by Ron Roy
“Why would he do that?” Dink asked.
Josh smiled. “To play another big, fat April Fools’ joke on us!”
Dink and Ruth Rose stared at Josh.
“You think Mr. Paskey made the whole thing up as a trick?” Dink asked.
Josh shrugged. “I’m just saying,” he said.
“Well, I don’t,” Ruth Rose said. “Mr. Paskey would never play that kind of trick on Officer Fallon and Officer Keene.”
“But what if they were in on it with Mr. Paskey?” Josh said. “We know Ellie was in on the first trick he played on us.”
Dink shook his head. “No, I don’t buy it,” he said. “Did you see Mr. Paskey’s face when he showed us the smashed case? That was real!”
“And he’d never wreck his own glass case just to play a trick,” Ruth Rose added.
“Then it must have been a burglar,” Josh said. “But how did he get into the store?”
“You just gave me an idea,” Dink told Josh.
“Not me,” Josh said. “I never give ideas away for free!”
“What’s your idea, Dink?” Ruth Rose asked.
“We’ve been trying to figure out how someone got in,” Dink said, “but what if the thief was already inside? What if he used the window to get out of the store, not to get in?”
“But who?” Ruth Rose asked.
“There were people in the store when we got there,” Josh said. He counted on three fingers: “Amanda was there, plus a bald guy wearing blue sneakers and the delivery guy stacking the boxes. But we saw them all leave the store.”
“Josh is right,” Ruth Rose said. “And I remember Mr. Paskey locking the door before he showed us his coin box.”
Dink shook his head. “Somebody left those footprints,” he said. “And I don’t think it was Amanda.”
“Maybe it was a ghost with dirty feet,” Josh whispered.
They all stared into the mirror behind Ellie’s counter. Dink thought of the mirror behind Mr. Paskey’s counter.
“We’re missing a piece of this puzzle,” he said.
“Well, I just thought of something,” Ruth Rose said.
“Tell us,” Dink said.
Ruth Rose looked at Josh. “Yesterday, when you told Dink and me about the trick you wanted to play on Mr. Paskey, we were here,” she said. “In Ellie’s.”
Josh nodded. “In that booth.” He pointed to a booth near the window. Today the seats were all taken by a bunch of teenagers.
“Other people were here, too,” Ruth Rose continued. “So maybe someone overheard your story about the kid who spent a valuable nickel in the Book Nook. What if that person is the thief?”
“You mean this someone might have thought that stuff I made up was real?” Josh asked.
Ruth Rose nodded.
“Oh my gosh, I just remembered!” Dink said. “That guy who came in here yesterday and sat in the booth behind ours was on his cell phone. I heard him talking about a party for someone named Mark.”
“That’s right. I remember him, too!” Ruth Rose said. “He’s the one who forgot his glasses, and Ellie ran out to try to find him.”
“What about him?” Josh asked.
“Right after you told us about the fake kid who spent his fake nickel in the Book Nook, he took off real fast!” Dink said.
“So you think he’s the thief with muddy feet?” Josh asked.
“It could be him,” Dink said. “He was sitting close enough to hear what you said.”
“But none of what I said was true!” Josh said. “I was just telling you guys about my joke!”
“We know that, Josh,” Dink said. “But the guy sitting behind us didn’t know it was a joke. He didn’t hear everything you said, so to him that stuff about the nickel must have sounded real!”
“But, Dink, you just told us you thought the thief was already inside the Book Nook,” Ruth Rose reminded him.
“I know, but maybe I was wrong,” Dink said.
“Then we’re back to the same problem,” Ruth Rose said. “How could that guy get inside Mr. Paskey’s store through a locked bathroom window?”
Ellie came and sat on a stool next to Dink. “I need to hire some help!” she said.
“How about me?” Josh asked. “I’m a super ice cream scooper!”
Ellie winked at Josh. “Ask me again when you turn sixteen, sweetie,” she said.
“Ellie, do you remember that man who left his glasses yesterday?” Dink asked.
