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Chapters (79)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-One
  25. Twenty-Two
  26. Twenty-Three
  27. Twenty-Four
  28. Twenty-Five
  29. Twenty-Six
  30. Twenty-Seven
  31. Twenty-Eight
  32. Twenty-Nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty-One
  35. Thirty-Two
  36. Thirty-Three
  37. Thirty-Four
  38. Thirty-Five
  39. Thirty-Six
  40. Thirty-Seven
  41. Thirty-Eight
  42. Thirty-Nine
  43. Forty
  44. Forty-One
  45. Forty-Two
  46. Forty-Three
  47. Forty-Four
  48. Forty-Five
  49. Forty-Six
  50. Forty-Seven
  51. Forty-Eight
  52. Forty-Nine
  53. Fifty
  54. Fifty-One
  55. Fifty-Two
  56. Fifty-Three
  57. Fifty-Four
  58. Fifty-Five
  59. Fifty-Six
  60. Fifty-Seven
  61. Fifty-Eight
  62. Fifty-Nine
  63. Sixty
  64. Sixty-One
  65. Sixty-Two
  66. Sixty-Three
  67. Sixty-Four
  68. Sixty-Five
  69. Sixty-Six
  70. Sixty-Seven
  71. Sixty-Eight
  72. Sixty-Nine
  73. Seventy
  74. Acknowledgments
  75. About the Author
  76. Praise for Destroy All Monsters
  77. Books by Sam J. Miller
  78. Back Ad
  79. About the Publisher

Mr. Barrett opened his mouth, but in the split second of hesitation that followed I saw exactly how to proceed.

“I took him to your house right after,” I said. “Why weren’t you there?”

“I was here,” he said, and something was gone from his voice, a small degree of his normal cool and control.

“Why?” I asked.

“I was waiting for you. The way you two ran off—”

I laughed, but just a little. “Yeah, I mean, I get that. Solomon was pretty spooked. The county jail will do that to you.”

“It’s been hours, Ash,” Mom said. “Where have you been all this time?”

“Me and Solomon went for fries, and a long drive, then went back to Mr. Barrett’s. Like I said, he wasn’t there. If only someone had been home . . .”

Both my parents looked at Mr. Barrett. Waited for an explanation. Even a stupid one. While he fumbled for it, I proceeded to line up the last few straws that would be needed to break the camel’s back.

“He was worried,” I said. “Thought you’d be mad at him. Asked me to leave him there. Sitting on your front stoop in the rain.”

My mom made a small awww noise. Mr. Barrett doesn’t have a porch. No shelter from the storm.

“You should find him there. That is, if he stayed,” I said. “He might have run off. Gone anywhere, really. You know how Solomon is.”

No one spoke, not right away.

Boom. My work here was done. Mr. Barrett was the irresponsible one here. The one who they believed had acted irrationally.

“Damn,” he said, and chuckled. “You’re right. I guess I wasn’t thinking straight. Figured this would be the first place the two of you would go, so I came over, and then me and your mom and dad got to talking, and before you know it, here we are.” He smiled, and my parents smiled back. An explanation; even a stupid one. “Better get home, then.”

Goodbyes were said, embraces and handshakes exchanged. When Mr. Barrett looked at me, I could see the frustration in his face. He had underestimated me. He didn’t know my intention, but he did know that this conversation had not gone the way he’d fully expected it to.

And even though I knew it was stupid, dangerous, ran the risk of exposing how much I knew, I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “He seemed pretty shaken up to see you. Scared, almost. What’s that about?”

“Who knows,” Mr. Barrett said, rubbing his chin. Looking dead at me. Eyes ablaze. “You know how Solomon is.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I do.”