by Rosa Jordan
He put in another hour on Thursday, and on Friday it took him less than an hour to finish up. Justin was putting the tools away when Mr. Hashimoto came out to check on his progress.
Lily’s father always looked like he was about to smile. Justin had never seen him actually smile or frown, and he wasn’t doing either one now. He hoped Mr. Hashimoto approved of his work and would pay him well. They hadn’t even talked about money when he’d started clearing the lot.
“A fine job, Justin. You work hard, and fast. I expected it to take you all week and most of Saturday, too.” He smiled—a small smile, but definitely a smile—and handed Justin twenty dollars. “I don’t have anything more for you to do right now, but I might find a regular job for you this summer, if you’re interested.”
“Thanks.” Justin looked down at the twenty-dollar bill. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Twenty dollars, thought Justin as he walked home. That’s enough to pay my share, with five dollars left over. He might be able to get Kate to donate the four dollars she had left, but that still wouldn’t be enough to cover Chip’s share. He might be forced to borrow the remaining six dollars from Charlie. Trouble was, he wouldn’t see his dad until Saturday night, and he had to settle up with Mr. Grimsted before then.
In spite of the money in his pocket, Justin still felt like he was carrying a double load on his shoulders. He not only had to come up with the rest of the money, but he also had to figure out how to get the money to Grimsted without his going ballistic and calling the police.
As Justin walked up the driveway, Chip leapt off the front porch and came tearing toward him, holding his arms straight out like airplane wings. A piece of paper flapped from each hand. It wasn’t till Chip got close and made two zooming circles around him that Justin realized the flapping paper was money. At first he thought it must be play money, but when Chip stopped and thrust it toward him, he saw that it was the real thing: a five-dollar bill and a ten.
“Where’d you get the cash, twerp? Rob a bank?”
“My ducks!” Chip stopped playing airplane and started waddling like a duck, making whack-whack noises.
Chip had been crazy about the ducks from the start. When Mom first brought them home, they were small and fluffy and yellow. At that time Justin was taking care of the calves, and Kate had her goat, Sugar, who had to be milked night and morning, so Mom had given the ducks to Chip. He liked the way they walked, the noises they made, and the way they glided on the water. He didn’t mind feeding them and he loved gathering the big bluish eggs.
“You sold some of your quackers?” Justin asked, although, as attached as Chip was to the ducks, he couldn’t believe his brother would do such a thing.
“No, silly! The eggs! I sold fifteen eggs to Ruby for fifteen dollars!”
Justin couldn’t believe that either. “Why? She can probably buy fifty eggs for that at the grocery store!”
Chip looked hurt. “Ducks eggs are special.”
“Yeah, but still—” He grinned at Chip. “Nice going, little brother. Has Luther got his share?”
“Yes, and Lily, too. Do you?”
“I do,” Justin said. “Which means we all do. Gimme five!”
Chip slapped his hand and ran into the house.
When Justin reached the porch, Kate was sitting there on a stool. Ruby stood behind her, putting her hair into a zillion tiny braids.
“How do you like my hair?” Kate asked, shaking her head like a horse shaking its mane.
In Justin’s opinion, Ruby’s braids, so long and black, were a lot prettier than Kate’s shoulder-length blonde ones, but he kept that to himself. All he said was, “Good way to wear it when you go out with Dad. It won’t blow around so much when he has the top down.”
“Which he always does,” Kate reminded him. Normally Friday was Justin’s night, but he’d been afraid he might not finish the work at Mr. Hashimoto’s in time, so he’d asked Kate to switch nights with him. She had agreed, so he wouldn’t be going out with Charlie until tomorrow. By that time Justin hoped to have the Grimsted problem dealt with, so he could relax and enjoy his time with his dad.
“Hold your head still, girl!” Ruby told Kate. “Careful, champ,” she said to Justin, pointing. “Don’t step on my eggs.”
