by Jane Tesh
“Pizza’s here,” Jerry said. He unlocked the door, paid for the pizza, then let the boy out and locked the door. “We can picnic in the children’s section.”
I still had the picture of Rusty in my pocket. “My only other clue is this. It’s not Kevin or Marshall. Someone at the school might know.”
We sat on the carpet in the children’s book section. Jerry wedged a slice of pizza out of the box. “Let me see the picture.”
I slid Rusty’s photo over. “According to what I’ve learned about Amelia, it’s odd for her to keep anything the students give her.”
“Well, this picture looks like it was taken several years ago. Check out that hairstyle and the plaid shirt.”
“That’s why I thought it might be Kevin or Marshall. They have to be in their forties.”
“It’s Amelia and Elijah’s secret love child.”
“Although that stretches my imagination, I won’t know for sure until I find Rusty.”
“Any other clues?”
“I haven’t heard from Warwick yet. Maybe he’ll find out something.”
“Maybe he can create a gold watch in that mad scientist lab of his.”
“Jerry.”
“Don’t growl. I’ve had a rough day.”
I slid over and put my arms around him. “I can make your day much more pleasant.”
He pushed the pizza box aside and rolled me over on the carpet. I had pulled off his tie and was unbuttoning his shirt when we heard the click of the lock and Georgia’s voice.
“Looks like someone’s celebrating.”
We scrambled to our feet. “Just making sure Jerry’s okay,” I said.
She peered at us over her half glasses. “Well, carry on, you two. The store looks fine.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Of course, we didn’t carry on. Jerry explained what had happened. Georgia was happy cash hadn’t been stolen or the store seriously damaged. We took our pizza and went home. Then we carried on. Later that night, I had really strange dreams about Amelia Lever, Mrs. Dorman, and Rachel competing in a Miss Bufo Pageant. I must have tossed and turned because Jerry grumbled he’d already been attacked once, would I please pull in my elbows? When I finally woke up and found my way downstairs, Jerry was making pancakes for breakfast.
“The winner and still champion,” he said.
“Sorry. Are you black and blue?”
“No more than usual.” The phone rang, and he answered. “Oh, yeah, hi, Bilby. You did? That’s great! Oh, wait, it’s silver? No, it has to be gold. Yeah, sorry. The next time Mac and I come to Parkland, I thought I’d check at Del’s. Okay, thanks.” He hung up and turned back to the stove. “That was Bilby Foster. He found a watch with an ‘S’ on it, but the watch is silver instead of gold.”
I sat down at the table and tried to untangle my hair. “Gee, too bad.”
“I know you don’t approve, but you heard Sylvie. It’s got to be a watch.”
“A fake watch.”
“No, a real one.”
“I hate to enable your scams, but why don’t you get a plain gold watch and get someone to engrave an ‘S’ on it?”
He paused in the act of flipping a pancake and pointed the spatula at me. “I knew there was a reason I married you. That’s a great idea.”
“But after this, please, no more séances. Tell Flossie Mae and Sylvie that was the last report from Beyond.”
“Not even one at Halloween?”
“No more. Ever. Pass the syrup.”
He handed me the bottle. “I’ll think about it. Your plans today?”
“I didn’t hear from Nathan. I thought I’d stop by his apartment and see if everything’s okay. We need to try the rest of the portraits at the chateau, and then I’ll be asking about Rusty at school.”
“And trying to avoid Rachel.”
“No, I might as meet her girls and get it over with.”
“You know she wants you to coach her little darlings.”
“If they can fit me in between ballet and pedicures.”
We heard the familiar sound of two bicycles landing on the front lawn, and two voices raised in argument.
Jerry said, “I’d better make another batch of pancakes.”
Austin and Denisha hurried into the kitchen. “Oh, wow, pancakes!” Austin said. “Can I have some?”
“Pull up a chair.”
Austin wasn’t ready to sit. He bounced around Jerry. “We heard Georgia’s got robbed last night. Were you there? Did you see the robber?”
