McKenzie

by Shari Barr

  “I’ll bring my laptop downstairs. Then we can eat while I hook the camera up.” Kate leaned over and pulled the wires from around Biscuit’s collar.

  Minutes later, McKenzie took a bite of her cinnamon roll while Kate hooked the camera into the computer. With her elbows on the kitchen table, she leaned over to get a better look at the screen. “Hey, we’ve got something,” she cried as the picture came into view.

  Kate gasped as she adjusted her glasses. “Isn’t that Blake?” she asked, pointing to a figure moving across the corner of the screen.

  “It’s awfully dark in the library, but I think it’s him,” McKenzie said, scooting her chair closer. “But who’s the other guy?”

  Kate squinted as the man turned and looked at the camera. “It’s that guy we saw the other night by the corn maze, isn’t it?”

  McKenzie watched and listened to the two intruders, angered now that they had noticed the dog in the library. Their voices grew louder and their faces came into focus as they unknowingly peered into the camera. They threw up their arms as they chased the dog around the room. For a few seconds, the picture grew fuzzy as Biscuit bounded around the library.

  The shouting voices continued as Biscuit raced away from the two intruders. He jumped out the window, the same way he came in. The picture on the screen bounced wildly up and down.

  “Well, at least we know who’s been in the library,” Kate said excitedly, leaning down to pat Biscuit’s head. “Good boy.”

  McKenzie carried her plate and juice cup to the dishwasher. “It’s early yet. Let’s see if we can get into the library before camp. Maybe some old diary is still out. The intruders left in a hurry. I’ll call Uncle Luke later and tell him what we found out.”

  Kate quickly filled Biscuit’s water and food bowls. A minute later, the girls headed down the lane toward the back entrance to the Farms.

  Several employees were already busy at the Farms doing chores. Charity waved at them from the open door of the loft. She pitched hay to the ground, and Trevor carried it to the cattle in the lot.

  The girls waved back and hurried past the barn toward the streets of Cedar Grove. The town was still quiet since the attraction wouldn’t open for another two hours. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves in the treetops and banged the shutters on the store windows.

  As they approached the general store, McKenzie noticed the door propped open. Glancing inside, she noticed the manager, Mr. Ogden, inside sweeping the floor. He looked up when they passed by.

  “Morning, girls,” he called. “You’re up early. I just made a new batch of homemade ice cream. How about a purple cow?”

  “For breakfast?” McKenzie asked.

  “Sure, why not?” Mr. Ogden asked with a grin, wiping his hands on his long work apron.

  “That sounds great,” McKenzie said. “We’ll be back in a little while. We have something to do first.”

  McKenzie continued down the boardwalk, tugging Kate with her. “What in the world is a purple cow?” Kate asked.

  “Oh, you’ll love it. It’s vanilla ice cream with grape juice—just like in the olden days. They’re yummy.”

  “I hope it’s better than it sounds,” Kate said as they neared the end of the block.

  McKenzie breathed a sigh of relief as they neared the library. She ran across the yard she had crossed less than an hour earlier. “It’s not scary now,” she said. “The intruders are far away this time. At least I hope they are.”

  The intruders had left in such a hurry, they left the door unlocked. McKenzie pushed it open and stepped inside. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the dim, quiet room. The scent of musty books filled the air.

  “Let’s check out the back room and see if any journals are out,” McKenzie suggested. Her tennis shoes echoed loudly on the wooden floor as she paced the room.

  Once inside the narrow back room, Kate stepped ahead of her. “Look!” She pointed at the row of shelves holding the old journals. “Several are missing! The books on these shelves were packed in here the other day. At least two more of the journals are gone.”

  McKenzie’s heart sank as she stared at the empty space. “They must have been looking for another clue in them somewhere. And Blake and that other guy got here before we did. How will we ever find the treasure now?”

  Kate looked at McKenzie with disappointment. After a moment she spoke, her eyes sparkling, “Maybe they didn’t get the right journal. It could still be here.” She reached up and pulled a small, leather-bound book from the shelf. Then her face fell, and she turned back to McKenzie. “This journal isn’t even written by Mr. Drake.”

