“Four plants,” I corrected him. But Eddie was right. Jeremy was jealous of me. I’d only begun to realize how jealous the night before in the diner.
Eddie must have seen he’d gotten to me, because he clapped his hand on my shoulder and grinned.
“Don’t take it so hard. I mean, what can you expect from a re-tard.”
I shrugged his arm away. “Get lost, Gordon. You’re nothing but a creep.”
“So that’s the thanks I get for telling you,” he grumbled. “I should have saved my breath.”
I walked away without answering. Nerd! It was plain to see that he enjoyed telling me it was Jeremy.
When I got home Mom was there. She looked pale and shaken, the way she looked when Grandma died three years before.
“Where’s Jeremy?” I asked after I kissed her cheek, something I’d stopped doing lately.
“In his room. We saw Mr. Vogel this afternoon.”
“Mr. Vogel?” So it was true? In the back of my mind I’d still hoped that Eddie had been lying about the ruler.
“They found a ruler with Jeremy’s name on it in the auditorium near the sets.”
“What does Jeremy say?”
Mom sighed deeply, then sank into one of the kitchen chairs. “He claims that he hadn’t been in the auditorium, or in the school for that matter, since your spring concert last month.”
“But what about the ruler?”
“I lost it. I don’t remember when.”
I spun around. Jeremy was standing in the kitchen doorway. His eyes were red. I could tell he’d been crying.
“Eddie says he saw you in the school yesterday afternoon,” I blurted out.
“Hah!” Jeremy said angrily. “You still believe that good-for-nothing jerk?”
“Jeremy!” Mom exclaimed.
“Well, I’m sick and tired of everyone saying I spilled paint on those sets. I didn’t! I didn’t!” He looked at me with sad dog eyes. Trusting eyes. “You know I wouldn’t do something like that, Adam. Don’t you?”
I looked down at the floor. Anywhere but at those eyes, begging me to believe him.
“Well, dammit,” he shouted, “it would be nice if my own family believed me.”
“Of course we believe you,” Mom said soothingly. She looked at me. “Jeremy isn’t a liar, Adam. You know that.”
I had to turn away from her gaze, too, silently pleading that I believe my brother. I wanted to believe him, but I had to know the truth.
“Well, where were you yesterday?” I asked, my voice sounding tougher than I’d meant it to.
“What is this, a trial?” Jeremy asked. “Where were you on the night of the murder,” he said in a deep voice, only it wasn’t funny at all.
I persisted. “It would help if you could tell us where you were and who saw you. You know what I mean.”
“Of course I know what you mean,” he snapped. “I’m not that dumb. Mr. Vogel asked me the same thing. And I’ll tell you what I told him: I was out riding.”
“Didn’t you see anyone?” Mom asked.
“No one special,” he muttered. “I came home, studied alone since Mrs. Dawson came Wednesday instead of yesterday, then I just went riding around until six, six-thirty. Then I came home and waited for you guys to come back from the All-Star game so we could go out and have dinner.” He stamped his foot angrily. “I don’t care if you believe me or not. I didn’t touch those sets and that’s that.”
Before I could say a word, he ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his bedroom. Mom and I both winced when he slammed the door shut—the loudest, I’d swear, since we’d moved into the house.
Mom bit her lip. “Poor Jeremy. He has so much to bear.”
“To bear?” Now I was angry. “Look, Mom, you know very well that he can be destructive. Look what he did to my baseball cards.”
“I know what he did,” she said evenly, “and I know how frustrating he can be. But let me remind you that Jeremy is not deceitful. If he’d done this terrible thing, he would have admitted it to you by now. I think Mr. Vogel understood that. I can’t see why you don’t, his own brother.”
Now that all three of us were angry, I went up to my room to think things over. I tried to put all the facts in logical order, but they kept chasing after one another, canceling each other out. For one thing, I couldn’t deny that Jeremy was jealous of me. Also, that he was glad that the sets were destroyed when I told him about it last night. Just as he was glad that we’d lost that ball game that time the fly ball landed at his feet.