“Sure, skinny guy wearing a cap. He was here the other day, asking if he could leave some flyers,” Ellie said. “I tried to catch him yesterday when he ran out, but he was already driving away in a snazzy yellow jeep. When he pulled away, I saw a red-white-and-blue bumper sticker with a face on it.”
Something clicked for Dink. He pulled the red-white-and-blue flyer from his pocket and spread it on the counter. “Did the bumper sticker look like this?”
Ellie nodded. “Exactly,” she said.
They all looked at the picture of the man with white hair and a big mustache.
“He was on the bumper sticker!” Ellie said.
“It’s Mark Twain,” Dink said. “They’re having a party for him this week.”
“Who is?” Josh asked.
“This place,” Dink said. He put his finger on the drawing of the big brick house. “It’s where he lived, in Hartford. The Mark Twain House.”
“Oh, I know where that is!” Ruth Rose said. “My parents took me there for Christmas one year. People dressed in old-timey costumes and sang Christmas carols. We drank hot chocolate!”
Ellie went to wait on a new customer.
Dink looked at his friends in the mirror. “The guy who was here yesterday was talking on his cell phone about a party for Mark,” he said. “He might have overheard your story about the three-million-dollar nickel and decided to break in and try to find it! When he saw the coins in the case, he smashed it and took the box.”
“But, Dink, how did he get into the Book Nook?” Josh asked.
“I thought about that, too,” Dink said. “He could have stolen the door key.”
“How?” Josh asked.
“Mr. Paskey keeps his keys on a hook behind the counter,” Dink said. “I’m thinking this guy dropped off Mr. Paskey’s flyers, too. And while he was in the Book Nook, he could’ve grabbed the keys when Mr. Paskey wasn’t looking!”
“But the keys were still there today,” Ruth Rose said. “I saw Mr. Paskey use them.”
“I saw him, too,” Dink said. “But I’ll bet Mr. Paskey has more than one set.”
“But, Dink, that guy didn’t know about the three-million-dollar nickel until yesterday,” Josh said. “Why would he steal the keys days ago, when he left the flyers?”
Dink shrugged. “Who knows?” he said. “Maybe he planned to come in some night to rob the register or steal some books.”
“Running out of here after he heard Josh talking about that nickel is pretty suspicious,” Ruth Rose said.
“Too bad we don’t know this guy’s name,” Josh said.
“Right, but we do know where to find him,” Dink said.
“Where?” Josh asked.
Dink tapped the flyer. “At Mark Twain’s party tomorrow,” he said.
“We need to tell Officer Fallon!” Ruth Rose said.
It was still raining, so the kids ran down Main Street. They cut behind the elderly housing building and sprinted for the police station’s back entrance.
Dink stood on a small rug inside the door. “Wipe your feet or they’ll arrest you,” he whispered.
They wiped their feet, then followed a hallway to Officer Fallon’s office. Dink knocked on the door.
“Come in!” Officer Fallon said in his deep voice.
The kids stepped inside. Officer Fallon was sitting at his desk, typing on his computer keyboard. A mug of tea sat on a napkin.
“Well, hello again,” Officer Fallon said. “You look damp.” He handed the kids some paper towels.
“What brings you three to the police station?” the police chief asked.
Taking turns, the kids told Officer Fallon about the April Fools’ Day trick Josh had been planning for Mr. Paskey. Then they told him about the guy who might have overheard the story in Ellie’s.
“He ran out fast,” Josh said. “He might have thought Mr. Paskey really did have that three-million-dollar nickel in his store.”
“He could have come back last night and stolen the coin collection!” Ruth Rose added.
Officer Fallon picked up a pencil and began making notes on a pad. “Can you describe this fellow?” he asked.
“He was pretty young,” Dink said. “Maybe twenty. He had on glasses and a baseball cap.”
“And he was skinny,” Ruth Rose added.
“Ellie saw him drive away in a yellow jeep,” Josh said.
Dink showed Officer Fallon the flyer that was like the bumper sticker Ellie noticed on the guy’s car.
“Your thinking is sound,” Officer Fallon said. “But one thing is still missing: how did he get inside the Book Nook? There were no signs of forced entry.”
