NO ORDINARY OWL

by Lauraine Snelling

  Sunny hopped up and down, hands still in her hair. “Esther is moving. We’ve got to solve this case!”

  Chapter 22

  What Would Imogene Do?

  When Sunny began wriggling and squirming, the girls declared they needed to go outside and exercise Sunny before one of the other librarians tossed them out. The rain had stopped and the sun was out, at least for now, so they left their raincoats piled under Nadine’s chair. After a few steps of trying to keep pace with the other girls as they walked through the parking lot, Esther pulled off her sweatshirt and tied it around her waist. It felt good to do Squad things again.

  The Squad needed ideas on how to get back to the estate, and they needed them now. The birds had been doing so well the last time they’d seen them; the girls told each other it would be any day now. The launch back to the wild! They would miss it. It’s not fair. Esther snorted and told herself to chill. A lot of things weren’t fair. Like moving away from the best friends on the planet…

  Sunny was still bouncing and darting around each of the girls. Just like Siddy. Can’t sit still.

  “Okay Sunny, you and Vee race to the end of the pavement and back. Go!” Esther said.

  The two girls took off. It was no contest. Vee was back and not even breathing hard before Sunny reached the end of the pavement; the redhead laughed and skipped her way back. “That felt good. All this rain makes me feel like I’m building up steam and I’m gonna blow!”

  Esther glanced back over at the Dumpster in the community center parking lot. Near it stood a bushy pine tree with two odd white blocks tucked under it. The Squad knew what those cubes were. That had been their second adventure. A couple of the community cats sat on the closed Dumpster. Was the black-tailed Flick from the Great Cat Caper there?

  “Remember—” She pointed. The girls followed the direction of her pointing finger. “That was a crazy adventure.”

  Vee rubbed her knee. “Boy, do I.”

  “A great adventure, although it sure didn’t seem like it was going to be.” Sunny spun around and around, barely landing on the ground before she twirled again.

  “Frank and Nadine were so angry,” Aneta remembered.

  They kept walking.

  “Remember the first time we met each other…,” Sunny said, walking backward in front of them.

  “Don’t do that, Sunny, you’ll fall and break your head.” Esther took in a deep breath. Remembering was fun, and it was sad. If she took deep breaths and didn’t actually look at the girls, maybe she wouldn’t cry.

  “Yeah, and some of us did not pay attention, and some of us were bossy, and some of us did not want to be there.” Aneta shivered. “I was so afraid.”

  “Ole Frank still says we are drama girls.” Sunny’s smile showed she didn’t believe him.

  “An idea!” Aneta squealed, stopping and clasping her hands as though holding her thought. “Why do not we do with Byron Beake what we do with Frank?”

  “Push his buttons and make him mad?” Sunny asked.

  “No,” Aneta spoke through her chuckle. “Tell him we know we were not doing it right and say we are sorry.”

  The other three considered this, reaching the lake. Sunny roamed the beach looking for rocks to skip. When no one spoke, Aneta said, “It is not a good idea?”

  “It is, Aneta.” Vee patted her friend’s shoulder. “ ’Cept we already did that with Byron, remember?”

  “Yeah,” called Sunny from the beach where she was as close to the water as she could get and not get wet feet. “When we thought he was a kidnapper.” She bounced up and down. “Okay, guys, what about this? This could be the rocko-socko Great Idea we need! Okay, here’s the deal.” Sunny came up from the water’s edge, gathered the girls in, and lowered her voice. “We don’t ask for Byron to let us in. We go to the gate and say we’re there to see Howard.”

  “Howard?” Vee looked incredulous.

  “Yeah, yeah.” Sunny’s blue eyes widened. “We make a super treat for Howard and tell Byron he has to let us in because we are not staying, only bringing Howard his treat. Then when we get in there, Byron will see that we are totally safe and voilà!” Sunny leaped into the air and turned in a circle. “Tada!”

  Three blank faces regarded her. Then Aneta turned her head toward Vee. Vee shrugged and looked at Esther. Esther put her hands on her hips. “Sunny, you’ve been spinning too much. Howard eats roadkill. It’s not like we can make”—she waved her hand, trying to think of something to show Sunny she was cuckoo—“roadkill cupcakes or something!”