  McKenzie ran her finger along the row of worn, black volumes. “None of these are his either. All of Mr. Drake’s journals are gone. We’re too late.”

  Kate shoved the book back on the shelf. “Well, at least we’re pretty sure Blake and his friend took the journals. At least we have proof on the camera that they were trespassing, though we can’t prove they took the journals.”

  A creak coming from the main library room made McKenzie jump. “That sounded like the front door opening,” she said, staring at Kate with wide eyes. The footsteps grew louder as someone approached the narrow back room. “I bet it’s Ross making his morning rounds.”

  She turned as a shadow filled the doorway. “Hi, Ro…” Her voice caught in her throat. She gulped as she stared at the strange man glaring at her with steely dark eyes!

  The Threat

  McKenzie gulped and her knees trembled.

  “Uh…you’re not Ross.”

  She stared at the man, wondering where she had seen him before. When a second figure stepped into the room, she suddenly recognized them both.

  “Blake,” Kate muttered, her eyes wide with surprise.

  The older man with reddish-brown hair stared at the girls, his eyes flashing.

  “Ah, I was right,” he said, turning to Blake. “The girls with the little dog are snooping around again.”

  “Hey, where is that mutt, anyway?” Blake asked with a sneer, glancing about the room.

  “We left him at home,” Kate answered nervously.

  “And that’s where you two should be too,” the older man said with a snarl. He stepped closer to the girls. “I didn’t appreciate you spying on us this morning. If you want to see your little dog again, you’ll keep quiet about seeing us here. Got it?”

  A shiver rippled up McKenzie’s back. A knot formed in her throat, making it hard to breathe.

  “What are you doing in here, anyway?” the man asked, glaring at them.

  The girls inched closer together, neither one of them able to speak. McKenzie felt Kate’s body trembling as she brushed against her arm.

  Blake, silent until now, finally spoke. “You were looking for the journals, weren’t you? You’re too late. Sam and I have all of them.”

  Sam, so that’s his name, McKenzie thought, staring at the older man. Then the man turned to Blake with a look of scorn. “Well, we did have them all, until you lost the most important one.”

  “Hey, I didn’t mean to lose it,” Blake answered defensively. “I hid it, but when I went back for it, it was gone. Besides, I memorized the riddle. We don’t need that journal anyway. If there are any other clues, they’ll be in the other ones.”

  “Those journals belong to Heritage Farms,” McKenzie’s voice squeaked as she finally got the nerve to speak. “You stole them?”

  Sam tossed his head back and laughed. “Stole them, borrowed them. What difference does it make? At least we got them before you two did.”

  Blake stepped around Sam, moving closer to the girls. “You’d better give up on looking for that treasure. If that old man Drake left any clues about the riddle, they’ll be in the journals. So, you’d better listen to Sam. If you want to see that dumb little dog again, you’ll give up right now.” He leaned over and flipped McKenzie’s cap off her head. “Understand?”

  McKenzie, afraid to move, could only nod. Sam glanced around a
nd moved toward the doorway. “We’d better get out of here, Blake, before someone sees us.”

  “Remember what we told you,” Blake said, turning around as he followed Sam. “You didn’t see us here, or else…” He glared at the girls before exiting the building with Sam.

  McKenzie unclenched her fingers and tried to relax once she saw the two figures disappear into the trees behind the library. Her thoughts whirled as she replayed the previous conversation in her mind.

  “Do you really think they’ll hurt Biscuit?” Kate interrupted McKenzie’s thoughts, her voice shaking.

  McKenzie turned, noticing her friend’s worried expression. “I don’t know, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

  Kate, still trembling, nodded. “Me neither.”

  “How can we quit working on the mystery?” McKenzie grabbed her cap from the floor. She shoved it back on her head and pulled her ponytail through the hole in back. “We have to find the treasure for Charity and her family, but I don’t want anything to happen to Biscuit either.”

  Kate peered out the window, making sure Blake and Sam weren’t returning. “We can’t let them find the treasure, though. Biscuit is in the house during the day. When we take him out with us, we’ll have to make sure he stays on a leash. That way, Sam and Blake can’t get to him.”

