by Ron Roy
Ruth Rose pulled out her cell phone. “You should call your father,” she said to Dink.
Dink barely heard her words. He gazed through the trees at what was left of the hay wagons. He saw charred wood on the ground, still smoking. The smell was sharp and putrid, like a dead rabbit he’d once found in the woods in Green Lawn.
Dink was still bothered by the men he’d seen in the woods. Were they police officers? Had they set the wagons on fire? Should he tell Officer Klevor what he suspected about the cop with the sneakers that lit up?
“Dink?” Josh said. “Come back to Earth, dude.”
Ruth Rose held her phone out to Dink. “Your dad will be worried when we’re late,” she said. “You need to call him.”
Dink took the phone. He stared at it in his hand. “Sorry, guys, I guess I’m flustered,” he said. “I can’t even remember his number.”
“You don’t need the number,” Ruth Rose said. She took her phone back and showed Dink the green Talk button. “Just push this button, and the last phone number you dialed will ring.” She pushed the button and handed the phone to Dink.
Dink put the phone to his ear and heard the ringing. His father answered.
“Dad, hi, it’s me,” he said. “We’re gonna be a little late getting back.”
Josh and Ruth Rose listened as Dink explained about the fires.
“We’re fine, Dad,” Dink said into the phone. “They’re sending some cars to pick us up. We’ll see you later, okay?”
Dink handed the phone back to Ruth Rose.
Josh thumped Dink’s shoulder. “Let’s go back to the bonfire,” he said. “Maybe there are more marshmallows.”
Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose walked back to the circle of stumps. The bonfire was now just hot coals. A few kids were already there, roasting marshmallows. Other kids were sitting on the grass, talking in small groups.
“Who do you suppose set those fires?” Ruth Rose asked.
“Probably those guys Dink saw,” Josh said.
“Yeah,” Ruth Rose said, “but why would they play such a nasty trick on a bunch of kids they don’t even know?”
Dink remembered Officer Reilly telling Officer Klevor that someone had let the air out of his cruiser tires. That wasn’t playing a trick on kids.
Just then four cruisers pulled into the clearing, one behind the other.
The four drivers approached the kids sitting by the bonfire coals.
“Do you kids know where Officer Klevor is?” one of the officers asked.
“He went over there,” Dink said, pointing toward the fire engines. He noticed the officer’s name tag: OFFICER SNEKE.
“I’m right here, Sam,” Officer Klevor said. He had jogged out of the woods.
“What’s the deal?” Officer Sneke asked. “We heard there was a fire.”
Officer Klevor quickly explained about the burned wagons and the cruiser with flat tires. “Right now, we need to get these kids back to their parents,” he said.
“How many kids are there?” Officer Sneke asked.
“About twenty-five, I think,” Officer Klevor said. “Can you guys fit them all in?”
“Sure,” Officer Sneke said. “If they don’t mind being scrunched together.”
Officer Klevor smiled. “I think they’d be willing to sit on top of each other if they had to,” he said.
“No one’s sitting on my lap!” Josh protested.
Everyone laughed.
A few minutes later, all the kids had squeezed into the four cruisers.
Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were in the same car with Candy and her two brothers. Officer Sneke was their driver. Candy was sitting on Adam’s lap in the back. Andy and Ruth Rose sat next to them. Dink and Josh were in the front with the driver.
Dink watched as the other three cruisers filled with kids pulled away from the bonfire clearing.
Officer Klevor walked up to Officer Sneke’s window. “Tell dispatch we need to get an air tank out here,” he said. “Billy’s tires are all flat.”
“Will do,” Officer Sneke said. He waved and followed the other cruisers.
Dink glanced at the burned wagons as they passed. He saw an officer walking in the grass near one of the wagons. He seemed to be searching for something. The heels of his sneakers lit up each time he took a step.
Dink recognized the officer who had dressed as a spaceman. What was he looking for?
CHAPTER 7
“What cabins are you kids in?” Officer Sneke asked fifteen minutes later. They were deep in woods that Dink didn’t recognize.
