Ice Shock by M. G. Harris Page A

That’s what I can’t figure out. Did Madison get to her somehow? Bribe or threaten her? Maybe he threatened me and she thought she was doing me a favor, getting rid of the last thing that put me in danger?
    I’m about to call Tyler to talk it over with him.
    But on the long walk home, my hands and face freezing in the cold December wind, I get to thinking. Tyler is the only other person who knew I was going to Saffron Walden. What if Madison’s appearance there was no coincidence?
    I remember now that Tyler was texting someone on his cell phone while we sat on the bus. He said it was a girl, wouldn’t show me the texts. But
that
was weird. He’s always showing off about the girls who like him. Why not then?
    Was Tyler giving Madison a tip-off that we knew there might be a clue to the Ix Codex in Saffron Walden?
    Once I get started, it starts to look like it could be Tyler just as much as it could be Ollie. Now I think back, I remember I was with Tyler the night that Madison robbed my house.
    Tyler came to me. He practically begged me to go to capoeira with him that evening
.
    It makes sense. Tyler hadn’t been that much of a friend before that day. He was just another guy from capoeira. After that, somehow, he’d become involved with helping me solve the whole codex mystery. I haven’t given it much thought before.
    Why did he? Was Tyler working with Simon Madison?
    Had Tyler betrayed me from the beginning, helped Simon Madison to get into my house and read files and e-mails from my computer, which led him to my half sister in Mexico, which led to her death?
    I reach my house, dazed. Mom takes one look at me.
    â€œGoodness, Josh, what’s wrong? You’re as white as a sheet!”
    I collapse onto the living room sofa. I must look bad, because Mom follows me.
    â€œSeriously, Josh. You’re worrying me. Are you ill?”
    I look at her slowly. “I’m feeling a little sick, yeah …”
    She touches my forehead with the back of her hand. “You don’t feel feverish … but you’re shaking.”
    â€œHuh … so I am …”
    Mom wraps her arms around my shoulders and gives me a long hug. “My poor baby. Get to bed and I’ll bring you a cup of tea.”
    My voice muffled against Mom’s hair, I mutter, “I’m not a baby.” But I don’t stop her hugging me. Truth is I hardly notice, I’m so wrapped up in my thoughts. The implications are staggering.
    I mean … everything that Tyler knows. It explains why he’s so skeptical about my UFO-abduction cover story, why I’ve never felt able to fully trust him. The one thing I can’t figure out is
how
.
    I’ve known Tyler by sight for years. Did Madison recruit him? Is there some sort of organization?
    Then something truly horrible occurs to me.
    What if Tyler and Ollie are working together?
    I feel physically sick.
    What if he was texting Ollie? What if she’s the link with Madison, not Tyler? Now that I really think hard about it, bothTyler and Ollie came into my life around the time of the burglary. Okay, I’d known Ollie as “TopShopPrincess” from my blog, but only for a few weeks. What if Tyler overheard me talking about my blog with someone at capoeira, and then contacted Ollie to tell her to start commenting on it? Did I ever talk about my blog, though? I start to panic, struggling to remember.
    Dad had been interested in the Ix Codex for months before he went missing. The NRO knew about it, so whatever outfit Madison works for—if there is anyone else—they might have known about it too. Ollie and Tyler could
both
have known about the Ix Codex long before I did.
    What if they’ve both been watching me from the start?
    I try to think through everything they could know, everything that could put me in danger. My mind is racing, my heartbeat too.
    I need to calm down. Be logical
.
    Abruptly, I pull away from my