A duck waddled past me into the room, quacking happily. Behind it a turkey gobble-gobbled. A parrot flew in, squawking. Feathers chirped. Hoot kept her beak shut. Sometimes she’s so stuck-up.
E.J. looked from the duck to the turkey to the parrot and then back to the canary and the owl.
I love confusion, especially when I cause it.
E.J. did not know which bird was the present!
My plan had worked. The secret was safe.
E.J. pushed his hat back. “Clever work, Liver, but I still know the present is a bird! So there!”
I had to think fast.
I said, “Let’s go to my office.”
I think faster there.
I led the way.
chapter fifteen
Spilling the Secret … Maybe
“Nice place,” E.J. said, fingering my red phone.
We sat down.
E.J. was chuckling. “A bird is a really weird present,” he said. “Especially if it’s a turkey. Weird presents are the greatest. I wanted to get Desiree something weird but I couldn’t find anything.”
I looked E.J. straight in the eye. “What are you giving Desiree for her birthday?”
He squirmed. Then he said, “That’s my secret until she opens it. I want her to be surprised.”
“See?” I said. “Even you know that birthday secrets should be kept.”
I leaned toward him. “Listen to me, E.J. I don’t know how long you’ve been a spy, but there are some cases you shouldn’t take. You think I take every case that comes along?”
So far I had. But they were all good causes.
I put my feet up on my desk. “We both want Desiree to have a happy birthday, right?”
E.J. was staring or glaring at me. Hard to tell which.
“I worked hard on this case,” he said. “You want me to drop it?”
“Your choice.” I pointed to my red telephone. “You can use this to call Desiree.”
I tapped my fingers on my desk while E.J. dialed. Was he going to spill the bird secret?
It seemed to take forever for Desiree to answer.
Then E.J. spoke into the phone. “E.J.’s Spy Service reporting in,” he said. “I finished the case. Got the big answer. You’ll love this, Desiree. Your birthday present is—”
I didn’t want to hear it!
“WEIRD!” he announced. “Glad I could be of help.”
E.J. hung up.
chapter sixteen
Tea for Two
E.J. wasn’t so bad after all.
I invited him for tea. He took off his hat and stayed.
He called me Liver twice, but I let it pass.
After he left, I went to my office and called Sheena. “All’s well,” I said.
For her and Duncan and Mortimer it was. For me, I had to plan a future for a duck, a turkey, and a parrot.
I started and finished a file on the case. This is how I ended it:
Then I wrote to my cousin.
Published by
Yearling
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Random House Children’s Books
a division of Random House, Inc.
New York
Text copyright © 1990 by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Mitchell Sharmat
Illustrations copyright©1990 by Denise Brunkus
All illustrations of Nate the Great copyright © by Marc Simont
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eISBN: 978-0-307-55981-4
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