by Marty Chan
As I squirmed away from his grip, I apologized. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just want to make sure you’re serious about her.”
He let go and smoothed out my shirt. “Sorry. I just want to know how she feels about me. Sometimes, when she accidentally touches my arm, I think she’s sending me a secret signal that she like-likes me.”
I tried to change the subject by explaining what happened to Ida in class and how Mr. E reacted.
“That’s weird,” he said. “Did Trina think it was weird, too?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but Mr. E was really worried about Ida.”
“Was Trina worried?”
I ignored Remi’s question. “I bet he felt bad because he was being so hard on her.”
“Is that what Trina thinks?” Remi asked.
I never wanted my friend to shut up before now, but if he was going to ask what Trina thought one more time, I was going to explode.
“The weird thing is that he stayed with her the rest of the day,” I said, hoping to get Remi back on track with the investigation.
“Wouldn’t they call her parents to get her?”
I shook my head. “Maybe they couldn’t come to school right away, so Mr. E had to look after her.”
His eyebrows went squiggly like a broken-winged seagull. “Do you know if Mr. E went home?”
“His car’s not in the parking lot,” I said.
“I think I know why he didn’t come back to class. Follow me.”
Remi led me to Mr. E’s house. His car was parked in front, so we knew he was at home. We settled in across the street for another stake out.
Stakeout Report
By Detectives Boudreau and Chan
4:30 Detective Chan wants me to check out suspect’s house. I say it’s his turn. Rock, paper, scissors to decide. My rock beats Chan’s scissors. Ha!
4:35 Detective Chan says suspect’s car is in garage.
4:40 No movement in yard. Trina needs a get-well-soon card.
4:45 I see someone behind curtain of upper floor window. Detective Chan doesn’t. I ask him if I should buy Trina flowers. He says she’s allergic.
4:52 No more movement in house. How about a Teddy Bear for Trina? Detective Chan says she’s allergic. To fake fur?!!!
4:55 Detective Chan wants to chuck a rock against window to get Mr. E to open curtain. My scissors beats his paper. Two in a row for me. Chan tiptoes to house. I think I’ll give Trina my Mark Messier hockey card. She’s not allergic to paper . . . maybe I should ask. Why is Detective Chan waving at me?
Finally, Remi looked up from the notebook. I pointed to the upper floor window, where Ida was looking out at the street. He smiled as if he knew she’d be there. When she closed the curtains, I ran back to my pal.
“How did you know she’d be here?”
He explained, “If Ida’s parents didn’t come to school and Mr. E didn’t go back to class, that could only mean that Mr. E is Ida’s dad.”
“Good job,” I said. Remi was getting better at this detective work.
“Do you think Trina’s going to be impressed?”
“Uh, we still have to find the bike.”
He scrunched his face up. He was trying to think of how to get the bike. Finally, he gave up and handed me the notebook. “I guess we’re no closer to the bike.”
“On the bright side, we know where to find Ida.”
“Yeah. Let’s call it quits for the day. I have to get home for dinner.”
We walked together up the street. He went across the street, while I headed to my parents’ store. As I walked, I cracked open the notebook to look over the notes for any clues. When I saw Remi’s last entry, my heart jumped up into my throat. How was I going to stop him from making a fool of himself?
FIFTEEN
Later that night, I slipped my detective’s notebook behind the oatmeal raisin cookies that no one ever bought. This secret shelf was where I stored valuables I never wanted my parents to find, including my U.F.O. magazines, secret notes and Eric’s video game player. I got this idea, hiding my stuff behind unsold goods, from my dad, who hid his bottle of rye behind the diapers at the back of the store. He didn’t want Mom to know he drank. She never found the bottle, which made me think that hiding stuff in the store was a great idea. I pulled the video game out of the hiding place.
Part of me wanted to return the game to Eric, but another part of me realized that I couldn’t return it without people suspecting me of stealing. The game was evidence and until I solved the crime, it had to stay hidden.
