by Ron Roy
“Whatever she’s got in there is square and hard,” Josh said. “It could be Mr. Paskey’s wooden box.”
“Could also be books,” Dink said. He kept his eye on the woman as she moved to another dealer.
“Or a laptop,” Ruth Rose said.
Josh grinned. “Maybe it’s a pizza!” he said.
“How do we find out?” Ruth Rose asked.
“Can Invisible Man turn himself into a mouse?” Dink asked Josh. “A mouse could crawl right inside the backpack!”
“Very funny, bunny,” Josh said.
“We have to just keep following her,” Ruth Rose said. “Maybe she’ll show the coins to one of these dealers.”
The woman moved slowly around the room, stopping at several tables. She seemed to be talking to the dealers, but the kids couldn’t hear what was being said. She never opened her backpack.
“If she decides to leave, we can’t stop her!” Dink said.
“Oh yeah?” Ruth Rose said. “Meet me by the door!”
Dink and Josh watched Ruth Rose wiggle through the crowd. They followed her at a distance, then lost sight of her.
“What’s Ruth Rose doing?” Dink asked Josh. “Can you see her?”
“No, but if I know Ruth Rose, she’ll probably tackle that woman,” Josh said.
Dink and Josh moved slowly through the crowd, toward the entrance.
“I see Ruth Rose!” Dink said. “She’s near the door, talking to that lady with the microphone.”
“Uh-oh,” Josh said.
A few seconds later, the loudspeaker crackled. Then a voice spoke: “Hello again, folks. I have a young lady here who has misplaced her backpack. She says her friend’s coin collection is inside, in a special carved wooden box. If you—”
Dink and Josh watched Ruth Rose say something else to the microphone lady.
“The backpack has a yellow smiley face on one of the straps. If anyone sees the backpack, please let us know immediately!”
Dink was holding his breath. Josh was holding Dink’s arm. The room got even noisier as people talked to each other. Then the room grew quiet again.
“Over here!” a loud voice called out.
Dink and Josh turned to look where everyone else was looking. An empty space had opened in the crowd. In the middle of the space stood the woman with the sky-blue jacket tied around her waist.
Dangling from one hand was the backpack. Everyone could see the smiley face pin.
To Dink, it seemed as if the entire crowd in the Nutmeg Room was playing statues. Everyone stood frozen in place, staring at the woman with the backpack.
Then came the friendly voice over the loudspeaker: “Oh, lovely, you’ve found the backpack! Please bring it to the front and make this young lady very happy!”
The crowd opened up, making a path for the woman toward the front of the room.
The woman hesitated, then started to walk. Her face was pink, but she managed a little smile. She held the backpack tight against her chest, grasping the straps with both hands.
“Come on!” Dink said. He and Josh raced around the crowd and got to the lady with the microphone first. Ruth Rose was standing there, watching the woman come closer.
She stopped walking when she was about halfway to the microphone lady.
“Is that your backpack, dear?” the lady at the table asked Ruth Rose.
“It looks like mine,” Ruth Rose said.
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken,” said the woman carrying it. “This is my backpack. I bought it last year at Books ’n’ Things in Hartford.”
“That’s where I got mine, too!” Ruth Rose said. “My friend’s coin collection is in it. The coins are in a pretty wooden box with carvings all over it.”
“Well, why don’t we ask this nice woman if she’d mind opening the backpack for us,” the other lady said. “That will clear up the confusion.”
By now everyone in the Nutmeg Room had stopped talking and was watching and listening.
Suddenly the woman flung the backpack. It knocked over the microphone, bounced off the table, and landed at Ruth Rose’s feet. The woman bolted for the door just as everyone started yelling, “Stop her! Stop her!”
Before the woman could reach the door, it opened. She ran right into the long arms of Officer Rich. “What’s your rush, miss?” the cop asked.
The lady at the table picked up her microphone. Ruth Rose grabbed the backpack and held on tight.
“Go ahead,” the lady said. “Open it, dear.”
Ruth Rose opened the pack, grinned, and pulled out Mr. Paskey’s carved box.
“Is this it?” the woman asked.
“Yes!” said Ruth Rose. “It belongs to my friend Mr. Paskey. He owns the Book Nook in Green Lawn.”
“My goodness!” the lady said. She pulled out a cell phone. “Why don’t we call him and let him know his coin collection is safe?”
She looked up the Book Nook and typed the number into her phone. “It’s ringing,” she said. “Hello, is this Mr. Paskey? This is Lorraine Landers at the Numismatic Society. I believe I have some good news for you!”
