Max & Me Mysteries Set

by Patricia H. Rushford

  Her smile slipped away. “We’re not out of the woods yet, Jessie. Your mother is right to be concerned. She said you were out on the water and picnicking for over eight hours yesterday.”

  “Most of the time I was just sitting in the boat. I don’t want to just stay home.”

  “You can be as active as you feel like being. Remember the deal we made when you first started back to public school?”

  “Like I could forget.” I rolled my eyes and recited the list. “Listen to my body and my parents. Don’t push too hard. Stop when I feel myself getting tired. Eat well-balanced meals; take my medications.”

  Dr. Caldwell chuckled. “I’ll tell your mom to go easy on you. But, Jessie, more freedom comes with a price. You need to be responsible for your own care. Don’t do things that are going to set you back. If you do that you force others, like myself and your parents, to make decisions for you.”

  I nodded that I understood. And I did. It’s just that being friends with normal kids like Max and Cooper makes it hard to stick to the rules.

  We went back out to the waiting room, where Dr. Caldwell talked to my mother, going over the things we’d covered. On the way home I leaned back and closed my eyes, mostly so Mom wouldn’t lecture me and go over the same stuff again. When we got home, I went upstairs.

  I got lost in my favorite mystery series and stayed there until dinner. After that I helped with dishes and then settled on the couch and watched the news with Dad. The newscasters mentioned that the Sanchez children were still missing and then went right into a report about the string of robberies. “Police are not making the connection between the missing children and the robberies as yet, but will be carefully examining the evidence.”

  I leaned forward. “Did they just say what I thought they said? They think Enrique is involved in the robberies?”

  Dad pushed the mute button when a commercial came on. “The robberies started shortly before Enrique and his sisters disappeared. The police have to look at every angle.”

  “That’s just not right. Enrique wouldn’t do anything like that.”

  Dad rubbed my shoulder. “I can appreciate your wanting to stand up for him, Jessie, but he had to be desperate to run away.”

  I couldn’t stand to watch any more news, so I went back upstairs to read.

  It was getting dark outside when Mom poked her head in my room. “Are you too tired to go with me to the store, Jessie?”

  “Which one?” I was hoping for the mall in Lakeside, but realized it was too late for that.

  “I need to pick up some groceries at Hansen’s. Thought you might like to get out for a while. Your dad is watching a Mariners game, and he wants ice cream.”

  “Sure.” I got my shoes on and hurried after her. “I can go. Is Sam coming?”

  She laughed. “Of course.”

  A few minutes later we pulled into Hansen’s parking lot. “It won’t take me too long. Maybe you could watch Sam.”

  “Can I ride the bouncing horse and the car?” Sam asked, running ahead.

  “Sure.” When we got inside, Mom handed me some change. “That will give him three rides. I should be done by then.”

  Sam climbed up on the horse, and I plugged two quarters into it. For the next few minutes Sam pretended to be a rodeo rider. Then a race car driver. At about the middle of Sam’s third ride, Cooper came in and stopped to talk. “How’d your doctor’s appointment go?” he asked.

  “Good.” I grinned up at him. I swear, every time I see him he’s grown another inch.

  “Max and I are going out on the lake again tomorrow. Do you think you can come?”

  “Definitely. Did you see the news?”

  “Yeah, and I can’t believe they’re …”

  “I need more quarters.” Sam yanked at my arm.

  Annoyed at him for interrupting, I said, “You used all Mom gave me.”

  “I want to ride some more.”

  “Sorry, Sam, I can’t help you. Just wait. Mom will be done soon.” I turned my attention back to Cooper. “What time are you going out?”

  “Early. Around eight. If it’s okay, I’ll come to your place and Max will pick us up in the boat.”

  “I’ll have to check with my parents, but it should work.”

  “Are you ready to go, Jessie?” Mom pushed the cart toward us. “Hi, Cooper.”

  Cooper grinned. “Hi, Mrs. Miller. Jessie and I were talking about her, Max, and me going out on the lake again tomorrow. Are you okay with that?”

