by Lisa Orchard
“Okay,” the three girls said in unison.
Aunt June hurried out of the kitchen. Sarah heard the jingle of keys and then the front door closing. Standing, she picked up her plate and headed for the sink. “Let’s hurry and get this kitchen cleaned up, then we can start getting some info on the freak that followed us today.”
“Great idea,” Jackie said. She stood, picked up her plate and then walked over to the dishwasher.
The girls worked in silence as they cleaned the kitchen and put the leftovers away.
“Come on.” Sarah motioned for them to follow her into Uncle Walt’s office. “Let’s start looking into this Robinson guy.”
“Great idea.” Jackie followed Sarah into the office.
“Yeah, I want to find out what his deal is,” Lacey added.
Sarah pulled a couple more chairs up to the computer, before turning it on. After logging in, she began her search.
“Okay,” Sarah said, shifting in her seat. “Here’s some info on the town of Alden. And they mention the Robinson family, but I don’t see any pictures of them.”
“Hmmm…” Jackie chewed on her lip. “Maybe we could just look up the Robinson name?”
“But we don’t know his first name.” Sarah furrowed her brow. “I wonder if we did a search for Robinsons in Alden, Michigan… I wonder what we’d find with that.”
“I don’t know. Give it a try.” Jackie shrugged.
Sarah typed and then waited for the computer to find the information. She leaned forward and peered at the screen. “Okay… here’s something.” She bit her lip and clicked on the mouse.
“Holy cow,” Jackie said. “He doesn’t look anything like the guy that followed us today.” She furrowed her brow and looked at Sarah.
“You’re right.” She shook her head and stared at the screen. “He’s totally bald and has blue eyes.”
“Are you sure that he’s the Robinson guy we’re looking for? Lacey asked.
Sarah sighed and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “It says right here, he’s the descendant of the great Samuel Robinson who started the logging business in Alden.”
“What’s his name?” Lacey asked, twirling her long blonde hair around her finger.
“His name is Warren, and his son’s name is Michael.”
“So, who is the guy that chased us today?” Jackie asked.
“I don’t know.” Sarah shook her head. “But there’s only one way to find out. We have to go back to Alden.”
“We were planning on going back after school tomorrow. We’ve already set it up with Alex,” Lacey pointed out.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t wait until after school.”
“What are you saying?” Jackie asked.
“I’m saying we skip school tomorrow and head back up to Alden in the morning.”
“What? Are you crazy?” Lacey protested.
“No, I’m not.” Sarah shook her head firmly.
“Yeah… you are,” Lacey argued.
Sarah rolled her eyes. “I can’t sit in school all day when we’re this close to finding Mom and Dad.” She held up her thumb and index finger in a measuring motion. Her fingers were a centimeter apart. “If you don’t want to come, you don’t have to.”
“I’m in,” Jackie said as she put her arm around Sarah.
“We’ll get grounded,” Lacey warned.
“So what?” Sarah challenged. “We’ve been grounded before.”
Lacey sighed and pouted. “You don’t even know if Alex will drive us.”
“We can always ask him.” Sarah clenched her teeth.
“So what are we going to do?” Jackie asked, furrowing her brow. “We’re not going to go up there and just wait for him to come out of the house are we?”
“No. That’d be a waste of time.” Sarah chewed her lip and furrowed her brow. “How are we going to get him to come out of the house?”
“I’ve got it!” Jackie’s face lit up like a light bulb. “We can pretend we’re selling something.”
“That’s a good idea, Jack, but what if that freak answers the door?” Sarah frowned. “I mean we don’t know if he lives there or not. And he’s seen us.”
“True.” Jackie stood and paced, fiddling with her curls as she walked.
“We definitely don’t want him chasing us. I say we don’t go back,” Lacey said as she glared at her sister with angry eyes.
Sarah rolled her eyes and stood. “We have to go back. This is the closest we’ve ever come to finding our parents.” She bent over the desk and turned off the computer.