“I was there, but all the thief got was a bunch of Bufo cards.”
“No way!”
“He made a big mess, that’s for sure. Three pancakes be enough?”
“For starters.”
“Get some plates and forks for you and Denisha.”
Denisha sat down next to me. “How’s your case coming along, Madeline?”
“Kind of slow right now.”
“Did Georgia hire you to find the missing cards?”
“I think the police are handling that.”
“Well, our collection is almost complete. I hope that thief got nothing but regular cards.”
Austin displayed his arm, which was covered with Bufo stickers. “Look. I’ve got the entire Toad Army.”
“Austin likes to pretend those are tattoos,” Denisha said.
“It’s the next best thing,” he said. “They really stay on.”
“It looks stupid.”
“You just say that because girls don’t have tattoos.”
“They do so! Penny Robins’ mother has them all over.”
Jerry plopped pancakes on their plates. “These are the Pancakes of Peace. Eat them and argue no more.” Denisha snickered. Jerry got more butter out of the fridge. “When do you want to go to Parkland, Mac?”
“After we visit Tori again and check those other portraits. Maybe around lunchtime.”
“Okay. Kids, I know the thief got away with Georgia’s supply of cards, so while I’m in the big city, I’ll pick up some more.”
“Great,” Austin said. “I want to be the first one in my class with a complete set.”
He gulped down his pancakes and unwedged a large stack of Bufo cards from his pocket. “Hey, Madeline, you know how to play Fifty-Two Pickup?”
“Yes, Jerry’s done to me that many times.”
“Aww.”
“I’m guessing you learned that from him?”
“Yeah, it’s cool.”
Denisha licked syrup off her fingers. “It’s the silliest thing.”
“No, it’s cool. Come on, Madeline, pretend you don’t know how.”
“Okay. Ask me again.”
“Do you know how to play Fifty-Two Pickup?”
“No, I don’t.”
He bent the pack back until the cards shot from his hand and scattered across the room. “Pick ’em up!”
From the way he laughed, Fifty-Two Pickup must be the funniest thing Austin had ever seen. Denisha sighed. “You don’t even have fifty-two cards in that stack.”
“Okay, then, it’s Thirty-Six Pickup.”
“And you have to pick them up yourself.”
“I was going to.” He gathered the cards, still chuckling. “I can’t wait to show Ronald. Can I have some more pancakes?”
“Sure,” Jerry said.
Denisha turned to me. “When are you going to come talk to our class about art, Madeline?”
“I’ll see if I can schedule the other fourth grades with Mrs. Sigmon.”
“She’s a good teacher. She doesn’t want her kids at Celosia Elementary, though.”
“Maybe she thinks Parkland Academy is better for them.”
“No, she didn’t want Bronwen to have Mrs. Lever.”
“Oh?”
“See, a lot of kids were scared of Mrs. Lever. You’d see them in the halls crying ‘cause their names were on her list.”
“Was Bronwen scared of her?”
“Oh, yes. Mrs. Lever had a very
loud voice, and she’d use that tone, what do you call it? Like you didn’t understand and she felt sorry for you, only not really. Con something.”
“Condescending?”
“Yes, that’s it. Like, ‘Just because your mother’s a teacher, don’t expect special treatment. I don’t expect you to know anything.’ Stuff like that.”
“You heard her say this?”
“I heard Bronwen telling some other kids at lunch. She said there was no way she was going to be in that class. She said she’d tell her mother, and her mother would move her to another school.”
Austin sat back at the table. “I didn’t want her, either. Now we’ll get Ms. Olsen or Mrs. Culpepper or Mrs. Freedmont, only I hope I get Ms. Olsen because I think she’d be fun.”
“You don’t have to worry about that till next year.”
“Yeah, but at least I don’t have to worry about getting Mrs. Lever.”
“She liked kids who weren’t afraid of her. I wasn’t afraid of her.”