  “Um …” She glanced at me, and I could tell she was struggling between wanting to protect me and letting me go. She cleared her throat. “That will work.”

  I smiled and gave her a hug. “Thanks, Mom.”

  She hugged me back. “We should go.” Glancing over at the rides, she asked, “Where’s Sam?”

  My happiness dropped into my shoes as my heart flipped over. “He was right here a second ago. He wanted more money for the rides. He must have gone to find you.”

  “Jessie …” Mom pinched her lips together, probably to keep from getting mad at me in front of Cooper. “All right. We’ll just have to look for him.”

  “I’ll help,” Cooper offered.

  Mom nodded. “Jessie, take the bakery and deli area; Cooper, check the fruit department. I’ll do the aisles.”

  We took off to our appointed sections and several minutes later came back to the checkstand area. None of us had found him. “All right, you two look again. I’ll talk to the manager and see if he can page Sam.”

  I heard the page over the PA system and thought Sam would get a kick out of hearing his name. Mom was having him go to the ice-cream section. That should do it. I headed that way. Cooper showed up, and Mom, but no Sam. I was really getting scared. I’d seen too many newscasts about kids being kidnapped. “I’m sorry, Mom.” Tears clouded my vision. “I should have been watching him better.”

  Mom’s arms came around me. “It’s not your fault, honey. Sam wasn’t listening.”

  By now we’d managed to attract a lot of attention. The store security officer introduced himself and told us he’d called the police. They’d check through the store again and branch out into the surrounding area. He told us to stay where we were in case Sam heard the pages.

  I wiped my eyes with the backs of my hands. I tried to think about what I would do if I were in Sam’s place. He probably wasn’t even scared yet, or missing us. Why hadn’t he heard the page? “Mom, I have an idea. He’s not in the store. Maybe he’s in the car.”

  “Good thinking. It’s locked, but he could be waiting beside it.”

  I hurried out to the parking lot, but saw no sign of Sam near the car or anywhere else. The police car was just pulling into the parking lot when I reached the side of the store. “Sam,” I called. No one answered.

  I thought I heard a rustling sound and hurried back along the side of the store. Darkness closed in on me. The streetlight didn’t reach back here, and I wondered why there was no light in back of the store. Still, I could make out the form of an open Dumpster. I jumped back as a dark figure brushed by me, ducked into the bushes, and headed for the lake. I started to follow when I heard footsteps behind me. A heavy hand came down on my shoulder.

  “Hold it right there.”

  CHAPTER

  NINE

  II probably should have said something to the police officer about the person I’d seen, but for several seconds I was too scared to move. I couldn’t have talked if I’d tried. By the time I realized who had come up behind me and practically dragged me back into the store, I realized something else too. The guy who’d run into the bushes might have been Enrique. It made sense. Enrique was probably looking for food. Smart thinking. Grocery stores throw out a lot of food. I’ve heard about charity groups getting tons of perishable foods that were about to get thrown out, but they were still perfectly good to eat.

  “Did you find my brother?” I asked the officer.

  He said he didn’t know. He led me ba
ck to where Mom was waiting. “He wasn’t in the parking lot,” I told her. “I was checking around the side and back when this officer caught me.”

  “You shouldn’t have been out there alone,” the officer said. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to check in.” He said something into his radio mike and walked away.

  “I’m really getting worried.” Mom pulled me into a hug. “I can’t imagine where he could have gone.”

  “You know Sam. Maybe he saw somebody he knows or something. They’ll find him.” They have to. I couldn’t let myself even think that someone had taken him. I thought about the Dumpster and the person I’d seen running away. Sam knew Enrique and went to school with Maela Sanchez, Enrique’s youngest sister. Had the girls been with Enrique? Could Sam have seen them and maybe gone with them?

  “Maybe he’s out in back of the store,” I said, “by the loading dock.”

  “I’m sure someone from the store has looked there already,” Mom said.

  “Probably, but I think I’ll look again.”