  Sunny’s lip curled, and she made an “ew” sound. “Oh,” she said. “Good point.”

  Vee pulled out her notebook and tiny pen and scribbled. “Two ideas down. So let’s think about what Byron wants.”

  “Us not to come back,” Sunny said.

  “Sunny, be quiet,” Aneta said.

  Sunny pressed her lips together, took two fingers, and pretended she was locking her lips and throwing away the key.

  “He wants us to be safe. So what if we come with a bodyguard?” Vee looked up from her scribbling.

  A bodyguard. Esther thought this was a terrible idea, but she didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to be bossy with Vee anymore.

  “A bodyguard.” Sunny squinted at Vee. “Like which of us knows a bodyguard?”

  “You mean like a mom or dad?” Aneta asked.

  Even worse.

  “Bill would be a great bodyguard, but he has to work all the time.” Vee pushed the notebook and pen into her back pocket.

  “Doesn’t that leave C.P.?” Esther said, hoping they would laugh.

  They did. It felt good to laugh, even though they still didn’t have an answer. They walked out on the dock.

  “Remember…,” Esther began.

  “Yes!” Aneta shivered.

  “I’ll never forget that day,” Sunny said, collapsing on the wooden planks of the dock.

  “Crazy,” agreed Vee.

  Another S.A.V.E. Squad adventure. Their first. When they didn’t even like each other.

  Remembering that day and all the yelling and screaming and running—especially remembering all the running—Esther was reminded of her little brother. Siddy loved to run and scream. One of Imogene’s sayings when she got in trouble for yelling was, “Yelling helps me think.”

  “What would Imogene say?” she muttered, leaning over her crossed knees and staring into the dark water. Sometimes a bit of sun would catch a ripple just right and it would glow like a silvery snake.

  “Who’s Imogene?” Vee sat next to her, arms wrapped around her skinny legs. Esther couldn’t quite get her arms around her knees, so she dropped her head into her hands, elbows propped on her legs.

  “My little brother’s favorite book series. It’s called Hey, Imogene! and he’s always hollering out things she says in the books. She’s a nine-year-old who’s, well, different, who solves little kid cases and sometimes big cases by mistake.”

  “I wish we could solve this case by mistake. At least we would solve it while the four of us are together,” Sunny said.

  “I’m going to ask to see if you can come for fall break after you move,” Vee said suddenly and added ferociously, “I mean it.”

  “I think…” Sunny stood up and looked down at them. “I think we need to go ask the Imogene expert. Right after the library. And Siddy is the expert on Imogene.”

  “Uhh…” Esther’s voice disappeared into her surprise. As shown at the dinner, people other than the family—with the exception of C.P., whom Siddy adored—usually got him too excited. Who knew what he’d do?

  But Aneta and Vee were already pulling her to her feet and excitedly talking about what they might find out.

  “Like what stuff does Imogene say that Sidney yells?” Sunny asked.

  “ ‘Yelling helps me think,’ ” Esther said quickly.

  Vee repeated the words, a frown creasing her brow. “Huh.”

  “Hey! That works for me!” Sunny shoute
d, waving her arms.

  “And ‘Look up when you’re down!’ ” Esther continued.

  “I like that one.” Aneta smiled.

  They were climbing the steps to the library when Esther pulled on Sunny’s arm. “Look, you guys. You saw how my brother was at the dinner. He’s”—she almost said weird, when her love for Siddy swelled up and she finished—“different.”

  “Ha.” Vee leaned against the railing and folded her arms. “The Twin Terrors smell like you can’t believe. That’s different. And you’ve only got one Sidney to smell. I’ve got two.” Then her face broke out in a smile. “And a baby soon! I hope it’s a girl to even things out.”

  “My mom says we have different relatives she doesn’t want me to meet yet,” Aneta volunteered.

  “Are you kidding? I’ve been called different all my life. What’s the big deal?” Sunny trotted up and down the stairs.

  Esther remained doubtful, but said, “Okay, just so you know what you’re getting yourself into. Vee, can we use the ATP and see if my mom says it’s all right and everyone else?”