Okay, I told myself. So he’s happy when I fail at something that’s important to me. So what does that prove?
That he poured paint over the sets? Of course not. It only proves that he can’t stand to see me succeed, probably because he never does. Then it hit me—the horrible truth of how my brother felt about himself. I tried to imagine being Jeremy—not really good at anything except gardening and playing make-believe games with little kids like Tommy.
Little kids. Tommy! I jumped out of my chair, all excited that I’d hit upon something that might be able to prove that Jeremy was telling the truth. Because I’d decided that Mom was right. Jeremy wasn’t a liar. Sometimes he’d exaggerate or omit things, but that was only human. And there was only one way to find out if we were right.
Jeremy was blasting his Beatles music so loudly, he didn’t hear me come into his room. He was lying facedown on his bed. When I tapped his shoulder he almost leaped to the ceiling.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” he shouted above the blaring din.
“Lower that,” I yelled. He reached out and turned down the volume.
“Why didn’t you tell Mom and Mr. Vogel that you were at Tommy’s house yesterday?” I asked.
“Because then she’d punish me and…” He stopped, suddenly realizing that he’d given himself away. “I mean, I didn’t see Tommy yesterday,” he finished lamely.
He wasn’t good at lying. For some crazy reason at that moment I remembered Eddie’s telling me while we were leaving Gino’s that his father was planning on making me starting pitcher that day. Hah! Eddie sure had no trouble lying, for whatever crazy reason he did it. In fact, he was good at it. I felt my heart pumping away, the adrenaline coursing through my body. I felt strong. Like I could take on anything or anyone. But first I had to settle everything with my brother.
“This business with the sets is very serious,” I told him sternly. “If you don’t tell people where you were, they’re going to think you were the one who destroyed the sets. Especially since your ruler was found there.”
He hung his head. “I know what everyone thinks and I feel bad about it,” he mumbled so softly I could hardly hear him. “But you know Mom. She’ll be so angry if I tell her where I was yesterday afternoon. And ground me for a month, besides.” He looked at me imploringly. “You heard how she carried on the other night, telling me not to go to Tommy’s. I felt awful, knowing all the time that I’d be going there the next day.”
“What was so important about your seeing Tommy yesterday?” I asked.
“I wasn’t exactly going there to play. I mean, we did play, but that wasn’t what was important.”
“So, what was important?” I asked, exasperated.
“Mrs. Stein asked me to watch Tommy yesterday afternoon. She had to go into the city and all the baby-sitters she’d called were busy. She asked me on Wednesday afternoon and I’d said yes. I was able to go over right after school, since Mrs. Dawson couldn’t make it Thursday and had come Wednesday, remember? Even after Mom carried on, I didn’t want to disappoint her. Especially since she was paying me a dollar fifty an hour.” He smiled sadly. “You know how Mom and Dad never let me earn any money because they’re afraid I’ll do something wrong. Anyway, I had to get Tommy from their neighbor as soon as I got home from school.”
I smiled. It was even better than I’d hoped. “So Tommy’s neighbor knows exactly what time you came for him?”
“Of cour
se she does,” Jeremy said matter-of-factly. “I went over there as soon as I got home and she was rushing off. Didn’t even bother have a snack until I got to Tommy’s house. I was there until six-thirty.”
I thought about everything he’d just told me. “But you told Mom that you just went riding around yesterday.”
Jeremy grinned, proud of himself. “That’s what I told Mr. Vogel, too. I planned it out yesterday when I rode home from Tommy’s. It worked pretty good, don’t you think?”
All he could think of was protecting himself from Mom’s anger. He still didn’t realize that being with Tommy was an alibi for something a lot more serious.
I sat next to my brother, going over everything Eddie had told me this afternoon. He was obviously lying about having seen Jeremy in my school yesterday.
“One thing I don’t understand,” I said, “is how your ruler got into the auditorium. Are you sure it was yours?”