  I met Cooper in front of the meat department. “I need to talk to you.” I looked around and pointed toward the back entrance of the store. “Let’s check around the loading dock.”

  On the way I told him about the person I’d seen running away. “It was dark, but I got to thinking it might be Enrique. He might have been looking for food.”

  “You didn’t tell the police …”

  “Not yet.” It upset me that he’d think I would.

  “Well, don’t.” Cooper’s long stride put me about ten feet behind him. I had to run to catch up. “I’m worried that Sam saw him or his sisters. He might have followed them.”

  Cooper turned and I almost ran into him. “Stay here. I can go faster alone.”

  As much as I hated being left behind, he was right. He could go a lot faster without me. While I waited for him, I poked around the cartons and boxes looking for Sam, but had no luck. I finally headed back to the front of the store. The police were looking around the neighborhood by now. The manager was still trying to console my mother.

  “I think we’d better call your father.” Mom pulled the cell phone out of her purse and started punching buttons.

  “Honey, Jessie,” Dad said as he came up behind us. “The police called me. What’s going on?”

  “Dan.” Mom closed the phone and stepped into his arms for a hug. Dad reached for me too.

  “We need to go home in case Sam goes there,” Dad said. “The police said they’d cover the store in case he shows up here. They’re already canvassing the area between here and home.”

  Mom held up one of the grocery bags. “Oh, no. The ice cream is all melted.” Mom seemed to be having a meltdown too.

  “Don’t worry about it.” The store manager took the bag and tossed it into the garbage. “I’ll get you a fresh carton, Mrs. Miller.”

  “Thank you.” Mom couldn’t seem to stop crying now, and it had nothing to do with the ice cream. Dad took her out to the van while I waited for the manager. Not that any of us would be hungry for ice cream or anything else.

  Cooper came back into the store. His expression told me he hadn’t found Sam. I told him what Dad had said.

  “That’s a good idea. I’ll help the cops look for him for a while. Call me on my cell if you hear anything.”

  “I will. Thank you.”

  He nodded and then took off. The manager had brought the ice cream by then, so I hurried out to the van. “What about the car?” I asked as I climbed into the backseat.

  “We can pick it up tomorrow,” Dad said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for your mom to drive right now.”

  I didn’t either. She reached for another tissue and blew her nose.

  When we got home, the lights were on, just like Dad had left them. Everything seemed normal, but it wasn’t.

  I wondered if it ever would be again. Where could Sam have gone? Had someone from the store taken him? Had he seen Enrique and followed him? Sam knew our town nearly as well as I did. He’d walked home from school with me several times. So where was he?

  I went out the patio door and down to our dock. Some of the yard lights were on, causing trees to cast eerie shadows across the lawns. The lake looked cold and dark. I shivered, glad for my sweatshirt. Noticing the tree fort, I wandered over to it. Sam spent a lot of time here playing with the twins. I climbed up the ladder and ducked inside. Thanks to the yard light, I could make out the location of the beanbag chairs and the low table. I settled into one of the bags by the window and stared out at the lake. Sam could be a pest, but I loved the little guy.

  I don’t think I’d ever felt so helpless. I couldn’t stand not doing anything, but what could I do?

  Pretty soon I felt myself nodding off, so I left the tree house and went back inside. I didn’t want to go to sleep, but Mom told me I should. We compromised by me snuggling on the couch next to her.

  The next thing I knew it was daylight. Mom and Dad were sitting at the table with coffee cups in their hands. I knew without asking that Sam hadn’t been found—and that neither of them had slept. I heated water for hot chocolate and sat down at the table. “Have you heard anything?” I asked.

  “They brought in dogs last night.” Dad took a sip of coffee. “They picked up the trail at the grocery store and …” Dad set the coffee down and pinched the bridge of his nose. Mom laid a hand on his arm. She seemed more calm this morning.

  “What?” I didn’t want to upset them more, but I had to know.

  “Sam’s trail ended at the lake.”

