The Alias Men by F. T. Bradley Page A

aren’t you a little young to have a car?”
    â€œWhat did you think—that I’d take the bus?” She laughed. “I have a driver, silly.”
    Of course she did. This was Hollywood.
    â€œWe’ll head out after lunch, at noon. I’ll see you then.” Savannah smiled, and she was off.
    â€œSavannah’s nice, huh?”
    I turned, only to look at my mirror image in a lame I Love LA shirt. “What are you still doing here, Ben? Didn’t Floyd kick you off the set?”
    â€œFor now.” Ben crossed his arms. “You are forgetting the objective here, Baker.”
    â€œIdentify Ethan Melais and retrieve the Dangerous Double—I remember just fine.” I was about to tell him about the incident with the runaway car but then changed my mind. I didn’t want to give him the advantage. Because there was a clue, one that might reveal Ethan Melais’s identity. And I wasn’t about to share it with Ben.
    â€œWell, you’re getting some help on the mission,” Ben said. “Your little friend Henry is here with his gadgets.”
    â€œHenry is here?” I suddenly felt a whole lot better. Henry is this brilliant kid who invents these super-handy gadgets for Pandora so I can ward off the bad dudes. Henry is a genius, and also a really great friend.
    â€œHe’s inside that crepe stand.” Ben pointed past the trailers, where a camper converted into a food truck was parked. Crepes-to-Go, it said on the side. The serving window was closed, which was a bummer, because I was pretty hungry. Around us, everyone was packing up to move to the next location. “I’ll leave you to it,” Ben said with a nod. He started walking off, and I actually felt a little bad for him.
    â€œYou can come,” I said, regretting it as I spoke. I mean, I hated the guy.
    Ben stopped and turned. He shook his head. “I don’t have time for extracurricular activities. I have a lead to follow up on.” What a windbag.
    â€œYou have a lead?” I asked.
    Ben just gave me a half smile. “Good luck with your gadgets.” He turned and walked away.
    Whatever, I thought as I walked over to the food truck. I had a lead of my own. Because the red runaway car that Melais sent to kill me had a clue: that clothes hanger. Ethan Melais could be the costume designer, Kurt.
    Of course there was Larry—he was a good suspect too. Smelling minty, just like that dude who broke into one of Floyd’s bedrooms.
    But the clothes hanger was the strongest clue right now. So Kurt was suspect number one, with Larry as a backup. Now all I needed was proof—the Dangerous Double. And Henry’s inventions would help me find it, and catch the bad guy, no doubt.
    I was so caught up in my thoughts that it wasn’t until I reached the Crepes-to-Go truck that I spotted someone out of the corner of my eye. A person, behind me, trailing me—I could feel it in my gut now, too. Like at school, when someone is trying to cheat off your paper or something.
    I was being followed. I turned around, fast .
    And stared right at my stalker.

16
    FRIDAY, 11:45 A.M.
    OKAY, SO MAYBE THIS PERSON WASN’T a stalker, exactly . It was just Kate.
    â€œI’m sorry—I didn’t mean to scare you.” She laughed and handed me my backpack. “You left this in my trailer.”
    I took my backpack and realized my hands were shaking a little. Clipped to my bag, Dad’s compass bounced around, sending the dial spinning. “Jeez, you’re like a ninja.”
    â€œI try,” Kate joked. Then her face got serious. “Are you okay? I heard about the runaway car on the set.”
    I nodded, and put on my backpack. “I’m fine. Probably just an accident,” I lied.
    â€œAre you sure about that?”
    â€œSure, yeah.”
    Kate nodded, but she looked worried. “Nigel brushed it off so easily, but you could’ve gotten killed,