Dead Is a State of Mind Read Online Free Page A

obvious fact that he was already dead.
    "It's nothing."
    "It doesn't look like nothing."
    Poppy shot me a warning look and then looked at Duke. "Are you going to introduce me to your friend, Daisy?"
    "Oh, yeah, this is Duke Sherrad," I said, still distracted by the thought of a violent ghost.
    "So pleased to meet you, Poppy," Duke said, and kissed her unbandaged hand. She blushed. This guy didn't quit. After charming my sister for a few minutes, he said, "Please excuse me. I need to obtain fresh tea leaves for the reading."
    " The reading?" Poppy said it with a straight face, but she had a gleam in her eyes when she looked at me.
    I glanced at an imaginary spot above her head. It wasn't polite to laugh in someone's face. "Flo will get you a tea bag if you ask."
    "I have my own loose tea," he explained, "but I need a fresh cup and some hot water."
    He'd passed the first test. If he would have used a tea bag instead of the proper loose tea, it would have given him away as a phony.
    As soon as Duke left the table, I went back to hounding Poppy about her injury. "So what did that ghost do to you?" I demanded.
    "He was just a little ... irritated, what with being dead and all, but we came to an understanding."
    "Did he happen to mention what's got him in an uproar?"
    "Nope, but I read him the riot act. He helped me clean up."
    "He what?"
    Poppy looked at me with amusement. "Just because he's incorporeal doesn't mean he shouldn't have to take responsibility for being a jerk."
    She looked especially pretty with some color in her cheeks. She was wearing a hoodie that exactly matched her eyes. Ghost or plain old guy, he was no match for Poppy's big blue eyes. She glanced over to where Duke was leaning on the counter. "So what's up with this new guy?" she asked. "He's hot. And he seems rather anxious to please you."
    "Unlike my boyfriend." I muttered it underneath my breath, but Poppy heard me.
    She raised an eyebrow. "Trouble in paradise?"
    "It's nothing," I said.
    She raised her eyebrows. "It doesn't sound like nothing to me," she said.
    I gave in. "It's just that ... Ryan hasn't asked me to prom yet. And I think something else might be wrong—"
    Just then, Duke came back with a steaming teapot and cups. "First the tea must steep," he announced. "You must drink it first. It is the finest tea from China."
    "Me?" I said. "No way. I'm not doing it."
    Poppy mouthed, "Chicken."
    I glared at her and then snatched up the teacup. "I'll do it." I blew on the tea gently to cool it and then sipped it slowly.
    "Now take the cup and swish it like this." Duke demonstrated by cupping my hand in his. His hand lingered as he did it, and Poppy stared at us as if mesmerized.
    I handed him the cup, and he peered into it.
    "I see a chain," he said. "It's broken, I'm afraid."
    "So?"
    "It means that you have a hidden enemy," Duke said.
    I glanced across the restaurant at Penny, who glared daggers at us. Maybe my enemy wasn't exactly hidden, after all. I relaxed my shoulders. Big deal, Penny Edwards didn't like me. It wasn't going to make headlines, not even in the front pages of the Nightshade Gazette.
    Poppy was chattering away to Duke. It wasn't hard to figure out that Duke was a flirt, but I was a little miffed that he'd transferred his interest from me to my sister so easily. He was a good listener, though. He didn't talk much about himself, but instead spent the whole time asking Poppy about herself.
    The bell jingled over the front door again, and I looked up, hoping to see Ryan. But it was only a couple of the teachers from school.
    A minute later, Duke said, "Please excuse me. It has been a pleasure to become more well acquainted with the two of you, but I have seen someone I must speak with."
    After he left our table, I used the opportunity to try to convince a reluctant Poppy to head for home. I wanted to look something up. Did a broken chain even symbolize a hidden enemy, or was Duke bluffing?
    She glanced around Slim's, and I knew she was