by Betsy Haynes
"Trick? He called it just a trick?" asked Beth.
"That doesn't sound like something Jon would say," said Katie.
Christie smiled at her in appreciation. "He also said everyone couldn't be good at sports like Randy, or reporting like Curtis, or stand out like me. That sounded like Jon putting himself down. He said he was very good at something, and if they had it in school, he would probably be champion. Jon is great at making videos." She shrugged.
"Come on, be fair," said Katie. "That could be a lot of people."
"I hate to say it, Katie, but Jon's the only one I've noticed acting strange."
"I think the best way to show that Jon isn't the caller is to find out who it really is," said Jana. "Let's concentrate on doing that."
"You're right," said Christie. "I've been so worried that it was Jon, that I quit looking for someone else. There has to be a way to find out who's doing it." She racked her brain for more clues. "As I said, he got pretty mad at me when I chewed him out. One thing he said was that he was going to tell everyone that I'm dumb."
"I don't think it's Jon. Jon wouldn't do that," said Melanie.
Christie sighed. "Neither do I. But he was awfully angry. I told him if he did do that, I'd know who he was, and he said that I wouldn't because he was smarter than me."
"Smarter than you?" Melanie looked at her incredulously. "That would leave out just about everybody at Wacko Junior High."
Christie shook her head. "I don't know that he was serious. Remember, he was angry with me."
"Maybe we could find out who the smartest kids are," said Beth. "That would narrow it down."
"Not all smart kids make super grades," answered Jana. "We can do what you say, but we might still miss someone."
"The next time he calls, I think you should needle him again," said Katie. "Get him mad and tell him you don't think he's good at anything. Maybe he'll tell you what it is, and we'll be able to figure him out from that."
"One thing is for sure," said Melanie, "He wants attention." They all agreed with her.
"I've got an idea," volunteered Beth. "Remember Madame Zonga? Why don't we go see her and see if she can tell us who he is?"
Christie's mouth dropped open. "Madame Zonga?" she shrieked.
"Sure, why not?" said Beth. "This is an investigation, isn't it? The police call in people like her all the time when they're stuck on a case."
"But Madame Zonga?" Christie asked again. The others looked at each other.
Katie shrugged. "She's the only medium, or whatever they're called, that we know."
"Maybe we ought to try her," said Jana. "What do we have to lose? Especially if she can help prove it's not Jon."
"It sounds like fun," said Melanie. "Let's go after school tomorrow." They all agreed.
"Okay," said Jana. "Besides seeing the great and fantastic Madame Zonga, we'll all keep our eyes out for a seventh-grade boy who has a huge inferiority complex and is a champion at something."
"That's a start," said Christie. "If we find someone like that, it will be a lot more than I had before."
"And we won't say anything to anyone else until we have a better idea about who it is," said Beth.
"I move that we get out our notebooks again and start taking notes the way we did at Mark Twain Elementary when Taffy Sinclair was so snotty, and we had our club against her," said Katie. "All detectives keep notebooks."
"All agreed?" asked Jana.
As everyone yelled, "AYE!", Christie felt happy. The Fabulous Five were working together to solve the mystery of the hot-line caller. Whatever they wanted to do, they could do when they stuck together.
CHAPTER 13
On Monday morning, Christie gathered up her books and headed for school. She felt much better after The Fabulous Five meeting the day before. Maybe, just maybe, the caller wasn't Jon. She crossed her fingers. With the help of her friends, she should know before long.
After her friends had left, she had thought and thought about the caller's saying he was going to tell everyone that she was dumb. How would he do that? He certainly wouldn't stand up in the cafeteria and announce it. Would he sneak in early and put a poster up in school? No, someone might see him do that. Would he spray-paint it on a school wall? Possibly.
It wasn't long before Christie knew the answer to her question. She was still several blocks from school when she passed a fence where a bunch of elementary school kids were standing. The fence had been spray painted with big red letters, and a chill ran up Christie's spine as she read what the letters spelled out:
Christie Winchell is dumb.