“That’s because you never had her yet. Didn’t you hear she had an electric paddle?”
Denisha rolled her eyes. “She did not.”
“So Bronwen and Magwen left Celosia Elementary this year?” I asked.
“Oh, yes. Their mother does whatever they tell her to do.”
“Wish my mom did whatever I tell her to do,” Austin said, his mouth full.
“You wouldn’t like it for long,” Denisha said. “There’s limits, you know.”
“I don’t like those girls, but Sparky Lawrence said Bron was going to have this huge birthday party with one of those moon walk castle things and pony rides and maybe a magician. You ought to go and do tricks for them, Jerry. Then I could go with you.”
“No, thanks,” he said. “I’m all out of balloon animals.”
I had left Amelia’s bag and its contents on the kitchen counter. I got out the unopened packs of Bufo cards and brought them to the table. “Let’s see if there’s anything special in these packs.”
Austin and Denisha were more than happy to help out, even though they complained the cards smelled like cigarettes.
“Pew! Where’d you get these?” Austin said.
“Mrs. Lever, believe it or not.”
“Not. How come the seal on this one’s been reglued?”
I hadn’t noticed. “Has it?”
“How can you tell?” Denisha asked.
“The Terrible Tadpole’s leg is crooked.”
Jerry and I peered at the seal, which resembled an oversized sticker. Sure enough, the Terrible Tadpole, fanged and glowering, had one leg that didn’t exactly line up with his foot.
“Somebody opened these and sealed them back up,” Austin said. “But the cards are all in their wrappers. Guess whoever did it changed his mind.”
Or put some special cards in, I thought. “Have the other packs been resealed?”
We checked them all. “Yup,” Austin said. “Look. Bufo’s eye is supposed to be over here.”
On one sticker seal, Bufo appeared to be looking over his shoulder and at his sword at the same time. On another, one star in the pattern in his Cape of Justice didn’t quite match the other stars.
“You really have to look close,” Denisha said.
“How easy is it to rewrap the cards?” I asked.
Austin was glad to show me. “Real easy. The foil just folds back over. Can we open them for real?”
“Yes.”
Jerry moved the breakfast dishes over so we could open all the packs and spread the cards out on the table.
Denisha frowned. “What exactly are we looking for?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “See anything out of the ordinary?”
We stared at the cards. “Nope,” Austin said. “They’re kind of pitiful, if you ask me. Not even a power card. There’s a king card, though. That’s neat, but it’s not rare.”
Denisha glanced at the clock above the sink. “We’d better get to school, Austin.”
The kids thanked Jerry for the pancakes, and rode their bikes back down the driveway.
“Need a ride to the store?” I asked Jerry.
“Not today. Thought I’d lie around the house in my underwear watching TV and eating Cheetos.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
He grinned. “No, I’m going to play through the cantata before I make any decision about it.”
“Don’t feel obligated to take on a job you won’t like.”
“Oh, I’ve been thinking of other things I can do. We could still make the house into a bed and breakfast.”
That had been Jerry’s first plan for the house until he realized how much work was involved. “I think I have more than enough to keep me busy, thanks.”
“What I’m really going to do is study these cards,” he said. “We’re missing something. I’ll figure it out.”
“Good,” I said. “See you at lunchtime.”
***
Nathan Fenton lived in a small apartment on Ashland Drive. I rang the doorbell. When he opened the door, he looked startled.
“Oh, Madeline. I wasn’t expecting you. The place is a wreck.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “I just want to let you know how things are progressing.”
“Of course. Come in.”
Nathan hadn’t been exaggerating. His place was a wreck. Stacks of papers leaned dangerously in all directions. The coffee table was covered with more papers and folders. On the small counter that separated the living room from the kitchen, more papers fought for space with dirty dishes, ashtrays, and empty pizza boxes.
He cleared off a chair. “The place looks awful, I know. It’s all the paperwork for the camp. I’m trying to get a grant proposal finished, too, and sponsors for some of the kids. Please, sit down.”