He saw a basket of big duck eggs sitting near the door. “Extra-large,” Justin noted. “What’re you going to do with them?”
“Chip suggested I paint them. Not dye them, but hand-paint them, and sell them to Miss Tutweiler as Easter centerpieces for the tables at her restaurant. I phoned her about it, and she went for the idea.”
Justin stared at Ruby. “That was Chip’s idea?”
“The part about painting them was. He even offered to let me use his felt-tipped pens. But I’ve got some acrylics of my own.” Ruby grinned at Justin. “I might be the first artist in America to get famous painting duck eggs.”
Justin was happy that they’d all been able to come up with their share of the money so quickly, but something about it made him a little suspicious. In a way, it had been too easy. He wondered if Booker had told Ruby, and that was why she bought the eggs from Chip. If that was the case, Mom would eventually hear about it, and then he would have a lot of explaining to do. But that was a small worry now. The main thing was that each of them had their fifteen dollars, and tomorrow they could repay Grimsted—hopefully without his deciding to repay them in some unpleasant way!
25
BOOKER AND MOM
Justin was about to go in the house when he saw Booker’s van pulling into the driveway. Justin waved from the porch, but Booker was looking in the other direction, toward Mom, who was just coming home from the nursery. Justin could tell that Booker wanted to talk to his mother, not to him.
Booker stuck one big brown muscular arm out the window to shake Mom’s hand. She made a motion toward the house like she was inviting Booker in, but he shook his head. Mom leaned against the van, talking to Booker through the window. The late afternoon sun shone on her hair, giving it a golden glow. For just a second, Justin looked at his mother in an entirely new way, and he saw what a pretty woman she really was.
Just then Charlie’s convertible came roaring up the driveway. Their dad usually stopped in front of the house and honked for whichever kid was going with him that particular day. But for some reason, this time he pulled up right next to Booker’s van and got out.
Mom stepped back from the van and stared at the red sports car.
“Well,” boomed Charlie, “if it isn’t the great Booker Wilson. Down for a little visit?” Charlie was grinning, but something about him didn’t seem friendly. “I hear you been spending a lot of time around here.”
Mom turned and yelled toward the house, “KATE! Your father is here and he’s in a hurry to leave.” His mother’s face was red, and Justin could see that she was really angry.
“I’m ready,” Kate called, bursting through the front door and bounding off the porch. “Come on, Dad. We’ll be late for the movie!”
In fact, Charlie had never seemed to mind being late for a movie, but he made a big show of hurrying back to the car. “No problem. We’ll only miss the credits,” he told Kate, and opened the door for her with a flourish. “In you go, Miss Teen America.”
Giving Mom and Booker a nasty look, Charlie turned his little sports car in a tight circle across the side yard, zoomed out to Lost Goat Lane, and careened onto the highway with a squeal of tires.
Justin was often bewildered by grown-up behavior, but this time he had no trouble working out what had just happened. Charlie was jealous seeing Mom talking to Booker and that had infuriated her. It wasn’t any of Charlie’s business who she talked to.
Justin glanced at Ruby. She had watched the whole scene through the screen door. She raised a did-you-see-that? eyebrow at him, so he knew he was right.
Mom still looked a little upset, but she started talking to Booker again. In a minute they were laughing, and Mom nodded yes to something he’d s
aid.
“Hey, Sis,” Booker finally called to Ruby. “Want a lift home?”
“Thought you’d never ask,” Ruby cracked, and went to get in the van.
“Thanks, both of you!” Mom said as they pulled out.
“You’re welcome,” Booker called back. “That’s what friends are for.”
Mom came up on the porch smiling, with none of the usual after-work tiredness showing in her face.
“What are friends for?” Justin asked. Even though Mom and Booker’s conversation had seemed very private, and he hadn’t been able to hear what they were saying, he couldn’t stop wondering if they’d been talking about him.