  McKenzie felt uneasy as they left the library. She knew she should tell Uncle Luke and Aunt Cara about finding Blake and Sam in the library, but she was scared.

  Dear God, please help me know what to do, she prayed silently.

  The girls walked silently up the street through Cedar Grove. McKenzie’s knees still trembled slightly as worried thoughts filled her mind. Mr. Ogden called to them as they passed the general store.

  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” the older gentleman said, handing them each a cup of vanilla ice cream swirled with grape juice. “A purple cow is a cure for anything that ails you.”

  The girls thanked him and kept walking. Almost an hour remained until the gates opened and the last day of farm camp began. McKenzie sighed as she spooned a bite of her treat into her mouth. Mr. Ogden was right. A purple cow did make everything look better.

  Several farm hands were already doing chores at the round barn when they walked past. She couldn’t believe they had already been up for more than two hours. “Let’s go home for a few minutes and let Biscuit out,” Kate said.

  McKenzie nodded and followed her friend through the back gate. Minutes later, Kate looped Biscuit’s leash around the porch railing. The girls sat in the porch swing, the chains creaking as it swung back and forth.

  “I’ve been thinking, Kate. I think Blake and Sam just want to scare us. They must not know what the riddle means either. They probably stole the other journals so they could try to figure it out. Maybe we can still beat them.” McKenzie tucked her legs beneath her. “They said they lost the important journal. That means the clue is in the one we have. It also means they haven’t figured out the riddle yet. We just need to hurry, though.”

  “But what should we do about seeing Blake and Sam in the library?” Kate asked, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “They admitted they stole the journals. We have to tell your aunt and uncle. Luke and Cara won’t let those guys hurt Biscuit.”

  McKenzie sighed, feeling frustrated. Blake and Sam had threatened them. If this situation had happened to one of her friends, she would encourage them to tell an adult. But somehow it seemed different now that it was happening to her. She squeezed her eyes shut and quickly prayed. God, please help me. I don’t want us or Biscuit to get hurt, but I don’t want Blake and Sam to get away with the Whitsons’ treasure either.

  McKenzie opened her eyes and stared at the green pasture across the field. Kate’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “We have to tell them, McKenzie. Maybe this is enough evidence for the cops to arrest them.”

  A relaxed feeling washed over McKenzie. “I guess you’re right,” she agreed, pulling her cell phone from her pocket. “I’ll call Uncle Luke and tell him what I know.”

  Seconds later, McKenzie left a message on her uncle’s voice mail. She explained about Blake and Sam stealing the journals and the threats he had made. She ended the call and turned the power off before shoving her phone back in her pocket. No electronics were allowed while the girls attended farm camp. She would have to wait until lunch to hear back from Uncle Luke. She wouldn’t be surprised, though, if he came looking for them during camp. Hopefully, the matter would be settled before they went on the balloon ride this afternoon.

  After putting Biscuit in the house, the girls headed back down the lane to Heritage Farms. The attraction was brimming with activity as visitors had already begun arriving for the day. Children of all ages met at various locations for farm camp.

  All morning long, McKenzie couldn’t keep her mind on the camp activities. At the pioneer cabin, her thoughts drifted as she and Kate dipped candles with a group of other kids her age.

  If it had been any other day, McKenzie would have had fun making her own candles. But today the project seemed pointless. She had so many other things she needed to do.

  After tying a string to a stick, she dipped the string into a kettle of hot wax. She let it cool slightly then dipped it again. Over and over she dipped her wax-covered string.

  “Ouch!” she exclaimed for about the fifth time as hot wax dripped onto her fingers.

  “How much longer until we can go find out what’s going on with Sam and Blake?” Kate whispered, dipping her own string in the wax.

  “My stomach’s been growling forever,” McKenzie muttered, pushing a strand of hair off her sweaty forehead. “It must be about lunchtime.”

  McKenzie kept expecting Uncle Luke to come looking for her. But lunchtime arrived and she hadn’t seen him. Since farm camp was over, McKenzie pulled her phone from her pocket.

  “I can’t believe Uncle Luke hasn’t left us a message,” she said after checking her voice mail. “But I have a text from Liz.”

  “Maybe the cops already arrested Sam and Blake for stealing,” Kate suggested as the girls stood in the shade of an old oak tree.