The sight of the message blazoned there for all the world to see made Christie feel numb with shock. She desperately wanted to wipe it off, but she knew it was hopeless.
Well, he's getting less original, she thought as she turned away and headed for Wakeman. I'll have to tell him that. It ought to make him mad. She smiled to herself. For the first time, she felt as if she might know how to take control of their conversations.
When The Fabulous Five met at their usual table in the cafeteria during lunch period, Christie quizzed the others. No one had discovered anything new.
"Finding a boy with an inferiority complex is like trying to find a pencil when you need one," said Katie. "There's none around."
"There's one thing that makes this whole thing more complicated," said Jana. Everyone looked at her. "The fence where he painted 'Christie Winchell Is Dumb' isn't near any of the other places where he has done his tricks."
Christie nodded. They had to find out how the caller was getting out at night long enough to make trips that were ten or fifteen miles away in different directions.
A feeling of gloom had come over Christie as she headed for her algebra class. Her hopes of finding the caller were starting to fade. She had been so hopeful after their meeting on Sunday, and now it looked as if they were as far from finding out who the mystery caller was and removing any possible suspicion that it was Jon as they had been. She would have to tell Mr. Snider about the phone call on Saturday night soon, and he would talk to Mr. Bell, who would talk to assistant chief Markum. If the caller eventually turned out to be Jon, he would be in big-time trouble.
She was also starting to dread working at the hotline center on Tuesday evening. If the boy called again, would she be able to make him mad enough to tell her something that would help them find out who he was? He was smart. He had caught on to her little traps before, and he might guess that she was trying to make him mad on purpose. The whole thing was beginning to depress her.
"Okay, class, listen up." Mr. Snider closed his hook and walked around to the front of his desk. "I've got a special project for you. I'd like for as many of you as possible to stay after school tomorrow evening to work on some new math computer games that I've ordered for the media center. We'd do it during regular class, but the center is tied up then. The programs will be a big help in helping you understand the problems we've been working on. I know you'll probably have to get permission from home, and that's why I'm telling you early. Any questions?"
Kevin Walker-Noles raised his hand. "What if you can't be there then? I have to take care of my brother after school."
"Good question. There will probably be a few people who can't do it tomorrow. If you'll see me, we'll try and make arrangements for another time. Any more questions? Fine. Class dismissed."
As everyone closed their books to leave, Christie heard Curtis say to Whitney, "I bet I've got whatever computer game it is at home."
"Me, too," Kevin said. "I've got just about every television game there is, too."
"Do you have Nintendo?" Curtis asked Kevin.
"Sure. I've got Alpha Mission, Baseball, Invading Balagool, all of them."
"Hey!" Curtis responded. "Do you have Top Gun?"
"Sure," said Kevin, throwing out his chest and bragging. "My parents buy me whatever ones I want. Top Gun's my favorite. It's whammo! I like the low-level flying part best, going through the canyon
s and everything. You want to come over sometime and play?"
"That'd be super," said Curtis excitedly. "I've been dying to try it."
Christie watched as Curtis and Kevin left the room talking about television and computer games. Forgotten, Whitney trailed along behind them. Picking up her books, Christie headed for the school office.
"Hi, Christie," Miss Simone said as Christie plunked her books down on the counter. "My, you look happy today."
"I am happy," Christie responded. "Miss Simone, can I ask you a favor?"
"You've done so much for us, Christie, carrying things home to your mother and back. What can I do for you?"
Christie told her, and Miss Simone did what she asked right away.
"This is the plan," said Christie as the rest of The Fabulous Five looked at the map she had spread out on the kitchen table in the Winchell kitchen after school. Beth, Katie, Melanie, and Jana listened as she explained what she had worked out.
"And you talked to Mr. Snider, and he said he'd go along with it?" asked Katie.
Christie gave her a big smile and nodded so hard her blond hair bounced up and down.
"It's brilliant," said Jana. "Just what I'd expect from Christie Winchell."
"It's awesome," said Beth. "It would make a great Sherlock Holmes play. I wonder if they'd let a girl play Holmes?"