She handed the phone to Ruth Rose, who told him they had found the thief and his coin collection. “We’ll bring it to the Book Nook,” she added.
Officer Rich called for backup, and two other officers showed up. They escorted the woman in the blue jacket from the room.
“How are we getting home?” Josh asked. “We don’t know when the next bus for Green Lawn comes.”
Officer Rich stepped forward. “I guess I can take you kids home,” he said. “I’ll tell my captain I’m guarding this valuable coin collection!”
The kids thanked the microphone lady.
“The pleasure was all mine, dears!” she said. “This was the most exciting meeting the Numismatic Society has ever had!”
Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose followed Officer Rich to his cruiser.
“Anyone want to sit up front with me?” he asked.
“I do!” Josh yelped.
Officer Rich smiled. “Climb in, then,” he said. “But don’t touch any buttons or knobs!”
While they were heading for Green Lawn, Officer Rich made a call and found out the thief’s name. He called Officer Fallon to let him know what was going on.
—
Twenty minutes later, the cruiser stopped in front of the Book Nook. The kids hopped out and thanked Officer Rich for the ride. Ruth Rose was carrying the carved wooden box in her arms like a baby.
“No problem,” the officer said. “When you kids grow up, maybe you’d like to join the police force!”
“Thanks, but I want to be a writer,” Dink said.
“And I’m going to be president!” Ruth Rose added.
Josh grinned. “Can I be a police officer and an artist and a noo-MIZ-muh-tist?”
Officer Rich laughed as he pulled away and aimed his cruiser up Main Street.
Inside the Book Nook, the kids found Officer Fallon talking with Mr. Paskey.
“Well, here are the three intrepid sleuths!” Officer Fallon said. “But I wish you’d told me your plans.”
“You were busy looking for that guy who ran out of Ellie’s,” Ruth Rose said.
“And we found him where he works, at the Mark Twain House,” Officer Fallon said. “His name is Ron Ronald, and he’s in charge of this big celebration they have every April for Mark Twain. He had a perfect alibi for the night the coin box was taken.”
“Where was he?” Dink asked.
“In the hospital!” Officer Fallon said. “Mr. Ronald is allergic to nuts, and there were nuts in the ice cream he ordered at Ellie’s. That’s why he charged out of the diner so fast. He drove right to the emergency room.”
“But if he knew he was allergic, why did he get ice cream with nuts in it?” Dink asked.
“I asked him the same question,” Officer Fallon said. “It seems Mr. Ronald had taken his glasses off as he walked into Ellie’s. He didn’t see the sign that said THESE FOUR FLAVORS CON
TAIN NUTS, and he ordered one of them.”
“So that’s why he didn’t finish eating it,” Josh said.
“Is Ron Ronald going to be all right?” Ruth Rose asked.
“His doc told me he’ll be fine soon,” Officer Fallon said. “And Ellie is going to bring him a free gallon of his favorite flavor when he’s feeling better. Without nuts!”
“Lucky guy!” Josh said.
“And we did find Amanda Dale’s fingerprints in the bathroom,” Officer Fallon went on, “but only on the water faucets and sink. She never touched that window.”
Ruth Rose placed Mr. Paskey’s wooden box on the counter. “Maybe you should make sure everything is still in it,” she said.
Mr. Paskey opened the box lid and did a quick check of all the coins. “Nothing is missing,” he said.
“Good thing you kids caught the thief before she sold anything,” Officer Fallon said. “Her name is Pam Sprat. She confessed to hiding in the basement here and stealing the box after Mr. Paskey went home. Her fingerprints are all over the bathroom window.”
“Is she in jail?” Josh asked.
Officer Fallon nodded. “Yup,” he said. “Turns out Ms. Sprat is quite the thief. We matched her prints to at least three other break-ins. She had burglar tools in her backpack, along with a can of spray paint! You kids deserve a reward for catching her!”
Mr. Paskey opened a drawer and pulled out three gift cards. He handed one to each kid. “Free ice cream from Ellie’s for one year!” he said.
Josh closed one eye and looked at Mr. Paskey with the other. “Is this another April Fools’ Day joke?” he asked.
Mr. Paskey grinned. “Why, Joshua, how can you accuse me?” he asked. “I would never play an April Fools’ trick on April second!”
If you don’t want to know the answer, don’t look at the bottom of this page!
Answer:
WILL YOU FIND THE NEXT RARE COIN?
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