“We think he could have had a key,” Dink said. He shared his idea about the man stealing a set of keys when he left the Mark Twain party flyers.
Officer Fallon raised his eyebrows. He took a sip of his tea. “A stolen key,” he mumbled. “Possible, I guess.”
Dink pointed to the drawing of the Mark Twain House on the flyer. “They’re having a big party there tomorrow night,” he said. “And I heard this guy talking about it on his cell phone. He might work there!”
“This is a good lead, kids,” Officer Fallon said. “Officer Keene is out talking with the plumber, Amanda Dale. As soon as he gets back, we’ll go visit Mark Twain’s old home.”
He copied the address from Dink’s flyer—351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut. “I’ve always meant to see that place,” he said. “I love his books.”
The kids left the police station and walked to Main Street. The rain had stopped, but the sky was dark and a cool wind whipped up the street.
“I’m glad we told him,” Ruth Rose said. “Now the police have two good suspects: Amanda and the Mark Twain guy.”
“I feel bad,” Josh said. “If I hadn’t made up that April Fools’ Day trick to play on Mr. Paskey, his store wouldn’t have gotten robbed.”
“Josh, it’s not your fault there are crooks in the world,” Dink said.
“Besides, you never even got to tell him about the nickel,” Ruth Rose said. “His coins got stolen before you had a chance.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Josh said. “Anyway, let’s go to my house. I think my dad’s baking critter cookies.”
“What are critter cookies?” Dink asked.
“Dad has a bunch of metal cookie cutters shaped like animals,” Josh said. “He can make elephants, lions, you name it.”
Ten minutes later, they were kicking off their wet shoes in Josh’s kitchen. They hung their jackets on hooks. “Anybody home?” Josh yelled.
Pal, the family basset hound, came loping around the corner. Dink gave the dog a hug and got a wet slurp from Pal’s tongue.
“Aha!” Josh said. He walked over to the kitchen table, where a plate of sandwiches and cookies waited, covered in aluminum foil. A note was taped on top, with SANDWICHES FIRST! written in his dad’s handwriting.
Josh was pulling off the foil when the basement door burst open. Josh’s dad stepped into the kitchen. Mr. Pinto was tall and thin and looked like Josh. “Freeze, cookie crooks!” he called out. “I caught you red-handed and I’m calling Officer Fallon!”
“We just saw Officer Fallon, Dad,” Josh said. He told his father all about Mr. Paskey’s stolen coin collection as he and his friends ate their sandwiches.
“My goodness!” his father said. “Do they have any leads?”
“A couple,” Josh said. They explained about Amanda and the guy who’d left Ellie’s in such a hurry. Josh filled him in on the joke that he never got to play on Mr. Paskey.
“That’s quite a trick,” Josh’s dad said.
“Can we take some cookies upstairs?” Josh asked his father.
“Sure. Bring a few up for the twins, too,” he said. “I don’t know what they’re doing, but I hear strange noises from their room!”
“Where’s Mom?” Josh asked.
“Yoga class,” his father said. “Then food shopping for dinner.”
Josh placed some of the cookies on a smaller plate. The three kids went up to Josh’s room. Pal followed them up the stairs. His long ears made swishing noises as they dragged on the stair carpeting.
“Anyone want to play Monopoly?” Josh asked.
“Yeah, sure, if you want to get beat,” Dink said.
“Beat by me!” Ruth Rose added.
Josh got the Monopoly game out of his closet, and they all sat on the floor. He left the cookies on top of his desk, out of Pal’s reach.
They each chose a piece for moving around the board while Ruth Rose divided up the money.
“Hey, what’s this key for?” Dink asked. He was holding a silver key that looked as if it once opened a castle door.
“Oh, I lost one of the pieces,” Josh said. “So Mom gave me that to use.”
“Do you really think that guy we saw in Ellie’s stole Mr. Paskey’s key?” Ruth Rose asked Dink.
“I don’t know,” Dink said. “He could have, and it would explain how he got inside the Book Nook last night.”
“Unless he has super abilities,” Josh said in a whispery voice. “Maybe he’s Shadow Man! He slips under doors to commit his crimes!”
