for you. Said you were gonna do big things one day. Guess I should have listened."

Everyone in the room turned to gage my reaction. Everyone, that is, except Woods. She didn't look away from Ellie.

My father was watching close, but it was different than usual. For once, I didn't feel like I was locked inside a glass case. Not this time. This time I was a storm, rolling over the horizon and ready to strike at any moment. I knew that look. It was how he had always looked at Mom. "Yes," he said. "She was very brave."

Alright, listen. Daughters are allowed to cry when dads say mushy stuff. It's in the rules. So I'm not saying that I started to cry or anything, because, I mean, it's not like I've waited my entire life to hear him say something like that. It's not like I've literally dreamt about him or Grandma or Grandpa Joe or Mom or anyone seeing me as a legitimate spy or anything. There was no reason for me to cry, so I totally didn't, but I'm just saying that if the tears did sneak up on me then, by my rights as a daughter, it would have been completely allowed.

"Yes, so I've heard," said Ellie, tearing my father's attention away. "From you. Four times—honestly Zach, I've been awake for two days and I've heard the story four times." She looked to Woods, as if expecting her best friend to get in on the joke, but something in her dimmed. It was the first time I'd ever seen her slow down—really take in what was around her.

She snapped herself out of it, returning to her usual sunshine self. "I'm just glad someone was around to beat the boys away from this one," she said, not looking away from Woods. The two of them shared a stubborn smile. "Always did have a thing for the bad boys."

Woods should have been pissed. She should have been sad. And yet, that smile was still strung across her face and I realized—really realized—that sadness is a lot less sad when you don't have to go it alone.

"Aaaand... the poison has officially left your system," said Aunt Liz, who was sitting off to the side, examining lab results on her favorite laptop. She sounded relieved, a months-long panic finally dying down.

"So I'm free to go, then?" Ellie asked, shooting me a knowing wink.

"Go ahead," said Woods. "Just try to walk out. I dare you."

Ellie scanned the room, like maybe she might take Woods up on that offer, but she must have decided that she didn't like her chances, because she stayed put. "How you feeling, Ellie?" Dad asked her.

She managed a weak laugh. "Better than I felt 48 hours ago—but my left ear's still ringing."

With this, Alice finally perked up. "Still?"