“We’re in Witch’s Hut,” Candy said from the backseat. “It’s so cool! We found snakes in the bathtub!”
“It’s lame,” Andy said. “I knew they were rubber.”
“Yeah? Then why did you scream?” Adam asked.
“I never screamed,” Andy said.
“Did too!” Candy piped up.
“Our cabin is Haunted House,” Ruth Rose told Officer Sneke.
“Good, that’s just a mile up the road,” the officer said. “I’ll drop you off first.”
A few minutes later, Officer Sneke pulled up to the Haunted House cabin. “Here you go, kids. Have a good sleep,” he said.
Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose hopped out of the cruiser. The front-porch light was on, but the cabin itself was totally dark.
“Good night, you guys,” Candy said. “Maybe we’ll see you back in town tomorrow.”
The kids all said good night, and Officer Sneke pulled away into the black woods.
“Your dad must be asleep,” Ruth Rose said quietly. The kids walked up onto the porch. The book that Dink’s father had been reading earlier was on the chair, opened. A glass of lemonade stood on the table. It was more than half full. Ice cubes floated in the liquid.
“He told me he’d wait up till we got back,” Dink said. He opened the front door. It squeaked, sounding like a scared mouse. “Dad? We’re home!”
No one answered. The cabin was dark except for glowing coals in the fireplace. Dink switched on a lamp. The kids blinked when the bright light hit their eyes.
The ticking of the mantel clock was the only sound. It was almost midnight.
“Look,” Josh said. He pointed to their sleeping bags. They had been unrolled and lined up near each other on the floor. Three white pillows lay on top of the bags. Chocolate candies shaped like small ghosts had been placed on each pillow.
“Your dad is so cool, Dink!” Ruth Rose said.
“But where is he?” Dink asked. “Dad? Are you here?”
The answer was a slamming door. The kids whipped around to the one they’d just come through.
“Not that door,” Ruth Rose whispered. She pointed in front of them, to the closed bedroom door. “The noise came from in there!”
Dink took a deep breath, then slowly opened the bedroom door. “Come on, Dad,” he said. “Stop messing around. We know it’s Halloween!”
Dink reached into the dark room and flipped the wall switch. The light showed a chair, dresser, and bed. The blankets were in a heap on the floor.
Dink stepped into the room, and the others followed.
“Okay, this is creeping me out,” Josh said.
“Listen!” Dink said.
At first they heard nothing but their own breathing, then a low howling filled the room. It got louder, sounding like a hungry wolf. This was followed by scratching fingernails on dry wood.
Ruth Rose giggled. “This is like a scary movie,” she whispered to Josh, then raised her voice. “SOMETHING IS BEHIND THAT DOOR!”
Dink gave Josh a little shove. “Open the closet door, Josh,” he said. “There might be Halloween candy in there!”
“I wouldn’t open that door for all the candy on the planet!” Josh said. “I’m starting to hate Halloween!”
Dink laughed, then walked across the room and yanked open the closet door. A figure draped in a white sheet hopped out.
“BOO!” Dink’s father said, pulling the sheet away fr
om his face.
“Hi, Dad,” Dink said. “Nice costume.”
“It was all I could come up with at the last minute,” his father said. He dropped the sheet onto his bed. “Sorry if I scared you.”
“We weren’t scared!” Josh said.
“Ha!” Ruth Rose said. “Your face was whiter than the sheet!”
“Okay, we all need to get to sleep,” Dink’s father said. “But first, I want to hear about your night.”
Taking turns, the kids told Dink’s father what had happened, starting with the bats and witch and ghoul in the woods. Dink’s father listened as he made up his bed.
When they got to the part about the burning wagons, he sat on the bed. “That’s so strange,” he said. “Well, I’m sure the police will figure it out tomorrow. Okay, pajamas and toothbrushing. I’m sure you all ate a lot of candy.”
“Josh did,” Dink said. “Did you know he can stuff seventeen marshmallows in his mouth at once?”
“Amazing, Josh!” Mr. Duncan said. “I’d love to see that!”