"Darn! I really wanted to go and see Madame Zonga again," said Melanie. "Now we don't have to."
Katie looked at Melanie. "I've got a suggestion. Why don't you go and see her about which boy you should date? That way you won't waste time on the wrong one."
Melanie's eyes lit up. "Hey, that's not a bad idea. Maybe she can see if there are any other boys I should be paying attention to."
"That's not what I meant," said Katie.
"Do you guys think your parents will let you do it?" Christie asked.
"I'll just tell them it's something The Fabulous Five are doing," said Melanie. "They think you all are the greatest, anyway." The others agreed it would be no problem at all.
Christie folded up the map after her friends had left and smiled to herself. It hadn't taken much to get everything to fall in place. Now that she knew who the mystery caller was, the trick was for her to prove it. To do that, she needed the help of her best friends and Mr. Snider.
Christie practically skipped down the halls the next day. When she saw Jon between classes, she walked up behind him and put her arm through his and walked him to his next class. The silly smile on his face made her glad she had done it. She would definitely have a heart-to-heart talk with him as soon as she had the hot-line problem straightened out.
In algebra class that afternoon, Mr. Snider reminded everyone that the class was meeting after school for the special computer project. There were four kids who couldn't be there, and he told them to meet him after class, and he would make special arrangements for them to use the programs.
After he dismissed the class, Christie called out, "Mr. Snider, do we do the odd-numbered problems again?" He seemed not to hear her.
Curtis said, "What else?" and the other kids laughed.
Christie's stomach was doing flip-flops when she walked into the homework hot-line center that evening. She felt as if the fate of the world rested on her shoulders. For the first time she was actually hoping that the mystery caller would call.
Tim Riggs waved, and Pam Wolthoff called out hello. Mr. Snider was at his table at the back of the room grading papers. He looked up, smiled his kindly smile, and gave her a big wink.
Christie went through her usual routine of sharpening pencils and checking her books to make sure they were all there. She purposely did her chores slowly and breathed deeply to keep down the excitement in her. The worst thing she could do now was to get nervous and blow it.
Finally, she was ready. I wonder what he is really like, she mused as she sat down at her cubicle. The only real contact she had had with the boy was the few telephone calls, and she had learned very little about him. Was he lonely and needed attention? Was that part of the reason he did the things he was doing? What were his family and home life like? She thought she was finally beginning to understand him a little, and what she knew made her believe that it wasn't all his fault.
"RIINGG!"
Christie picked up the phone and turned so she could see Mr. Snider. He nodded and picked up the phone on his desk delicately with two fingers.
"This is the homework hot-line center, how may I help you?" She drew in her breath, waiting for the response.
"Hi," came back a cheerful girl's voice. "I'm having trouble with a paper I have to write for English, and I thought maybe you could help me."
Christie let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding in. "What's the problem you're having?" she asked.
After she had helped the girl, Christie nervously rearranged the things on her desk for something to do. The algebra book lying above her pad of paper was hard to ignore. She moved it to one side.
The phone rang again. She looked quickly at Mr. Snider, who picked up his phone.
"Homework hot-line center, how may I help you?"
"I need help with my Family Living homework." It was a boy, but not the mystery caller. "On page fifty-six, there's a problem about . . ." Christie grabbed for the Family Living textbook on the shelf and pulled it down.
After two more calls, Christie felt exhausted from the nervous tension of waiting. Wasn't he going to call? Everything was set up for him. Is my plan going to be just a waste? she wondered. Has the caller found out some way that I'm on to him? Christie looked back to see what Mr. Snider was doing. He was away from his table and talking to Pam.
Christie had almost made up her mind that she wasn't going to hear from the caller that evening when the phone rang again. "I need help with problems five and nine in algebra," said the voice on the other end of the phone. It was him.
"Okay, let me get my book." She waved to Mr. Snider, who had turned to look at her when the phone rang. He hurried back to his place and carefully picked up the phone.
"You'll have to give me a minute to look at the problems," Christie said. "My teacher assigned the even-numbered problems, and I haven't looked at those."