“It’s mine. Mr. Vogel showed it to me.” He turned up his palms and shrugged. “I don’t know how it got there, either. I only know that I haven’t seen it in a few days at least.”
I patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. There must be an answer to that, too.” The incident with Mark and Laura Lee’s locker popped into my head. I stood up.
“I have to make some phone calls,” I said. “We’ll get to the bottom of all this.”
“It’s Eddie, isn’t it?” he asked quietly.
I nodded. “Who else? Now, all we need is some proof.”
“I kind of figured it was him. From the way he acted in school, telling everyone I did it. That it was my ruler they found.”
“But he couldn’t have possibly known that unless he did it, could he?” I said.
“Guess not,” Jeremy agreed, smiling. He tugged at my shirt, suddenly anxious again.
“You’re not going to tell Mom about going over to Tommy’s, are you?”
“Of course not,” I said, grinning. “You are, and right now.”
Before Jeremy could protest I pulled him to his feet.
“Go now before you chicken out.”
I ran out of the room.
CHAPTER 11
After dinner I went into my parents’ room and called Mark. Thank God he was home.
“Did you ever notice Eddie touching Jeremy’s books or things?” I asked him.
“You mean, like a ruler?”
My mouth fell open. “How—how did you know?”
Mark laughed, but it was a harsh sound. “It just figures. Eddie’s been telling people in school that they found your brother’s ruler near the sets, and since he was the only one who knew anything about it, I naturally figured he might have had something to do with the ruler being there in the first place.”
I sighed. Good old Mark. “No one in our school knew anything about a ruler being found on the stage. In fact, Eddie was the one who told me about it.”
I shivered. Mark confirmed what Jeremy had said. “You mean, Eddie went around all day telling kids that Jeremy ruined the sets?”
“Right.”
“Did they believe him?”
“Some did. Some don’t believe anything Eddie Gordon says.”
“But, it’s a lie,” I sputtered. “Jeremy didn’t go near those sets and he can prove it, too.”
“Good for him. What I’d really like is to fix that little creep once and for all. After what he did to me,” Mark said angrily.
“But how can we prove it?” I asked miserably. The excitement I’d felt before calling Mark had disappeared, leaving me depressed. I had no way of proving that Eddie ruined the sets, and so everyone would still believe that Jeremy did it, no matter what he said. Then I remembered the fight between Eddie and my brother. It was a good enough reason for Eddie to take revenge—making Jeremy look bad and not caring how many people he hurt. He probably meant to hurt me, too, since I took Jeremy’s side and I was no longer his friend. I shook my head in amazement. That kid was sick, all right.
Mark’s thoughts must have been running alongside mine. “I’m thinking about the day Jeremy and Eddie had that fight,” he said slowly. “Eddie left crying. I remember now that he went over to your brother’s books. He stood there a minute—I couldn’t see what he was doing. Then he pushed the books on the floor.”
I asked eagerly, “Do you think he took Jeremy’s ruler then?”
“He could have,” Mark said. “All I know is that your brother’s things went flying all over the cafeteria floor.” He thought some more. “You know, I do remember now. Eddie bent down,” he said, excited. “He could have picked up the ruler then. I bet you he did.”
My mind started churning. “I’ll go to Eddie’s house and make him admit he spilled paint on the sets. I’ll tell him some kids saw him pick up Jeremy’s ruler the day of the fight. I’ll—”
“Be careful, Adam,” Mark broke in. “You’re no match for Eddie. You could never trick him into saying anything. He’s been lying and conning people all his life. I mean, look what he did to Laura Lee and me.”
“What did he have against her?” I asked.
Mark laughed that harsh sound again. “I just found out last week. She wouldn’t give him the answers to a math test while they were taking the test. He got 57 on it. The only good thing about it all is that his father punished him for failing.”
“There must be something we can do!” I exclaimed, exasperated.
“Like what?” Mark asked. “I don’t mean to put you down or anything, but I just can’t come up with a way you or any one of us could make him admit to these things he’s been doing.”