“For inviting people places,” Mom said, blasting Justin with an even bigger smile that showed both her dimples.
“Booker invited you someplace?”
“He invited us. To visit him. In Atlanta.”
For a minute Justin stood there with his mouth hanging open. When he got over the shock, all he could think of to say was, “Why?”
“That college where Booker coaches offers a lot of athletic scholarships. Wouldn’t you like to see what kind of place it is?”
“Sure! But, I mean—when?”
“Well, you know his spring break is just ending and yours starts next week. He suggested we drive up Thursday and stay for the weekend. He thought you might want to find out what kind of athletic program they have there and, well, you know, just take a look around.”
Justin followed Mom into the house in a daze. Going to visit Booker was better than any dream, mainly because now it wasn’t a dream. It was really going to happen, not five years from now, but next week.
Before that, though—the very next day in fact—he had to find a way to get the money to Grimsted without ending up at the police station.
26
GRIMSTED REVISITED
Actually, Justin didn’t figure out how to get the money to Grimsted. He simply woke up Saturday morning knowing. It was as if the idea had come winging through his bedroom window while he slept and was waiting in his brain when he opened his eyes.
He couldn’t tell the others about it until Mom left for work. Justin was about to explain his idea to Kate and Chip when Luther came pounding up the steps, followed by Lily. Lily jammed her hands into her pockets and brought them both out filled with one-dollar bills. “Here’s my share. You wouldn’t believe how many planters my dad made me fill to earn fifteen dollars.”
The others began reaching into their own pockets. Justin waved the money away. “Keep it for now. We’ve got something else to deal with first. Kate, do you have any magazines? Old ones we can cut up?”
“I don’t want my magazines cut up,” Kate protested. “I bought them with my own money, and they’re not cheap.”
“We’re not going to wreck them,” Justin promised. “Just—well, go get some of the older ones and I’ll show you.”
Kate disappeared into her room while the rest of them sat on the living room floor, squirming and occasionally pushing or punching each other. Little kids, Justin thought, are like puppies. They can’t be still unless they’re asleep.
“Hurry up!” he yelled to Kate. He was feeling pretty twitchy himself.
Kate came back with a stack of magazines, holding them close to her chest protectively.
“Okay,” Justin said, “Here’s what we do. We’re going to make a note, using words cut out of the magazine. You know, like a ransom note. Only this will be a reverse ransom note. Instead of telling Grimsted he’s got to give us money to get his goat back, we’ll tell him this is the money for his goat.”
“Who’s going to give him the note?” Lily asked.
“We’ll put it through his mail slot.”
“With the money?” Chip asked.
“That’s right. Then he’ll have the money, and the note will explain what it’s for.” Justin looked at Luther. “You think Booker will go for that?”
Luther nodded slowly. “I think Uncle Booker will be cool with that.”
Kate passed a magazine to each child. “Only take words out of ads. And make sure there’s not an interesting article on the other side.”
“So what words are we looking for?” Lily asked.
“All the note has to say is, ‘Here is the money for your goat.’ So I guess it’s just those seven words.”
Kate rummaged in the desk for scissors, glue, and a sheet of paper. She even found a manila envelope. By the time she got back with the supplies, the others had found all the words except “goat.” They flipped through the pages for fifteen minutes, but Kate’s magazines, which were 99 percent about movie stars and clothes and makeup, did not have anything to say about goats.
Finally Chip said, “Why don’t we do a put-together?”
Justin slapped himself on the head. “Of course! Find a ‘go’ and an ‘at.’ That’s all we need!”
The “go” was small and the “at” was large, but when they got them glued together on the sheet of paper, the message was perfectly clear.
Here is the MONEY for your goAT
“Now for the money,” Justin said, counting as everyone handed him their share. “Fifteen, thirty, forty, forty-five, fifty-five, sixty.” Then Lily counted out fifteen ones, and they all said at the same time, “Seventy-five!”
