She proceeded to tell him about the little scene they’d just had with Mr. Stone—and their belief that there was something—papers or reports or files—in his office that might incriminate him. She finished by asking him if he had any idea what those papers might be.
Brian’s response was to shake his head slowly and look discouraged.
“I’m afraid you’re not going to have much luck,” he said. “The reason that they hired us computer people in the first place was to eliminate all that paperwork. Practically every piece of information about the hospital—reports, memos, budgets, billing files—is on a computer disk. So even if you could get into Mr. Stone’s office, you wouldn’t be able to sit there and look through his files....”
Instead of becoming discouraged, however, both Chris’s and Susan’s brown eyes lit up.
“Computer disks!” Chris cried. “Of course! If that’s where the hospital’s financial information is stored, then that’s the best place to look for something that would tie Mr. Stone into,-its money problems! Oh, Brian, you’ve got to help us!”
Brian gulped. “Well, sure, Chris. But ... but how?”
Chris thought for a few seconds. “You’ve got to teach one of us how to operate the computer system.”
“What?” Brian was flabbergasted.
“Well, you told me yourself that operating the computers here was pretty straightforward,” Susan reminded him. “Remember? It was as we were driving to the hospital on Monday....”
“I don’t know.... Do either of you girls know anything about computers?”
“I do,” Chris piped up. “A little, anyway. We have them at our high school, back in Whittington.”
“And Chris is a math whiz,” Susan added. “If anyone can learn how to work your computers quickly, it’s Chris.”
“Wait a minute.” Brian still wasn’t convinced. “Let’s say that over the next hour or so, while everybody’s at lunch, I teach Chris how to operate our computers. How are you girls going to get ahold of the disks in Mr. Stone’s office in the first place?”
“Leave that up to us,” Chris said with a confident wave of her hand. “Sooz and I are experts at that sort of thing.”
“Okay. Let’s say the two of you manage—somehow—to get the disks and use the computer to find out what’s on them. What about the party? Mr. Stone is sure to show up, and he expects both of you girls to be there, too.”
“That’s the easiest part,” Susan replied with a mischievous smile. “During the party while Chris is looking for evidence, I’ll stand in for her at the party. Some of the time, anyway.”
Brian frowned. “I’m afraid I still don’t follow. . . .”
“It’s simple. I’ll be Susan—myself—for a while. You know, I’ll show up at the party dressed the way I usually dress, introduce myself to all the kids, make sure Mr. Stone sees me. Then I’ll slip off to wash my hands—and then Chris will show up. Or at least someone who looks just like Chris, and who dresses the way she does and acts the way she does.
“Oh, I get it!” Brian shook his head slowly. “You’ll be both Chris and Susan, one at a time. It sounds like a great idea. A brainstorm, in fact. But isn’t that going to be a bit difficult to carry off?”
“Not for us!” Chris laughed. “All we need is two sets of clothes, a little bit of acting ability ... and a whole lot of bravery!”
“That’s right. And we know from experience that when it comes to something like the Candy Cane Caper,” Susan went on, wearing a big grin, “we Pratt twins happen to have all three of those key ingredients. Especially the third!”
Chapter Twelve
Right from the start, it was apparent to everyone that the Christmas Eve celebration was going to be one that the patients at the Ridgewood Children’s Hospital would never forget. Ever since the children had first heard about the party, they hadn’t been able to think or talk about anything else. Spirits were high as they hurried to the sun-room on the hospital’s top floor at seven o’clock that evening. Many of them were dressed in their bathrobes and slippers—and practically all of them were whispering and giggling in gleeful anticipation of the evening ahead.
As soon as they saw the sun-room, the children knew they weren’t about to be disappointed. A huge Christmas tree, the largest one that John Pratt and Andy had been able to find, was set up in one corner, decorated with strings of popcorn, candy canes, and tiny white lights that had been donated by Alfredo himself. Underneath the tree were dozens and dozens of packages wrapped up in pretty red and green paper and ribbons, each one with a gift tag bearing the name of one of the children.