I couldn’t fall asleep for hours, even though I was dead tired from getting so little sleep the night before. I was all keyed up and dead set on working out a plan of action. Mom and Dad talked about it for hours, after Jeremy had gone downstairs and confessed where he’d been all Thursday afternoon. Dad was all for calling Mr. Gordon and Mom wanted to handle it through the school authorities. But I had no intention of waiting around. I was going to see Eddie Gordon first thing in the morning. And then what? I asked myself. And then what?
At nine-thirty the next morning I pulled on my shorts and a shirt, then rode my bike over to the school to tell Danny that I’d be back to help him as soon as I got finished at Eddie’s.
“I knew it was him,” he said slowly. “The rotten nerd.”
“You, too?” I said, amazed. “That’s what Jeremy and Mark both said. Why didn’t you say so yesterday?” At least he hadn’t suspected Jeremy.
“I had no way of proving it, did I?” Danny asked. “It was just a feeling. Hey,” he said, grinning, “want me to come with you? Between the two of us we could beat him up good.”
I stared at Danny. He wasn’t a fighter. Eddie sure brought out the worst in people.
“No thanks. I’m going alone.”
“Good luck,” he shouted after me, as the first group of kids started coming into the art room. I waved hello and told them I’d be back soon. At least the new sets were being taken care of. That was something to be grateful for.
As I rode to Eddie’s house, I saw myself as a knight on a big white stallion vanquishing the villain. I’d make him admit that he’d ruined the sets, killed the squirrel, and sprayed Laura Lee’s locker. I was so engrossed in deciding on a suitable punishment that I must have swerved into the middle of the road. A car honked angrily and I got over to the right. Like Mom always said, accidents often happen when you aren’t watching what you’re doing.
My heart started thumping as soon as I got to Eddie’s block.
When I rang Eddie’s bell, Mrs. Gordon came to the door and let me in.
“Hello, Adam,” she said in a whispery voice.
“Hi. Is Eddie home?” I asked breathlessly.
She didn’t seem to notice I was nervous. “He’s in his room,” she said. And, without waiting to see what I’d do, she went into the kitchen.
I found Eddie at his desk, thumbing through a textbook. He turned around w
hen he heard me come into his room.
“So look who’s here,” he said, grinning. “Now I have a good excuse to stop studying for that dumb history test I have on Monday.” He gave me a knowing look. “You’ll have to worry about finals next year, like all the rest of us.”
My eyes darted around his room, where I’d been several times—to his posters plastered to the walls, his pajamas crumpled on the unmade bed, the baseball cards piled neatly on his night table. It looked like any normal kid’s room. Even Eddie looked normal. Not like someone who lied and did nasty things that other kids were blamed for.
I took a deep breath.
“Why did you go around telling everyone that Jeremy ruined the sets when you know he didn’t?” I was surprised at how calm I sounded.
He smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Adam. I guess I shouldn’t have discussed it with so many people,” he said, deliberately misunderstanding my question.
“That’s not what I mean and you know it!” I snapped. “Jeremy didn’t pour paint on those sets. You did!”
He got up so quickly his chair almost toppled over. He jerked his face toward me so that our noses were almost touching. He’d turned a bright red like he always did when he got angry.
“Watch your mouth, Krasner! Don’t start blaming me ’cause your brother poured paint on your precious sets.”
I was scared he’d hit me. Even though he was no taller than me, he was a year older and stronger. The doorbell rang, distracting me, but I forced myself to think only about what I was going to do next. I’d jumped into a situation I hadn’t prepared for, and right now it didn’t look like I was coming out ahead.
“Look,” I said, putting my hands up and backing up, “you know that Jeremy didn’t do it and my parents know it, too. He was baby-sitting for Tommy Stein that whole afternoon.”
Eddie just laughed. “That’s great. Now you’re getting a little kid to lie and say Jeremy was with him all afternoon. What will you come up with next?”
And Don't Bring Jeremy Page 9