When I sat down, I noticed something else on the counter. Several packs of Bufo cards.
“Would you mind if I had a look at those?” I asked.
“Sure, go ahead.”
I picked up one of the packs. I could tell by the uneven pattern on the seal that this pack had also been opened and resealed. I slid my thumbnail under the seal and opened the pack. I was glad to see the wrappers were green foil and not the stolen gold. Nathan as Bufo Card Thief was too much for my imagination.
“You’re not a collector, are you?” I asked him.
“Collector?”
“The Bufo cards.”
“Oh, those came in the mail. Some sort of free samples, I guess. I thought I’d save them for the camp and give those to the kids who can’t afford them.”
“When did you get them?”
“You know, I really don’t remember.”
“Before or after your uncle died?”
He stared at me. “What?”
“‘Trust animals that live in packs.’ I think this is part of the riddle.”
“Packs like packs of cards? Really?” He frowned. “Come to think of it, Fiona asked about the cards, too, but I don’t see how they’d have anything to do with the riddle. Bufo’s a made up animal, not a real one, and Elijah wouldn’t have known anything about kids’ playing cards.”
I thought Elijah had probably known everything that was going on. And the riddle didn’t specify real animals. “It’s worth a look. Can I take these with me?”
“Of course.”
“I’m going back to the chateau today to check out the portraits. You’re certainly welcome to join me.”
Somewhere in the depths of all the paper, his phone rang, saving him from a reply. “Excuse me.” He dug around until he found his phone and answered. “Yes? Oh, yes, I’ve got that information. It’s in my office. One moment, please.”
As he went into the other room, I took advantage of his absence to look around. The stacks of paper all had to do with safety, sanitation, food, and activities for a children’s camp. The pizza box was from Mario’s. The dishes were going to need sandblasting. And among the cigarette butts in the ashtray were two with distinctive purple
lipstick stains. I picked up one of the cigarette butts and slipped it into my pocket. When I heard Nathan finish his conversation, I was back in the chair by the time he returned to the living room.
“My apologies, Madeline. That was the English teacher at Celosia High. She’s helping me with the grant. Was there anything else?”
“I spoke with your cousin Aaron. He received the riddle, too, but says he has no interest in it.” I wondered if Aaron had also received anonymous packs of Bufo cards, as well.
“That doesn’t surprise me too much,” Nathan said. “He doesn’t need the money.”
“I’m sorry he and Tori are having trouble.”
Nathan’s expression became guarded. “It’s not likely they’ll get back together.”
“I mentioned you’re welcome to join me at the chateau.”
“Maybe later,” he said. “You can imagine I’m very busy getting all this paperwork organized.”
“I understand,” I said. “And I promise I’m working on your case, even though I’ve been hired to solve Amelia Lever’s death.”
He blinked. “I thought she had a heart attack.”
“She did, but there are some questions about that. Did you know her?”
His hands shook slightly as he straightened one of the stacks of papers. “I met her once or twice. She was Aaron’s fifth grade teacher.”
“Did you see her after Aaron left town?”
“I might have a few times, just around, you know. This really has nothing to do with anything! Are you going to solve the riddle in time, that’s all I’m concerned about.”
I started to say yes when he took a quick breath and said, “I’m sorry. That didn’t sound right. I appreciate all you’re doing, it’s just, well, I’m really nervous about meeting the deadline.”
“I understand.”
“And the news about Mrs. Lever—after that business this summer with Josh Gaskins being poisoned—I’m sorry, I’m just not used to things like this happening in Celosia.”
We were a quiet, happy little town until you moved here, I expected him to say. “It’s entirely possible Mrs. Lever did have a heart attack.”
“Well, that’s very sad news. I’m sure her students will miss her.” He had regained his calm. “I’d love for you to come out to the camp some day soon and see what I plan to do.”
“I’d like that.”