In the opposite corner was a table laden with Christmas cookies, hot apple cider ... and, in the middle, Susan and Emily Pratt’s magnificent gingerbread house. There were other decorations as well, and Christmas carols were playing in the background. The twins themselves were all decked out in their holiday finery: Chris in black wool pants and the distinctive red and green hand-knit sweater that her grandmother had made her for Christmas the year before, Susan in a red velveteen jumper and a white ruffled blouse. Their short chestnut-brown hair was brushed back off their faces in identical styles. They both looked lovely—all dressed up and ready for a party.
Everything was perfect—except for one small thing. The room was very warm, so warm, in fact, that some of the windows were open. Instead of being annoyed that the heat was turned up as high as it was, however, the twins were pleased. After all, they were the ones who had sneaked into the closet where the thermostat was and turned the heat way up high late that afternoon....
Susan and Chris had been busy all day—but as soon as they saw the joyful expressions on the children’s faces, their huge smiles and their shining eyes, they knew it had all been worth it.
“Wow! Just look at this place!” exclaimed Danny when he saw the sun-room. His eyes grew as round as the holly wreath that was hanging on the door. “I don’t even feel like I’m in the hospital anymore!”
Chris and Susan looked at each other and grinned triumphantly. After all, that was exactly what they had been hoping for.
“Hey, am I seeing things?” cried Brian as he came in. “You girls have really done a job on this place!”
“Glad you like it,” returned Chris. In a much softer voice, she added, “Now if we can only do half as effective a job on our second mission for this evening ... !”
Brian acknowledged her comment with a wink. Then he went on to say, in a loud voice, “But, gee, it sure is hot in here! Do you suppose there’s something wrong with the heat?”
“Maybe,” Chris replied, just as loudly. “If it doesn’t get cooler soon, I’ll go track down someone from maintenance and ask him if he can turn it down.”
It wasn’t long before the sun-room—now the Ridgewood Children’s Hospital’s official Christmas headquarters—was filled with children, nurses, doctors, and other hospital personnel. And, of course, Mr. Stone himself.
The very first thing he did was survey the room, pick Susan and Chris out of the crowd, and make a beeline in their direction.
“I’m glad to see that you’re both here,” he said, his tone congenial but the look in his eyes meaningful. “And I’m looking forward to a long evening here at the party.”
“That’s great, Mr. Stone,” Chris said, sounding both hearty and convincing. “The more the merrier, I always say. Of course, both Sooz and I expect to be pretty busy. There’s still a lot to do, you know. Running a party for a few dozen kids isn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world!”
“Don’t worry,” Susan interjected. “We’ll manage. We’ll just have to stay on our toes, that’s all!”
The glance that the twins exchanged went unnoticed by Mr. Stone.
“It is awfully hot in here, though,” Mr. Stone went on to say, loosening his tie and looking very uncomfortable. “The heat’s been turned way up ever since this afternoon. I’d better talk to the maintenance people....”
“That’s all right, I’ll do it,
” Chris offered. “As soon as things get under way. In the meantime, all the windows are open—see?”
By that point, all the children had arrived, and it was time for the party. Singing Christmas carols seemed like the best way to get things rolling, and Mrs. King had cheerfully agreed to the twins’ suggestion that she repeat her performance of the day before, playing holiday melodies on the piano, this time for the children’s benefit.
“Boys and girls, we’re lucky enough to have a fine entertainer here with us this evening,” Chris announced in her best mistress-of-ceremonies voice. “Eleanor King will be playing some Christmas classics, and we can all sing along. Who knows? This might turn out to be the very first performance of what becomes the Ridgewood Children’s Hospital Chorus!”
As Mrs. King began with “Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem,” Susan and Chris made a point of standing right next to Mr. Stone.