“Marty,” my dad called from the front of the store. “Time to sweep the floor.”
I quickly slid the game back and moved the packages of oatmeal raisin cookies in front of the secret stash. Then I headed to the front of the store, where Dad and a broom were waiting for me.
“What were you doing?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
Dad shook his head. “If you have nothing to do, it means you’re not working hard enough.”
Was I his son or his stock boy?
I swept the middle aisle in the store, but I was just moving dirt from one end of the aisle to the other. My mind was somewhere else. I knew I should have told Remi about Trina’s feelings about me, but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. I also didn’t want Trina to get mad at me. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing my two friends the next day. To top it all off, we were nowhere close to catching the thief.
Ida was no robot, but she was the teacher’s daughter, which gave her a shield against any kind of accusation. I had to catch her with the stolen goods if I was going to make a case against her.
I crammed the broom under the bread shelf and swept. Out came tiny black flecks that looked like burnt grains of rice. I knew better, though. These weren’t grains of rice; they were pieces of mouse poo. Every fall a mouse family would move into my parents’ store and every fall my dad would freak out and try to get rid of them.
“Dad, we have mice again,” I yelled.
“Aiya!” Dad ran up and surveyed the poo on the floor. “Get the mouse traps.”
“Where do we set them?”
“Doesn’t matter where. This wouldn’t happen if you did a better job of sweeping. From now on, I’m going to watch you do it to make sure it’s done right.”
“You can trust me, Dad,” I said.
“Not if there are mice in the store. I’ll put some cheese on and the mice will come to the trap.”
“Why cheese?”
“I tried ham and it didn’t work. I tried bread and nothing. I think cheese will be the right bait.”
Suddenly, the answer to my problems was as obvious as my dad’s balding head. The right bait. I might be able to solve the case and stop Remi from finding out the truth about Trina and me with the right bait.
The next morning I marched into the schoolyard looking for my detective partners. Remi waited by the school shed. He cradled a box in his hand. I was pretty sure it was the Mark Messier hockey card he was going to give Trina. It looked like he was waiting for the right time to approach her, but she was talking to some kids. Near her, the Lint clung to the side of one of the Hoppers. The kids were gathered around Ida, who glared at everyone, unhappy to be the centre of attention.
“What happened to you?” Trina asked. “We heard you have diabetes.”
“No, that’s not right. Sometimes I get so nervous I forget to breathe and I black out,” Eric said. “Is that what you did?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Ida barked.
“Are you okay now?” Samantha asked. “Or are you still sick?”
A French girl chimed in. “Is diabetes contagious?”
“Duh,” said Trina. “She wouldn’t come back to school if she was.”
“Leave me alone!” Ida yelled. She walked away from the crowd.
Trina spotted me and started to walk over. I tried to wave her off, but she wouldn’t stop. Remi jogged from the shed to intercept her. This was going to be a terrible two-
person collision, and I was the traffic cop who could prevent the accident. I rushed over to Remi.
“Is that the gift for Trina?” I asked.
He beamed, proudly holding up the black box. “It’s my favourite hockey card. Mark Messier, first year on the Oilers.”
Remi cracked open the box lid to reveal the hockey card sealed in plastic. A guy in a blue and red Oilers jersey stared ahead at the camera. He looked pretty angry with his big forehead and fierce stare. If this was Remi’s hero, I could see why no one ever wanted to play street hockey with him. The card was the bait, and I hoped that I could set the trap without getting my finger caught.
Remi closed the box as Trina came closer. No time to lose. I grabbed the box. “Go along with me. This is going to get her to like-like you. Trust me.”
“Okay,” he said.
She stepped beside us. For a second, there was an awkward silence; none of us knew what to say. Remi looked at me. Trina looked at me. I glanced at the box.
“Remi wanted you to have this,” I said.
He smiled. She nodded, but did not return the smile.