  McKenzie glanced around at the crowd wandering the streets, watching the demonstrations. “I don’t think so,” she said with a frown. “Blake is pushing a wheelbarrow around the back of the round barn.”

  Kate’s mouth fell open. “Maybe your uncle didn’t get the message. Why don’t we go find him?”

  “Let’s read Liz’s text first,” McKenzie said, clicking on Elizabeth’s name.

  I WAS READING MY DEVOTIONS THIS MORNING AND THE BIBLE PASSAGE WAS FROM JOB 28 AND IT TALKS ABOUT RICHES AND WEALTH. VERSE 1 SAYS, ‘THERE IS A MINE FOR SILVER AND A PLACE WHERE GOLD IS REFINED.’ THEN IN VERSE 4, IT SAYS, ‘FAR FROM WHERE PEOPLE DWELL HE CUTS A SHAFT, IN PLACES FORGOTTEN BY THE FOOT OF MAN.’ I THINK GOD LED ME TO THIS VERSE. I THINK THE RICHES ARE IN SOME FORGOTTEN PLACE, MAYBE A WILDERNESS OVERLOOKED BY MAN. JUST A THOUGHT. LET ME KNOW IF YOU LEARN ANYTHING NEW. BFF, LIZ.

  “Wow, maybe Liz is onto something,” Kate said as they headed back down the street toward Cedar Grove.

  “I sure hope it’s a clue anyway,” McKenzie said. “We need all the help we can get.”

  “Hey, isn’t that Uncle Luke by the library talking to Ross?” Kate tugged McKenzie’s arm and shaded her eyes as she peered into the sun.

  Uncle Luke turned as the girls raced down the street into the yard. He said something to Ross and then hurried over to the girls.

  “Have you called the cops yet?” McKenzie asked breathlessly.

  “The cops?” Uncle Luke asked, a bewildered look on his face. “Why would I call the cops?”

  McKenzie looked at Kate and then back to her uncle. “Didn’t you get our message?”

  Uncle Luke eyed the girls suspiciously. “That was a joke, right?”

  “No, Blake and Sam admitted that they stole the journals.” McKenzie wiped the sweat running down her forehead.

  “There are no journals missin
g,” Uncle Luke said. “I didn’t have time to check my messages until later this morning. But as soon as I did, I sent Ross over to check on things. He said the journals are all there except for the one you have at home.”

  McKenzie felt her jaw drop as she glanced at Kate. “But they were gone this morning, and Blake and Sam told us they took them. They even threatened us.”

  Uncle Luke started to say something, but his phone rang. He took the call and then told the girls he was needed in the Pioneer Farm Camp.

  “We’ll talk about this more later,” he said before jumping into his utility vehicle and roaring off.

  “Let’s check and see if the journals have really been returned,” McKenzie said, tugging Kate inside. They stepped around the group of people inside gathered around Mrs. Crawford, Cedar Grove’s librarian. She smiled at the girls and showed the group some of the most popular books of the early 1900s.

  The girls slipped into the long, narrow room and eyed the shelf of journals. “Look, they are all there,” Kate said in disbelief. “But I don’t get it.”

  McKenzie sighed as she leaned against the wall.

  “I get it. There must not be any more clues in the journals. They’ve had several hours to look through the other two journals. Sam must have brought them back so they wouldn’t get in trouble. That must mean the only clue is the riddle.”

  McKenzie turned to Kate and grinned. “And, as of this morning, those guys didn’t know what the riddle meant. They also don’t know we’ve found the journal Blake lost. So, we’ve still got a chance to solve this before they do.”

  “So, what now?” Kate asked.

  “We’ve got to find a way to get to the Roseman Bridge. I think that’s where the clue is.” McKenzie led the way out the back door, away from the crowd. “We have to get there before Sam and Blake figure it out. I know Uncle Luke and Aunt Cara are too busy. Let’s ask Charity if she can pick us up when we get done with the balloon ride.”

  The girls hurried through the crowds of people moseying down the streets. When they reached the round barn, they saw Charity heading to the lot with a wheelbarrow full of hay. “Can we talk to you for a minute?” McKenzie asked.