“Anytime, Mr. Duncan!” Josh said.
Twenty minutes later, the kids were in their sleeping bags. Josh and Ruth Rose were asleep. Dink lay awake, listening to crickets outside the cabin.
Dink rolled over in his sleeping bag and looked out the window. Josh had gobbled up his chocolate ghost, but Dink and Ruth Rose had decided to save theirs. The two miniature ghosts stood on the windowsill. The light from the moon created two ghost shadows on the floor.
Dink wondered—for the hundredth time—who had set the fires. Was it the officer in the spaceman costume? Had those lights come from the heels of his sneakers? There had been two men near the wagons just before they burned: who was the second man?
Maybe I should tell Officer Klevor about the sneaker lights tomorrow, Dink said to himself as he snuggled into the sleeping bag.
Then his eyes popped open. But what if the second man was another cop? What if the other man was Officer Klevor?
CHAPTER 8
The next morning, Dink’s dad drove them all to Peach’s Pancakes for breakfast. They each ordered a stack of pancakes with sliced fruit on top.
While Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose cleaned their plates, Dink’s father read the local newspaper. “There’s nothing in here about the fires last night,” he said.
“I guess it happened too late,” Dink said. He had decided to find Officer Klevor after breakfast. He’d tell him about the sneakers on one of the men he’d seen near the horses.
A waitress left a check on the table, and Dink’s father put some money down. “I was thinking we’d leave for home around noontime,” he said. He glanced at his watch. “That gives you a couple of hours to hang around town.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Dink said. He looked at Josh and Ruth Rose. “Are you guys finished?”
Josh shook his head no and chewed his last bite of pancake.
“I am,” Ruth Rose said. She used her napkin. “That was delicious! Thanks a lot, Mr. Duncan.”
“You’re welcome, Ruth Rose,” Dink’s dad said.
“Josh, don’t lick your plate,” Ruth Rose teased. “I’ll be embarrassed.”
Josh grinned and let out a big sigh. “Thanks, Mr. Duncan,” he said. “How many did I eat?”
“Seven,” Mr. Duncan said.
“No, it was seventeen,” Ruth Rose said.
“Nope, you ate forty-seven,” Dink said. “A new world record.”
Mr. Duncan stood up. “Okay, I’ll see you back at the cabin,” he said. “Don’t get into any mischief.”
Dink’s dad headed for the door.
The waitress came to the table and picked up the money. “Will there be anything else?” she asked the three kids.
“What kind of pie do you have?” Josh asked.
Dink and Ruth Rose grabbed Josh and dragged him out of the restaurant.
“But I’m sooo huuunnngry!” Josh said, imitating the grave ghoul they’d met last night.
“Tough,” Dink said. “Come on, I want to see if we can find Officer Klevor.”
“Why?” Ruth Rose asked.
Dink explained about the strange gleam he’d seen on the feet of one of the men. “It could be an important clue,” he added.
“Then why didn’t you tell Officer Klevor last night?” Josh asked.
“Because one of the police officers had those sneakers that light up,” Dink said. “It might have been him that I saw!”
“So you’re thinking maybe one of the officers set fire to the wagons?” Josh asked.
“Yeah,” Dink answered glumly.
“But why would a police officer want to burn the wagons?” Ruth Rose asked.
“That’s what I want to know,” Dink said.
The kids headed up Main Street. They asked a woman walking her dog where the police station was.
“It’s near the library,” the woman said. “Just keep going straight on Main Street.”
But they never made it to the police station. Two police cruisers raced past them with their lights flashing.
“Where the heck are they going?” Josh asked.
“Let’s find out!” Ruth Rose said. She began sprinting up Main Street. Dink and Josh ran after her.
They didn’t have to go far. In front of the bank, the cruisers were blocking the street. Two police officers were guarding the door. Two other officers came out of the bank. One of the officers was Officer Klevor. He was carrying a length of yellow rope. Between the two cops was the woman who had started the mechanical horse in the bank window yesterday.
The woman was crying.
“Tell us what happened, Bonnie,” Officer Klevor said gently.