“It’s okay, Trina,” I continued. “I talked to him. He knows everything and he’s happy about it.”
Her face softened and her smile returned. “I’m so glad you understand, Remi.” She touched his arm. He beamed.
“Yes, I understand,” he said. Then he whispered in my ear. “Understand what?”
“You’ll see,” I muttered as I started to walk toward Ida. I walked ahead of Remi and grabbed Trina by the arm. “Follow my lead, okay?”
“Okay, but why?”
“We’re going to get your bike back right now,” I said.
Remi caught up to us. “What do you need me to do?”
“I want you to give Trina the box in front of Ida and make a big deal about how much it cost.”
He stutter-stepped, tripping over his feet. “In front of everyone?”
“Trust me,” I said. “Trina, you’re going to make a big deal about how much you like it. Got it?”
“In front of everyone?”
“It’s part of the plan,” I said. “Understand?”
“Totally,” she said, then she muttered into my ear. “Understand what?”
Before she could press for an answer, I tossed Remi the box and pushed my two friends toward Ida.
“Wow, I can’t believe that you’d give Trina your Mark Messier hockey card,” I said loud enough for Ida to hear. The other kids also heard and gathered around us.
I nudged Trina.
“Yes, it’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
“It’s nothing,” Remi said.
“How much would something like that cost?” I asked, glancing at Ida.
“About six months allowance,” he said, starting to get into my plan. “And I had to return about a hundred empties.”
The kids were impressed. “Oooos” came from all around us.
“And you’re giving it to Trina?” I prompted him.
“Uh . . . yeah.” He handed the box to her.
The kids crowded around her, curious. A lot of the girls were smiling at Remi, while the boys were snickering.
Samantha whispered, “Someone’s in love.”
Everyone giggled. Remi turned beet red, while Trina’s face went white. In the back of the group, Ida stood on her tiptoes to get a closer look at the box. My plan was working.
“I’d keep that hockey card in a safe place,” I said. “After Eric’s video game went missing, who knows what might happen to stuff like this?”
Finally, Trina clued in to the plan. She cracked a big smile. “Don’t worry, Marty. This special gift from Remi is going into my locker. It’s going to be completely safe.”
“Yeah, no one can break into a locker,” I said.
“Thank you so much, Remi,” Trina said as she patted his arm. “You’re the sweetest.”
The girls went “Awwww,” while the boys went “Ewwww.” Remi’s face turned even redder, if that was possible. Even though I knew she was acting, my mouth went dry and my stomach burned like I’d eaten a chili pepper. Trina walked into the school, the girls trailing after her. The boys surrounded Remi and made fun of him, but all he could do was flash a goofy grin. Ida joined the girls following Trina. Would she take the bait?
In class everyone gawked at Trina. Samantha smirked. Hannah giggled. Eric chuckled. Two Hoppers whispered to each other. The Lint asked if they were talking about him or about Trina. Mr. E didn’t notice as he described the electricity experiment we were supposed to have done the day before. While the others were watching Trina, I spied on Ida. If my plan worked, I’d know very quickly.
Sure enough, my prime suspect raised her hand.
“Are you feeling alright?” Mr. E asked. For the first time he didn’t sound like he was scolding her.
“I think I have to go to the washroom.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I have to go, okay? Do you want to know if it’s number one or number two?”
Everyone laughed. Mr. E waved at Ida to go. After she left the room, I raised my hand.
“Mr. E, all that talk about going to the washroom makes me have to go, too.”
“Why don’t you wait until Ida comes back?”
“I don’t think I can wait,” I said.
“Ew,” Trina said. “That fart reeked, Marty.”
I didn’t really cut the cheese, but Trina was helping me get out of class. Either that, or she was getting even for what I did to her in the schoolyard. Either way, I played along.
“Sorry,” I said. “My mom made beans last night.”
“Ew. That’s so rank I can taste it,” Samantha said.