Jackie let out an exasperated sigh. “You know what? He’s seen all of us. There’s no way we can go up and knock on the door.”
Sarah straightened, placing her hands on her hips. “You got that right… unless we can find someone who’d be willing to do it.”
“No one would be willing to do that,” Lacey stated and exhaled a deep breath.
Sarah made eye contact with Jackie, who slowed her pacing and seemed to be trying to read Sarah’s mind. “What?”
“I bet Scoop would do it.” Sarah grinned and her heart leapt at the possibility of a solution. We’re getting closer. She clenched her hands as they tingled.
Jackie beamed. “I bet he would, too.”
“He would not.” Lacey scoffed. “What a horrible idea.”
Sarah snickered. “We can always ask. What’s the worst that’ll happen? He says no and we have to come up with another idea.”
“Let’s call him.” Jackie grabbed Sarah’s arm and pulled her toward the kitchen.
The two girls made it to the kitchen, where Sarah pulled her phone out of her backpack and punched in Scoop’s number.
“Hello… Scoop?” Sarah spoke into the phone while eyeing Jackie at the same time.
Jackie huddled next to her friend and Sarah turned the phone so she could hear the conversation.
“Sarah Cole. How are you?” Scoop asked.
“I’m good. Can you meet us down at Hinkle’s in like fifteen minutes? The Super Spies need your help.”
“Sure. I’m always willing to help out. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Let’s get our bikes and go.” Sarah grabbed Jackie’s arm.
“Wait,” Jackie said. “We should call Scott and Alex. I think we’ll need everyone in on this.”
“Good point.” Sarah searched for her sister. “Where’s Lacey?”
“I don’t know. She didn’t follow us down.”
“Lacey!” Sarah called out.
“What?” Lacey asked as she into the kitchen, sporting an irritated frown.
“You need to call Scott and tell him we’re meeting Scoop down at Hinkle’s. Tell him we’re making a plan for tomorrow. And tell him to call Alex.”
Lacey pursed her lips and sighed. Oh… all right.”
“Jackie and I are going to get the bikes out of the garage. Meet us out front when you’re done.”
Without another word, Sarah pulled Jackie toward the front door. The girls raced outside. Sarah entered the dark garage and reappeared with her bike.
“What am I going to ride?” Jackie asked.
“How about Aunt June’s bike?” Sarah disappeared into the inky darkness of the garage a second time. She returned with an old one speed bike. The handlebars were beginning to rust and the large wicker basket on the front had wilted with age.
Jackie gasped. “What? Are you kidding me?” She pointed at it as if it were the most horrific thing she’d ever seen. “You want me to ride this thing? Is there even air in the tires?”
Sarah snickered at Jackie’s horrified expression. “Ye-e-ess…”
“That bike is an antique.”
“So what?”
“So… it’s not my style.”
Sarah laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. “Does everything have to be a fashion statement with you?”
“Absolutely,” Jackie said with a theatrical flourish of her hands.
Lacey bounced out the front door and skipped down the steps. “Scott and Alex are meeting us there.” She disappeared into the garage and returned with her bike. She looked around expectantly. “Come on, let’s go. What’s the hold up?”
Jackie groaned and with an irritated snort climbed on Aunt June’s bike. “Oh look, it even has a bell.”
Her sarcastic tone wasn’t lost on Sarah, who reached over and rang it. The old bell had lost some of its tone, but there was still a tiny tinkle of sound. “Ohh… so pretty,” Sarah said, trying to keep her laughter at bay.
“Shut up.” Jackie glared at her friend before she started pedaling toward Hinkle’s.
“But… pretty is close to being fashionable, don’t you think?” Sarah called out after her. Snickering, she climbed on her bike; relishing the sight of Jackie struggling to stay upright as she pedaled down the street.
Jackie made a gesture with her hand, Sarah didn’t quite understand. She giggled. Jackie wobbled on the ancient bike as she tried to increase her speed; Sarah rushed to catch up to her. Lacey trailed behind, huffing and puffing.