Dink and Ruth Rose laughed. “Then why didn’t Shadow Man leave the same way, under the door?” Ruth Rose asked. “Why climb out through the bathroom window?”
“Because he was carrying a heavy box of coins!” Josh said. “It wouldn’t fit under the door.”
Just then they heard a roar from the twins’ room. The next thing they could hear was “PLEASE, MR. BEAR, DON’T GOBBLE ME UP!”
“Come on,” Josh said. Dink, Ruth Rose, and Pal followed him into the room Brian and Bradley shared. Toys, stuffed animals, games, and clothing were all over the floor.
Bradley was sitting on his bed, laughing into a pillow. “Please don’t eat me, Mr. Bear. I’m a good boy!” he said. “You can eat Josh instead. He’s a very, very bad boy!”
Dink grinned at Josh. “Bradley knows you,” he said.
The twins had tacked a white sheet so it hung from the ceiling. Brian was behind the sheet, standing in front of a flashlight. The flashlight cast Brian’s shadow onto the sheet.
Brian was pretending to be a wild bear. He was standing on a chair to make himself look tall. He growled and waved his arms in the air. He wore a backpack to make his shadow appear bigger.
Dink stared at the shadow. A minute ago, when Josh was talking about Shadow Man, he’d had a thought, but it flew from his brain. Now, when he saw Brian’s shadow, the thought came back.
“Guys, I just remembered!” Dink cried. “There was someone else in the Book Nook yesterday!”
“There was?” Ruth Rose asked. “Who?”
“I don’t know,” Dink said. “But when we were standing at the counter, I saw a reflection in the mirror. It was in the shadows, so that’s all I saw. Then it disappeared.”
“So you think it was a fourth person?” Josh asked. “Besides Amanda, the delivery guy, and Mr. Blue Sneakers?”
“I think so,” Dink said. “I forgot all about it till just now. Seeing Brian’s shadow made me remember.”
Brian walked out from behind the sheet. “Were you scared?” he asked his twin.
“You really looked like a bear with that backpack on,” Bradley said.
Brian slipped out of the backpack and dropped it on his bed, where Ruth Rose was sitting. She stared at the backpack.
“Dink, I think I might know who the fourth person was!”
she said.
“Who?” Dink asked.
“Remember when we first got to the Book Nook yesterday?” Ruth Rose asked.
Dink and Josh nodded.
“A woman was standing by the door,” Ruth Rose went on. “She was reading that flyer about coin collecting, and then she walked into the store ahead of us. With a backpack on!”
“I do remember her!” Dink said. “But I didn’t see her inside.”
“I remember her, too,” Josh said. “Her backpack had a yellow smiley face attached to one of the straps. I didn’t see her inside the Book Nook, either.”
“Dink, do you think you saw her reflection in the shadows?” Ruth Rose asked.
“It might have been, but then where did she go?” Dink asked. “Mr. Paskey locked up after the other three people left.”
Josh giggled. “Shadow Man is back,” he whispered. “He turns himself into a woman, then slips under the locked door!”
“There’s no such thing as Shadow Man!” Bradley yelled.
Josh looked at the twins. “This room is a mess,” he said. “I brought up some critter cookies. If you pick up all this stuff in one minute, you can have some.”
Bradley and Brian tore around the room, grabbing clothes, animals, and toys off the floor. Josh said, “Ticktock, ticktock,” as the boys raced around, throwing stuff into their closet and onto shelves. A minute later, the room looked much neater.
“Okay, good job,” Josh said. “The cookies are in my room. And don’t make another mess!”
The twins shot out of their room and disappeared down the hallway.
Dink watched as Josh pulled out the tacks and began folding the sheet.
“Dink? You look lost in space,” Ruth Rose said.
“I’m trying to remember what was happening in the Book Nook when I saw that shadow,” he said.
“I know what was happening,” Josh said. “Mr. Paskey was showing us that coin book and the box holding his collection.”
Dink stared at Josh. “Where’s the book?” he asked.
“In my room,” Josh said.