"He did?" asked the caller.
Christie tried to sound as if she were half-listening to him. "Umm, yes. Okay, I'm ready. What's your question?"
As usual, they worked the problems together easily. When they were finished, he said, "I hope I didn't make you too angry."
"Angry?" she asked innocently.
"Come on, you know I'm the one who has been calling. I wrote that thing about you on the fence. I guess I'm sorry I did it. You just made me mad."
"Don't worry about it," she said. "You said you were real good at something. What is that?
He laughed. "Oh, no, you don't. You're trying to trap me again, aren't you? I told you I was smart, too. You won't do it that easily."
"I didn't really expect to," Christie said, smiling. When he had hung up, she turned to Mr. Snider, and he raised his hand, making his thumb and forefinger into an O to show his approval. She grinned at him. It looked as if her plan was working.
CHAPTER 14
Christie's father pulled the car into the garage, and she jumped out and ran into the house.
"Hi, sweetheart," her mother said as she came into the kitchen. "How did it go? Did you get a call from that boy?"
"I'll tell you about it later, Mom," Christie answered, kissing her on the cheek. "Got to hurry." She ran to her room, tossed her books on her bed, and grabbed the phone.
"Jana?"
"Yeah." Jana's voice sounded excited. "It went just the way you said it would. He came out of his house later than we expected, but we followed him to Mr. Ice Cream on Broadway. He got a cone and used the pay phone outside. Did he call you?"
"He sure did," said Christie, grinning from ear to ear. "At five minutes after eight. Now all we need is the one last piece of evidence."
After she had hun
g up from talking with Jana, Christie suddenly felt sad. It was true, she had proved Jon wasn't the mysterious caller, but what about the boy who was? She knew just a little bit about him, and she would like to know more. Maybe it would help her understand why he was doing these things. She thought about Jana and the troubles she had had with Geena McNatt, and how when Jana found out more about Geena, it had changed her feelings about her. There might just be a chance to help the caller rather than get him into trouble.
Mr. Snider walked into algebra class the next day, and the class fell silent. "Okay, everyone. Instead of waiting until the end of class, I'd like you to turn in your homework right now." The kids started digging through their notebooks and pulling out their papers and passing them forward. Christie took the papers from Joel Murphy, who sat behind her, put hers on top, and gave them to Dekeisha in front of her.
"Mr. Snider?" Marcie Bee raised her hand.
"Yes, Marcie?"
"I didn't understand how to work problem number five. Could you show us how?"
Christie glanced at Kevin. He had a confused look on his face.
"Certainly, Marcie," the teacher said. "It's similar to problem number three. Were you able to solve that one?"
"Yes, sir."
Mr. Snider picked up a chalk. "Okay, let's go over problems three and five."
A look of horror came over Kevin's face. He looked at Curtis Trowbridge to whom he had just given his homework and then turned to look at Christie. She knew that, because of what she had said the night before, Kevin had done the even-numbered problems. He hadn't been able to stay after school for the computer math games, and didn't know that Mr. Snider had assigned the odd-numbered problems as usual. It was clear that Kevin knew he had been caught. Christie and he stared at each other for a full minute before he shrugged, smiled weakly and turned back to watch Mr. Snider.
"What's going to happen to Kevin?" asked Beth. The Fabulous Five were sitting in their favorite booth at Bumpers.
"I think he'll be all right," answered Christie. "Of course, Mr. Snider knew about Kevin's not being able to do anything in the evenings because he had to take care of his little brother. That's why Kevin couldn't be on the hot-line team. Mr. Snider and I had a long talk with Mr. Bell and assistant police chief Markum. After that they called Kevin's parents, and they had a big meeting with them. Mr. Snider told me that at first his mother and father were very angry at Kevin, and then Mr. Snider and Mrs. Brenner started questioning them. It turns out that Kevin does do some very important things. Besides taking care of his little brother, who's five, he grocery shops for the family, and even calls plumbers and other repair people when something needs fixing around the house. He talks to his parents about it first, of course."