Breathless from their bike ride, the girls reached Hinkle’s with only a minute to spare.
“Come on,” Sarah urged as she parked her bike in the rack just outside the door. She strolled into the restaurant and the other girls fell in step behind her.
Once inside, Sarah stopped at the hostess stand and waited to be seated. She glanced around the diner and took in its jovial atmosphere. Christmas lights adorned the beams year round and humorous plaques hung on the walls throughout the restaurant, giving patrons something to read while they waited for their meals.
Sarah read one and laughed out loud. A bald spot is like a lie; the bigger it gets the harder it is to cover up.
Jackie walked up beside her and grabbed her arm. “Come on. I see Scoop.”
“Where?” Sarah asked, peering around the restaurant.
“Over there.” Jackie pointed to a booth where a squat, balding man sat. His snowy white hair curled around his ears and his large belly gave him a jolly appearance. He removed his glasses, cleaned them with a napkin, inspected them, and then put them back on.
“Hi Scoop,” Sarah greeted before she slid into the seat across from him.
“Hello there, Sarah Cole.” He swept the table with his hand as if he were removing crumbs. “How can I be of service to the Super Spies?”
A waitress approached and interrupted the conversation. “What can I get you?” She asked around a huge wad of gum. Her dark hair was pulled back into a pony tail and her black eyes glittered. Sarah could tell she really didn’t want to be there. The waitress sighed and tilted her head away from the group. She fidgeted with her apron and tugged at her name tag while she waited for their answer.
“I’ll have lemonade,” Sarah said.
“Me too.” Jackie nudged Sarah telling her to move over. Once she did, Jackie sat down and blew the curls out of her eyes.
“Ditto,” Lacey answered as she slid into the seat next to Jackie.
“I’ll have a cup of coffee,” Scoop said.
“I’ll be right back with your drinks.” The waitress scurried away to fill the order.
“Well…” Sarah said as she glanced around the place. “We’ve got a lead on my parents.”
“Really?” Scoop leaned forward and met Sarah’s gaze across the table. “Tell me about it.”
Sarah spoke in hushed tones and told Scoop about their experience earlier in the day. The other two girls listened intently and nodded their heads in agreement.
By this time Scott and Alex had found the group, and they all huddled together as Sarah finished her story.
When she finished, Scoop leaned back in his seat and pursed his lips. “That’s quite a story. You think this guy has something to do with the disappearance of your parents?”
“Definitely,” Sarah answered in a firm voice.
Scoop rubbed his cheek with a heavy hand. “So, I’m guessing you have some sort of plan.”
The waitress strolled back to the table with their order. She set the drinks down and then faced Scott and Alex. “Do you guys want anything?”
She seemed friendlier this time and Sarah felt a twinge of jealousy. It dissipated when Scott and Alex decided against drinks.
Sarah turned her attention back to Scoop. “Yes, I do.” She feigned an innocent smile. “I’ve got an awesome plan.”
Chapter Six
Scoop’s lips twitched and then grew into a wry smile. “I’m almost afraid to ask what it is.”
Sarah giggled. “You’ll love it.”
“Ri-i-ight…” Scoop raised his eyebrows and stared at her; his eyes flashed with skepticism. “What is it?”
Sarah took a deep breath. “Okay, we’ve got to figure out who this crazy guy is that followed us and find out what his connection is to our parents.”
“Okay,” Scoop answered warily.
“We know he went into this spooky house, but it doesn’t appear that he’s the owner.”
“Yeah.”
“So we need some way to get inside and look around.”
“And how are you going to do that?” Scoop leaned forward and made eye contact with Sarah.
“Well…” She shifted in her seat and bit her lip. “Since you used to be a reporter… I thought you could go and interview them.”
“Really?” Scoop snorted. “And what would I be interviewing them about?”
“The Robinson family started the logging business in Alden. I figured you could do some sort of historical article or something like that.”