  Vee pulled it from her pocket and handed it to Esther.

  As she tapped in her home number and held the phone to her ear, a chill ran up her neck. If this doesn’t work, I might be glad to move.

  Chapter 23

  Asking Imogene

  An hour later, Esther took in a deep breath and opened the door to her house. The girls crowded in the entryway. Mom appeared at the top of the stairs, a welcoming smile on her face. “Hi, girls!” She pointed to the living room. As the girls settled in the couch and love seat under the soaring cathedral ceilings, Siddy tore down the hall and launched himself at Esther. “Esther is here!”

  “That looks familiar,” Vee remarked. “The Twin Terrors do that to me all the time.”

  Esther’s mom waved as she headed down the hall. “He loves those Hey, Imogene! books. C.P. will be here soon.”

  “C.P.?” Aneta said. “Our C.P.?”

  Esther’s mother nodded. “Siddy loves him. C.P. comes over and reads Imogene books over and over. Sometimes they act out the books in the backyard.” She sighed. “It’s…nice.”

  It drove Esther crazy to read to Siddy. He had memorized a lot of the books and wouldn’t let her skip any words. He had to chant them along with her. The problem was Siddy had no sense of pacing and sped up and slowed down until Esther thought the top of her head would blow off.

  Aneta picked up the first one. “Imogene Tries Out,” she read, opening the wide cover with a full-color drawing of a little girl with a gap-toothed smile, bushy black hair, and glasses with a Band-Aid wrapped around the nose part. She held pom-poms half her size. “Oh, look—Imogene is trying out to be a cheerleader.” Aneta turned a page.

  The doorbell rang. Siddy ran to the top of the stairs with an armful of books. “Esther’s home! Esther’s home!”

  Esther ruffled the top of his head as she ran down the stairs to let C.P. in. She never should have brought the girls. Finding something helpful about an imaginary kid? From a kid who couldn’t communicate? Crazy idea. “Hi, C.P. We need help. We need to know what Imogene says!”

  C.P. pushed the last bit of what looked like a peanut butter sandwich into his mouth. C.P. was always eating. “What for? You never cared before.” He pushed past her and said to the small boy, “Good to see you. Thanks for coming.”

  Siddy shifted the books to one hand and head-butted C.P., who seemed to accept this as a usual greeting.

  Sidney repeated, “Good to see you. Thanks for coming. Good to see you. Thanks for coming.” Relief sounded in the scratchy high voice. He returned to the living room where the girls sat. Aneta and Sunny looked at her brother like he was the coolest thing they’d ever seen. Vee was regarding Siddy intently. This is a mess.

  Setting down the books, Siddy picked up Imogene Tries Out. “Would you like me to read to you, Siddy?”

  Esther squatted next to him. Nobody but C.P. knew her brother repeated what people said. Exactly. Someone, some day, had framed that question to Siddy, and now he used it for his way of asking people to read to him. This plan today had been such a bad idea. Putting her arm around him, she said gently, “No, Siddy.” Thinking it through, she began a phrase at a time. What would he repeat? “Esther wants Siddy to tell about Imogene.”

  Thrusting the book at her, Siddy pranced to an empty chair and patted the empty space next to him. “Would you like me to read to you, Siddy?”

  “Why don’t you just read it to him?” C.P. looked disgusted. He plopped in the chair with the younger boy and opened to the first page. “Hey, Imogene! Whatcha doing!” he read. Siddy repeated the words in a falsetto voice.

  From where she’d flopped on the couch in between Sunny and Aneta, Esther traced a pattern on her jeans. “That’s how every story of Hey, Imogene! starts.”

  “Shhh.” Aneta put her finger to her lips.

  C.P. read Imogene Tries Out. Imogene wanted to try out for a cheerleading club. She brought her own pom-poms. The other girls told her they were silly because they were made of tissue paper. She yelled during the practice period. The other girls told her she was too loud. “Yelling helps me think!” she bellowed, pushing at the Band-Aid.

  After the first reading, Siddy and C.P. acted out the book. That was pretty funny, and for several minutes, Esther forgot about their goal. The girls left C.P. reading Imogene Fixes Everything and thudded down the stairs to Esther’s bedroom. Esther was in despair. This whole Imogene thing had been a big nothing.