“It’s so hot,” Susan complained in a loud whisper. “Why don’t you go see what you can do, Chris?”
Chris pretended to be somewhat reluctant. “Well . . . okay. I am enjoying the music, but you’re right: It is hot.” With that, she left the sun-room.
As soon as she left, Chris stopped in at the washroom right across the hall from the sun-room, slipped off her pants and sweater and left them hanging on a hook in one of the stalls, and changed into the jeans and blue and white sweater she had stored there before the party began.
Once that was accomplished and she was hurrying down the hall toward the stairs, Chris became aware of how hard her heart was pounding. This mission was turning out to be scarier than she’d anticipated. She was about to break into Mr. Stone’s office, look through his possessions, steal into the computer room, and examine whatever computer disks she managed to find ... all as quickly and as silently as she could. Not to mention as thoroughly as she could ... knowing the whole time that at any moment she could be discovered.
Even so, it was too late to turn back now. Not that she really wanted to. Not when she thought about the possibility that the children’s hospital might close ... and that Mr. Stone could very well be the cause.
Chris dashed down to the main floor and then slipped out the back door. By now her nervousness had vanished. She was too busy carrying out the carefully thought-out steps of the Candy Cane Caper.
She was anxious to see if the brainstorm she’d had earlier that day had worked. Sure enough, as she neared the section of the building where the window in Mr. Stone’s office was, she saw right away that her plan had been successful. Since she and Brian had turned up the heat so high, everyone, including Mr. Stone, had been forced to open the windows in their offices. His was open just a bit ... but all she needed was a space big enough for her to fit her fingers in. After that, pulling it open the rest of the way was a snap. And since his office was in the basement, the tiny window was at ground level, the perfect height for a slim, nimble girl to slip through.
That was exactly what she did after brushing away some of the snow that was piled up next to the building. Getting into Mr. Stone’s office was simple, thanks to a bit of forethought. Now she had to find the computer disks, and she had to work quickly. . . .
Susan, meanwhile, waited a few minutes, until Mr. Stone was totally absorbed in singing, “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing!” along with all the children. Then she slipped away, into the washroom across the hall. With lightning speed she took off her jumper and blouse and pulled on Chris’s pants and sweater. After a quick peek in the mirror just to make sure that she did, indeed, look just like her twin sister, she dashed back to the sun-room once again.
At that point, Mrs. King took out a carton filled with musical instruments, mostly bells, and she invited each child to take an instrument, gather around the piano, and accompany her as she played and sang, “Jingle Bells.” There was quite a bit of commotion as everyone scampered around the room excitedly, and Susan-as-Chris pretended to bump right into Mr. Stone.
“Ooops—sorry,” she said, sounding as casual as Chris would have in such a situation. “Guess I’d better try watching where I’m going. Well, I found someone from maintenance, all right. He said the thermostat is stuck or something, so it’ll be a while until things get back to normal. But don’t worry, he’s working on it.” She flashed him a big smile, then went over to the piano to join the others.
So far so good, Susan-as-Chris was thinking as she heartily sang, “Dashing through the snow ...”
Downstairs, her sister had just dropped from the open window onto the floor of Mr. Stone’s office. Because all the windows in the hospital were open, she could hear from up above, the children singing, “Jingle Bells.” But she was too wrapped up in what she was doing to appreciate the fact that their celebration was already turning out to be a lot of fun for them. Stealthily she opened drawers and cabinets, hoping to stumble upon some computer disks ... but all she found were office supplies and papers, none of which looked relevant.
Finally, on the edge of despair, Chris stood in the middle of the small office and looked around one more time. There just had to be something in here somewhere, yet she had checked every drawer, every file ... everything. And nothing had turned up....
And then she spotted Mr. Stone’s briefcase. It was tucked behind a coat rack, on which his gray wool coat was hung. It was a long shot, she knew, but she was running out of alternatives. Carefully, nervously, she placed the leather briefcase on the desk and undid the two gold locks.