“Oh man, what died inside you?” one of the Hoppers asked.
“Yeah, what died inside you?” The Lint echoed the Hopper.
I was amazed at the power of Trina’s suggestion. She could make people smell a fart that never even existed. Even I could smell something bad. Another tiny pop of air came from Trina’s direction. She flashed me a sheepish grin. She wasn’t using the power of suggestion.
“Ew,” she cried. “Mr. E, make him go away.”
“Okay, okay, Marty. Go to the bathroom.”
“Thanks.” I dashed out.
I headed down the hallway in the direction opposite to the bathrooms. I moved silently in case Ida had sensitive ears. As I reached the hallway intersection I peeked around the corner. Ida knelt in front of Trina’s locker. She pulled something black from her cotton wristband and stuck it in the combination lock. She started to jiggle the thing in the lock. I crept up behind her, close enough to see that what she’d been sticking into the lock was the sharpened end of a hairpin. The lock sprang open. I crept toward her, but my sneakers squeaked on the waxed floor.
Ida spun around, holding Remi’s hockey card box. “What are you doing here?”
“Gotcha,” I said. “I caught you red-handed with the stolen goods.”
“It’s your word against mine. And no one’s going to believe you after they find out you stole Eric’s video game.”
So, she had planted the game. “You were trying to frame me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, batting her eyes at me.
She stood up and started to walk away. I grabbed her arm, wrapping my hand around her wristband. I could feel something under it. Ida tried to pull away, but I hung on tight.
“Be careful, or I might have to tell your girlfriend what kind of boy you are,” Ida said.
“I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“‘M.C. plus T.B.’ That’s so sweet. You’re in love.” How had she cracked the code on my green scribbler?
“You stole my scribbler,” I accused.
“What ever are you talking about? I’m innocent.” Ida batted her eyes. “Now let go or I’ll have to tell your French friend about you and Trina. I don’t think he’ll be too happy to hear that. He looked like he was pretty much
in love with her when he gave her his precious hockey card.”
She pulled her arm away, but the cotton wristband slipped off, uncovering a metal bracelet with an ID tag. She covered the rectangular tag and walked toward the class. I wasn’t going to let her go that easily.
“I don’t think your dad will be too happy to know you’re trying to get rid of the bracelet,” I said. There was something important about that bracelet, but I didn’t know what. Until I learned what it really was, I had to bluff. “That’s right. I know Mr. E is your dad.”
“Smooth move, Sherlock. Any dum-dum could have figured that out.”
I wasn’t going to let her throw me off my game. “I know he wants you to wear that bracelet, and I’ll bet he’d be pretty upset if he knew you were trying to get rid of it.”
“How would you like a Medi-bracelet that reminds you that you’re sick?”
“What’s so bad about that?”
“People see this and they think I’m just a poor little sick girl. You don’t know what it’s like.”
But I did. Being Chinese, I knew exactly what it was like to be judged for something I had no control over. She could take off her bracelet any time. I couldn’t change the way I looked or who I was.
“You can take it off,” I said.
She squirmed for a second. “I can’t.”
“Why not? Is it because you’re afraid of what your dad will do?”
She shook her head. “I need to wear it for when he isn’t around.”
As much as she hated the thing, she knew she needed it, which probably made her hate it even more. She was caught between two opposites, just like I was torn between my friendship with Remi and my feelings toward Trina.
“It’s not a big deal,” I said.
“Leave me alone,” she snapped at me. “I wish I never came here. I don’t want to be Diab-Ida again. Take this stupid thing. I don’t need it any more.”
She threw the hockey card box at me. It bounced off my chest. I fumbled for it and barely caught it. When I looked up, I saw Mr. E looking right at us.
“I caught Marty trying to break into a locker.” Ida pointed at me. “He’s the one who’s been stealing. He’s got the loot in his hands.”
“Is that yours, Marty?” my teacher asked.