Justin folded the note around the money, put it in the envelope, and sealed it carefully.
“Now what?” Chip asked.
“I take it to his house,” Justin said.
“No way,” Kate objected.
Justin frowned. “Why not?”
“For one thing, you’re the one Grimsted knows best. If he sees you anywhere near his place, he’s sure to call the police. I say the rest of us should go.”
“Too risky,” Justin argued. “Better for me to go alone.”
Luther stood and brushed the cut-up bits of paper off his clothes. “Uncle Booker said we have to give the money back to Grimsted because we took the goat. We means all of us.”
“Look,” Justin said. “If we all go marching up to Grimsted’s door together, we’ll get caught for sure. If just one person goes, it’ll be a lot easier to drop the envelope through the slot without being seen.”
“How about we all go to the playground,” Chip proposed, “and then one person sneaks up to Grimsted’s house and puts it through the mail slot?”
“Which one?” Lily asked.
“Me,” Justin said.
Kate shook her head. “We draw straws.” She went into the kitchen and came back with a handful of straws from the broom.
“Not now.” She shoved the straws into the back pocket of her jeans. “When we get to the playground.”
Justin knew from experience that when Kate got that determined look on her face, it was pointless to argue with her. Besides, they didn’t have time to argue about it, not if they were going to walk. The smaller kids bounded off the porch and were already halfway out to Lost Goat Lane by the time Justin had slipped the envelope under his shirt and tucked it into his waistband. He had to hurry to catch up.
Kate veered off into the nursery to tell Mom they were going for a walk. The nursery was busy, as it always was on weekend mornings. In barely a minute, Kate was back.
“Did she ask where we were going?” Justin wanted to know.
“Sure.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I said we were taking the little kids to the playground.”
“We’re not little kids,” Lily muttered.
“Sorry,” Kate said.
“Did she say anything else?” Justin asked anxiously.
“Yeah.” Kate rolled her eyes. “She said we were ‘good role models’ for the little—I mean, for the younger children.”
They stood at the edge of the playground looking up the street toward Grimsted’s house. His car wasn’t out front, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t at home. Now that he wasn’t holding Little Billy prisoner in the garage, he might keep his car in there.
Kate held up her fist with five straws poking out. “We draw by age,” she said. “Youngest first. And don’t look until we’ve finished.”
One by one they each drew a straw. Justin pulled out the last one and held it up so the others could measure theirs against it. His heart sank when he saw that Luther had picked the shortest one. As soon as Luther realized he had the short straw, a stricken look came into his eyes.
“It’s okay,” Justin said, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I’ll deliver the money.”
When Justin pulled the envelope from under his shirt, Luther snatched it from his hand. “I’m not a coward!” he yelled, and darted up the street.
From the playground they watched Luther thrust the reverse ransom payment through the mail slot. Justin was surprised when, instead of coming back to where they were, Luther raced around the far side of the garage and headed toward the alley.
“He’s going over the fence,” Chip said, as if he’d read Luther’s mind. “Once he’s in the vacant lot, he’ll be hidden by the weeds. He’ll wait for us at the store—you know, the one where we got the milk crates.”
“Are you sure?” Kate asked. But Chip had already started running.
The rest of them followed, and sure enough, when they reached the little store, Luther was standing on the sidewalk, grinning. He hooked his thumbs in his pockets and swaggered as he walked toward them. “Mission accomplished,” he said proudly.
“Was he at home?” Justin asked anxiously.
“Don’t know,” Luther replied. “Soon as I stepped on the porch I heard dogs barking, so I shoved the envelope through the mail slot and split!”
“Dogs?” They looked at each other.
“Forget it!” Justin said quickly. “We are not going to rescue any dogs.”
27
THE MALL
The others must have felt the same way Justin did—lucky to have wriggled out of the goatnapping mess without getting caught—because none of them even mentioned nosing around Grimsted’s house to find out if the dogs were being mistreated.