Please, please, let them be in here, she was thinking as she opened it up.
Upstairs, Susan noticed that Mr. Stone was looking around the room nervously ... and she was afraid he might be noticing that Chris’s twin sister was nowhere to be found.
“Excuse me, Mr. Stone,” she asked him with a big smile. “Is there a bathroom on this floor?”
“Right across the hall,” he replied, still looking around the room.
“Great,” she said, and she bounded out of the room.
No more than three minutes later, when Mr. Stone saw Susan in the room once again, he looked noticeably relieved.
As Mr. Stone and Susan were discussing the possibility of another snowfall, Chris was five floors below, peering inside Mr. Stone’s briefcase.
They’re here! she was thinking, tempted to yelp with glee but remembering just in time that this wasn’t the time and place to be making any noise, even with the children’s chorus covering up whatever sounds she couldn’t help making,
Indeed, there were several computer disks inside the briefcase, along with a few other things that obviously belonged to Mr. Stone. There were labels stuck on the upper left-hand corner of each one, and Chris glanced through them. Most of them were Patient Billing or Memos or other categories that were of little interest to her.
But two of them looked very interesting. One was labeled, Budget Submitted. And the other was labeled Budget Revised.
Two budgets, Chris thought with an earnest frown. Now that’s interesting. Why on earth would a hospital have two budgets?
There was only one way to find out.
As she left Mr. Stone’s office, she closed the door gently behind her, but not until she had placed a small piece of cardboard against the bolt so that while the office appeared to be closed up, exactly the way that Mr. Stone had left it, the door wouldn’t really be locked.
The computer room was deserted, just as she had known it would be. Chris hurried over to the computer terminal that Brian always used and, mumbling the directions he had given her only that day, turned the machine on, slipped in the disks, and booted up.
I hope I can remember everything, she thought nervously. She punched in the password, followed the instructions she had worked so hard to memorize ... sure enough, as she pushed the keys and typed in the proper responses, a list of figures entitled “Budget Submitted” appeared on the screen.
Quickly she jotted down some of the figures. “Grounds Upkeep,” for example, was listed as costing $10,000. She was tempted to copy the wh
ole thing onto paper, but she was in too much of a hurry to see what the other disk, the Budget Revised, was all about.
As soon as she pressed the right keys and brought the information stored on the second disk onto the screen, Chris’s mouth dropped open. The format of this budget was the same ... but the additional numbers on it astonished her. Next to “Grounds Upkeep,” it said, “Budgeted: $10,000.” Then it said, “Actual cost: $8,000. Difference: $2,000.”
So that was what Mr. Stone was doing! He had submitted a budget that indicated that hospital costs were higher than they actually were, then kept the difference for himself! He was embezzling money from the hospital ... and in Chris’s hands was tangible proof.
We’ve done it! she thought, turning off the computer, then rushing back to Mr. Stone’s office and putting everything back in order once again before locking it up and heading toward the stairs, with the computer disks tucked safely into her purse. The Candy Cane Caper worked! I managed to find proof that Mr. Stone is, indeed, stealing from the hospital! All I have to do is show it to the board, and he’ll be fired ... and brought up for criminal charges. Then the Ridgewood Children’s Hospital can hire a new director—an honest director—and it won’t have to close after all!
As she hurried toward the sun-room, so thrilled over what she had just discovered that she felt as if she were ready to burst, Chris could hear the children laughing and clapping. Telling Susan and Brian about what she had found would have to wait a while. After all, it sounded as if the surprise she had been planning ever since Thursday, having Andy Connors put in a surprise appearance at the party dressed as Santa Claus himself, had finally come off—and she couldn’t wait to see the look on everyone’s face. Especially her twin’s!
But as she strode into the sun-room, Chris’s expression was the one that caused everyone to break into merry laughter. She was amazed to see that there were two Santa Clauses in the room, handing out the presents to the children.
The Candy Cane Caper Page 10