  I pulled up my knees and hugged them. The beeper on the microwave went off, but I didn’t move. There was no way Sam would just walk into the lake. Someone had had a boat down there, and I felt certain that someone was Enrique. If Sam went with him, he went willingly. That kid had a scream that could be heard two states away. Unless someone had gagged him.

  “It’s crazy.” Dad sucked in a deep breath and reached for his cup again. “The authorities are suggesting that he may have stumbled across someone doing something illegal and they took him to keep him from talking. I don’t know what to think. They’re searching the lake this morning. I’m heading out in a few minutes.”

  “Dad …” I was about to tell him about Enrique when I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. I stared at the stairs, my mouth hanging open. “It’s him.”

  “Sam!” Mom and Dad yelled at once. They moved so fast, I swear their chairs were still wobbling when they reached the stairs. Dad grabbed Sam and lifted him up into his arms. Mom wrapped her arms around both of them. Totally confused, I pushed myself into the mix.

  “Where have you been?” I asked when things settled down.

  “That’s a very good question, Sam.” Dad hunkered down in front of Sam and Mom, who were now sitting on the steps.

  “Sleepin’.” Sam yawned. “What’s going on?”

  Mom sobbed and hugged him again.

  “We’ve been looking all over for you.” I couldn’t decide whether to be mad or really, really glad. Both, I guess. “One minute you’re in the store and the next, you disappeared.”

  He giggled. “I didn’t disappear. You’re funny.”

  “It’s not funny, Son.” Dad placed his hands on his knees and stood up. “What happened out there? What were you doing down at the lake?”

  Sam raised his eyebrows as if the news had surprised him. He cocked his head and shrugged his shoulders.

  “Are you saying you don’t remember?” Dad frowned, and I could tell he didn’t believe him. Sam put his thumb in his mouth, closed his eyes, and buried his face against Mom’s chest.

  “Not now.” She looked up at Dad and me and wrapped her arms tighter around Sam. “Come on, sleepyhead,” she said. “How about I fix you some strawberry pancakes with whipped cream?”

  He lifted his head and nodded. She planted a kiss on his forehead. “You can tell us all about your adventure later.” Dad picked him up and carried him to the kitchen table while
Mom went ahead. Sam turned around and looked straight at me. I’m not sure how I knew, but I did. I had no doubt that Sam remembered everything about the night before, and he had no intention of telling Mom or Dad. He would tell me though. I’d make sure of that.

  CHAPTER

  TEN

  AAs promised, Max came rowing up to our dock at 8:30. Now that Sam was home and safe, I asked my parents if I could go out on the lake with Max and Cooper. They said yes right away. I think they were too tired to argue.

  “I heard you found Sam,” Max yelled from the dock.

  “How did you find out?”

  “Cooper.”

  I nodded. I had called Cooper right after Sam showed up.

  I went down to meet her. “He was in his room, sleeping. I don’t know for how long, but he must have come home last night while Dad was at the store picking us up.”

  “What did he do, walk home?”

  “More like he got somebody to take him in their boat.” I explained about the dogs and how his scent had vanished at the lake behind the store. “I think it was Enrique.” Then I told her about seeing someone run past me into the bushes. “It’s still a mystery, but I bet Sam will tell me. At least I hope so. He sure isn’t talking to Mom and Dad.”

  “Maybe he’s too scared to talk,” Max suggested.

  I shook my head. “That’s what he wants our parents to believe. Sam isn’t scared, which is why I’m sure it was someone he knows.”

  “I don’t get it.” Max finished tying up the boat and brushed her hands off on her baggy pants. “Why would Enrique take Sam with him and then drop him off at home?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. If the guy I saw was Enrique, he was trying to get away fast. I didn’t see Sam then, but I’m hoping Sam can tell us. Let’s invite him to go for a boat ride with us. That way we can get him alone.”

  “Good thinking.” She looked past me and grinned. “Hey, Coop, it’s about time you got here.”

  I twisted around in time to see Cooper rest his bike against the side of the house and start jogging toward us. “Sorry about that.” Looking at me he said, “What’s the deal with Sam? Did you say he wasn’t missing after all?”