“Did you forget that I’m retired? I don’t work for a paper anymore.”
Sarah shrugged. “So, they don’t know that.”
“I see. You want me to lie to them.” Scoop pursed his lips.
”Yep.” Sarah eyed the retired reporter. “I mean there’s no law against impersonating a reporter is there?”
Scoop laughed and wiped his forehead with his hand as if he were drenched in sweat. “No, I don’t suppose there is.” He sighed and stroked his chin. “Of course, I could say I was doing a freelance article for an independent publication.”
“So… you’ll do it?”
He sighed. “I’ll do it.”
“Cool beans,” Jackie trumpeted.
“Okay here’s the plan. We go up to the Robinson’s tomorrow morning and you’ll knock on the door and see if they’ll agree to an interview.” Sarah spoke quickly, hoping to get the plan down before Scoop changed his mind. She glanced at Scott. “He’ll need to wear a wire. Do you think you can get one from your dad?”
“I’ll… try.” Scott squirmed in his seat.
“No need,” the retired reporter interrupted. “I’ve got a device that can record and take pictures all in one. I’ve used it many times in my work and it’ll do the job.”
“Will we be able to listen in like cops do in those awesome detective shows?” Sarah asked.
Scoop shook his head. “No, I’m afraid not.”
Sarah pouted. “Bummer.”
“This isn’t going to be dangerous, is it?” Lacey asked, biting her lip.
Scoop shook his head. “No… I’ve done this a million times.”
Lacey sighed and leaned back. “Good.”
“I’ll come up with some interview questions tonight. What time are we leaving?”
“We’re leaving at seven in the morning,” Sarah said, glancing around the table.
“What? Are you kids skipping school?”
Sarah bit her lip and stifled the irritated groan that was about to escape. “Yes. We’re so close to finding my parents. I couldn’t sit in classes tomorrow and concentrate.”
“I’m not really comfortable with this.” Scoop pushed back from the table.
“Wait!” Sarah stood. “You have to do this.”
“I don’t have to do anything.”
“That freak saw all of us. We can’t do it — he’ll recognize us.”
“Ho
w are you going to get past your parents?” Scoop stood and placed his hands on his hips. “You know the school is going to want a note from them the next day or you’re going to have an unexcused absence.”
Sarah chewed on her thumbnail. “We’ll worry about that. You just need to do the interview.”
Scoop sighed. “I don’t know…”
“Please.” Sarah clasped her hands together as if she were praying and gave him her most beseeching expression.
“Please,” Jackie said, imitating Sarah.
“It’s for my parents,” Sarah pleaded.
Scoop pursed his lips. “All right, but you kids keep my name out of this when you get in trouble.”
“We will,” Sarah promised. She leaned back in her seat and sighed. “Okay, let’s meet in front of the library tomorrow at seven. It’s a two hour drive so we’ll get to Alden around nine.”
“Is that it?” Scoop asked as he stood. “I really need to get going so I can come up with some questions.”
Sarah gave the retired reporter a nod. “We’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“All right.” Scoop shuffled off, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. He stopped at the hostess stand and paid for his beverage and then ambled out of the restaurant.
“He’s pretty cool for an old guy,” Jackie said.
“No doubt.” Sarah nudged her friend, telling her it was time to go.
Jackie stood. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom. I’ll meet you guys outside.”
“Okay,” Sarah said, stepping around her friend.
The Super Spies sauntered up to the hostess stand and paid for their drinks. Then they walked out into the cool air. Sarah shivered as she strolled toward the bike rack. She stopped, dancing from one foot to the other as she waited for her friend.
“I’m going to walk Lacey home,” Scott said. He pulled Lacey’s bike from the rack and proceeded to wheel it toward home.
Sarah snickered and opened her mouth to tease her sister, but closed it again when she remembered how she had acted around Alex earlier that day.
Alex gave his friend a wink. “Okay, I’ll meet you in front of the library tomorrow morning.”