  All four of them flopped across Esther’s bed and hung their heads and arms over the side. For a moment, the only sounds were the dishwasher upstairs rumbling the ceiling in Esther’s bedroom. Then Aneta raised her hand like she was in school.

  “Imogene is different.” Aneta’s voice was muffled between her hair and the side of the mattress. “Like the Squad.”

  “She’s loud.” Sunny began to kick her legs and move her arms like she was swimming. “Like us.”

  “She doesn’t give up.” Vee lay perfectly still. “Like us.”

  “She had great ideas.” Esther thought about the tissue paper pom-poms. “Like us.”

  So what would Imogene do?

  Silence.

  Oh! “There’s always a clue,” as Imogene said.

  She would think on it overnight.

  It could work. They’d be back living the yayness.

  “No,” Vee said flatly after hearing the plan the next day. “No way.” They were in their library place. Nadine was absent from her desk.

  “Tissue paper?” Aneta looked like she’d been given a great Christmas present. “That is fun!”

  “Be loud? Jump around? I’m in!” Sunny spun and danced her way down the aisle in the stacks and back again.

  “Aw, Vee, it’s for the birds.” Sunny sidled up to the taller girl and slid an arm around her shoulder.

  “You got that right. Do I look like a—one of those? I don’t think so.” Vee crossed her arms over her chest.

  She had a point. In all their adventures, Esther, Sunny, and even quiet-voiced Aneta yelled. Vee did not yell.

  Esther pulled a sorrowful face. “We need four to do it.”

  Aneta sighed and stuck out her bottom lip. “The S.A.V.E. Squad is so good about taking opportunities.”

  Everyone but Vee thought this was hysterical. It took Esther several minutes to get them back to a serious discussion.

  Sunny removed her arm from around Vee and stood over Esther, and Aneta sat on the floor. Chewing on one finger and frowning, the redhead appeared deep in thought. “Yeah, I guess we’ll have to ask Melissa to help us.”

  Vee’s choked snort of laughter told Esther everything would be all right.

  Chapter 24

  Surprise!

  On Saturday, Esther awoke before her alarm. Holding her breath, she listened. No patter of raindrops on the patio outside one of her bedroom windows. Her last words before bed had been a prayer that the weather would be, in S
unny words: rocko-socko and complete yayness. If it rained, it would ruin everything. “Oh thank You, God. You like owls as well as sparrows, don’t You?”

  After making her bed, taking her dirty clothes down to the laundry room, eating breakfast, and helping Siddy with his, she reported to her mother who was rummaging around in the hall closet.

  “Did you find it?”

  Her mother emerged, clutching brightly colored material. “Yes! I have several colors, and here’s kitchen twine. I think there are only two pairs of scissors in the kitchen desk drawer. Can the girls bring their own?”

  Esther called the girls and was reassured that everyone had scissors and they would bring them. Within the hour, the girls arrived and gathered around the dining table.

  “I cannot believe I am doing this.” Vee looked disgusted, as if the Squad were making roadkill cupcakes for Howard. Forty-five minutes later, they were finished and rather pleased with themselves—at least Sunny, Aneta, and Esther were. They did a couple of practice runs. Esther’s mom thought they were quite funny and said if they pulled that stunt in front of her black-iron gate, she would definitely let them in.

  “I did call Beverly Beake to let her know you girls would be outside the gate. This way, she’ll make Byron go with her on some errand so he’ll be outside the fence and see you.”

  Vee groaned. “He can’t miss us.” She looked at what she was holding and gushed out a breath. “I’m glad there’s not going to be any pictures.”

  Outside the gate, Aneta turned a face tinged pink with morning chill toward Esther. “I think he is not coming.”

  “He’ll be here. The Bird Lady said she’d make sure.” Esther made herself sound confident. What if Beverly couldn’t make her brother do what she wanted? That even happened to Esther sometimes.

  “Maybe he said no and shut himself in the carriage house.” Sunny hopped up and down to warm herself.

  “He better come if I’m going to look like an idiot for the owls.” Vee frowned and adjusted her hair.