The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul
Page 13
She pulled me toward the open grave. I dug my heels into the soft dirt, resisting. One foot slipped into the hole. I stepped back on solid ground, trying to pull away from Beth but she had a firm grip. I stomped on her booted foot, but it must have had steel toes because she didn’t yelp. Desperate, I dipped low and licked her hand, mimicking Precious’ wet slobbers.
“Gross!” she yelped, letting go.
I jumped back from the open grave and tried to run away, but Beth snagged the back of my collar. She dragged me toward the open hole. This time I was sure I was going in. Suddenly, flashing red and blue lights lit up Beth’s face and her furrowed eyebrows. A police cruiser, its lights flashing, rolled into the cemetery and cut off Patrick’s exit. He slowly raised his hands. Busted. In the back seat I could see someone fat and short and someone tall and skinny; they had to be Dough Boy and Warren. As the police officer climbed out of her car, Beth let go of my collar and raised her hands in the air. It was over.
The next day at school, the kids buzzed about the showdown at the cemetery. Some rumoured that the Gangstas rose from their graves to catch the Graffiti Ghouls. Others claimed I’d used kung fu to knock out bikers who were on a spray-painting spree. Trina put a stop to all the gossip and told the truth: Remi led Dough Boy and Warren on a wild goose chase through the trailer park so that she could get in his home and call the police. If it wasn’t for Remi’s fast feet and quick thinking, Trina would have never been able to call the cops, and I would have been mincemeat. Trina called him a hero, and Remi said that she was a heroine. The French girls apologised to Remi and followed him all over the school, while the Boissonault brothers punched him in the arm and told him he did a good job. The Rake apologised to Remi in front of everyone. He even took away Remi’s strikes.
The Graffiti Ghouls didn’t come from the trailer park like some kids suspected. They lived in the new suburbs of Bouvier, which put a stop to the rumours about criminals living in trailers, but this fact started brand new rumours about criminals who lived in the new suburbs. Gossip never went away; it just found new targets. I was glad that my friend’s name had been cleared, but there was a price. Mom and Dad grounded me for a month because I hadn’t gone home right after school like Mom said. But when they learned why, they cut my punishment to only two weeks.
As I headed home Remi and Trina caught up to me just outside the schoolyard.
“What’s your rush?” he asked.
“Mom’s got a ton of chores for me to do. Newton’s Law is nothing compared to Mom’s Justice,” I said.
Remi chuckled.
“Maybe we can help,” Trina said.
I shook my head. “I’m going to get lots of help. The Graffiti Ghouls have to clean off the paint and work at the store for a month.”
Remi held his hand up for a high five. I smacked his palm in victory. Then I held my hand up, inviting Trina to give me a high five. She smiled shyly then whacked my hand so hard I thought she’d broken my bones.
“You’re not so bad for a boy,” Trina said.
“Ow.” I rubbed my sore hand. “You mean I’m not so bad, period.”
“Wimp,” Remi teased. He held his hand up, and Trina smacked it hard. Crack! It sounded like car backfiring.
Remi flexed his hand, surprised.
“Hel-lo. Who’s the wimp now?” Trina teased.
“I’m not a wimp,” Remi said. “Snot gobbler.”
He playfully hip-checked Trina, but she barely budged. Instead she hip-checked him, knocking him back three or four steps. He smiled admiringly at Trina, who laughed so sweetly it sounded like music. Sure she was bossy, nosy, and a shameless gossip, but she was also strong, smart, and fun when she wanted to be. She beamed at me, her lips no longer stained with slushies. The thought of kissing Trina didn’t seem so bad now.
MARTY CHAN is a nationally-known dramatist, screenwriter, and author. His juvenile novel, The Mystery of the Frozen Brains, won the Edmonton Book Prize, and was also listed as one of the Best Books of 2004 for grades three to six by Resource Links magazine. The second book in the Chan Mystery Series, The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul, won the 2008 SYRCA Young Readers’ Choice Diamond Willow Award, and was shortlisted for the 2007 Golden Eagle Children’s Choice Book Award, and the 2007 Arthur Ellis Crime Writers of Canada Award in the Best Juvenile category., and the 2008 R. Ross Annett Alberta Literary Award for Children’s Literature. The fourth book in the series, The Mystery of the Cyber Bully was a finalist for the 2011 John Spray Mystery Award. Marty Chan lives in Edmonton, Alberta.