“They came to my home last night,” she said between sobs. “It was nearly midnight. They made me put on my coat and shoes, then brought me here to the bank. They said they wanted the money from the vault. They knew a lot of money came in yesterday. But I told them I couldn’t open the vault. It opens automatically at eight every morning.”
“Did they believe you about the vault?” Officer Klevor asked.
The woman nodded. “I tried to get them to just leave, but they tied me up. They used that rope. Then they took money from the tellers’ drawers and left.”
“How much money was in the drawers?” asked Officer Klevor.
“Not much, two hundred dollars maybe,” the woman said.
“Did you recognize the men?” Officer Klevor asked.
Bonnie shook her head. “They wore masks, like for Halloween,” she said. Then she burst into tears again.
A man in a business suit came out of the bank. He walked over to the officers and Bonnie. “Please go home until you feel better,” he told the woman. “I’ll take care of things here.”
“Thank you, Mr. Garth,” Bonnie said. “Oh, and I called the party company to come and get the mechanical horse. They should be here soon.”
“Thank you, Bonnie,” Mr. Garth said. “Don’t worry about that. Just get some rest.”
Officer Klevor noticed Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose. He nodded as he helped Bonnie into his cruiser. They sped away, followed by the other car.
“Wow,” Josh said. “The bank got robbed while we were at the bonfire party!”
“I’ll bet that’s why those two guys set the fire last night,” Dink said. “They wanted the cops stuck in the woods while they made Bonnie open the bank for them. The guys who robbed the bank must be the same guys who burned the wagons!”
Just then an orange pickup truck pulled up. A sign on its side said RIDE ’EM, COWBOY—RIDE US AT YOUR NEXT PARTY. There was a picture of a cowboy riding a bucking horse.
Two men got out of the truck and walked up to the bank. One was tall with broad shoulders. The other was short and chubby. They wore gray work shirts with RIDE ’EM, COWBOY patches sewn onto the sleeves. They disappeared inside the bank.
“Look,” Josh said. He pointed at the bank window.
The men appeared in front of the curtain. One of them unplugged an el
ectric cord that ran from the horse’s belly to an outlet in the wall. Then both men picked up the horse and moved it through the curtain. A minute later, they were on the sidewalk, carrying the horse and its headless rider between them.
“Careful with this baby,” the taller man said. “It’s worth a lot of money.”
“Got it,” the other man said.
The men loaded the horse into the back of the truck.
“Lay it on its side,” the tall man said.
When the horse and rider were flat on the truck bed, one of the men pulled a blue tarp from the passenger seat. The men unfolded the tarp and threw it over the horse and rider, hiding them from view. They used yellow rope to tie the tarp to the sides of the truck.
“I need a coffee to go,” the chubby man said.
“Okay, but make it snappy,” his buddy said.
They walked into the ice cream shop.
Dink thought he’d heard those voices before. And he was positive he’d seen the tall man’s cowboy boots yesterday afternoon. He’d stepped on one of them. The boots had silver toes. Shiny silver toes.
Suddenly Dink raced over to the truck. He lifted a corner of the tarp and climbed up onto the truck bed.
“Dink, what’re you doing?” Josh asked. He and Ruth Rose ran over to the truck.
“Tell me if they come out!” Dink said. Hidden by the tarp, he opened the little door on the horse’s side. He reached his arm inside. His fingers touched cloth bags, and he knew what was inside the bags.
“Dink, what’s going on?” Ruth Rose asked.
“I found the money!” Dink whispered back.
CHAPTER 9
Twenty seconds later, Josh and Ruth Rose were climbing under the tarp with Dink.
“Look,” Dink said. He reached inside the horse’s stomach and pulled out one of the bags.
“Is that what I think it is?” Ruth Rose asked.
Dink nodded. “Remember, we saw those guys bringing it into the bank yesterday?” he asked.
“You mean, that’s all money?” Josh gulped.
“Yeah, and there are about ten more bags inside the horse,” Dink said.
“Holy moly!” Josh gasped. “How’d it get there?”