“Because…” Sydney took her hand and gently squeezed it. “I think it would be good for you. For ages now I’ve heard you say you’re no good at sports. I really think you would do a great job and it would prove—once and for all—that you can overcome your fear of sports.”
“But…a competition?” Kate shivered just thinking about it. “That’s not the best place to prove something to myself.”
“Don’t you see, Kate?” Sydney said. “The only person you’d be competing against is yourself. This wouldn’t have to be about anyone else. Just you. Face your fears head-on like I did. Ski down that mountain and you’ll be a winner, no matter how fast you go. See what I’m saying?”
“I guess so.” Kate pulled the covers up and leaned back against her pillows. “But I’ll have to pray about it. I just don’t know yet. I’ll let you know in the morning, okay?”
“Okay.” Sydney chuckled. “But get ready, Kate! I have a feeling you’re going to be skiing tomorrow afternoon.”
As Kate closed her eyes, she tried to picture herself sailing down a mountain. For some reason, every time she thought about it, she pictured Michael…whizzing by her, going a hundred miles an hour.
Thinking of Michael made her wonder—once again—why he’d been at the old spider-filled barn. Just a coincidence, or were there darker forces at work? And why had he left them there without saying a word? Very strange, even for him!
Kate’s eyes grew heavy and she finally drifted off to sleep, dreaming dreams of red barns, snow-covered mountains…and rats. Big, hairy rats.
Racing the Rat
Kate stood at the top of the hill, staring down. Somewhere between her middle of the night conversation with Sydney and now, she had decided to do it. She’d entered the skiing competition. And now, looking at the steep hill below, she was finally ready to face her biggest fear. “I can do this! I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me!”
Off in the distance, she heard Sydney’s voice calling out. “Go, Inspector Gadget! Ski the Rat!”
“You can do it, honey.” Her mother’s voice echoed across the packed snow.
“Join the Rat Pack!” Uncle Ollie threw in his two cents’ worth.
Hearing the words Rat Pack reminded Kate that they hadn’t yet solved the mystery about the creamery. Thinking about the creamery made her think of the woman in the white coat and the man with the sour expression on his face. Thinking of the man and woman reminded her of the day she and Sydney had hidden behind the Dumpster. And for some reason, thinking of the Dumpster reminded her of Bailey and how her phone rang at just the right—er, wrong—time.
“Why am I thinking about that right now?” Kate scolded herself. “I’m supposed to be getting ready to ski, not solve a crime!”
She took her place and tried to prepare herself the best she could.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this. I can’t believe I’m doing this!” Kate bent her knees and looked down at the long, slender skis. “Lord,” she prayed, her eyes now closed, “help me get to the bottom without falling. Oh, and Lord, if You could help me win, I promise to use the money to bless someone else!”
She opened her eyes and looked at the hill below. “It’s just a hill. And I’m just like a little robot, about to glide from the top of the hill to the bottom. No big deal! What am I so worried about?”
Of course, there was that part where hundreds of people were watching her, but once she got started, she wouldn’t have time to even think about them. No, all she had to think about was getting to the bottom without falling!
At the pop of the starter’s pistol, Kate dug her poles into the snow and pushed off. As she began to sail down the hill, the cold wind whipped at her face. In fact, the wind was so strong it nearly knocked her down a time or two. Thankfully she managed to stay on her feet!
She came to the first curve and bent her knees, leaning into it. “C’mon, Snow-bot!” she whispered. “You can do this!”
Kate managed to straighten out her position after making the curve…without falling! “Woo-hoo!” she called out to no one but the wind. “I did it!” Up ahead she saw a sharp curve to the left. “Uh-oh.” She whispered another prayer, then bent her knees to make it around the turn.
Picking up speed, she almost lost control. After a bit of wobbling, she sailed on down, down, down. The trees off in the distance seemed to fly by, their snow-covered branches nothing but a blur.
For a moment, she remembered what had happened yesterday…how Sydney had injured her ankle in that very spot. How Kate had searched for a trail through those trees to find help. How they’d ended up in an old red barn with spiders. How Michael was there with his backpack on.
Michael. Hmm.
“Don’t think about that right now!” Kate whispered to herself. “Just stay focused! Stay focused!”
After a couple more twists and turns, the bottom of the hill was in sight. Kate crouched a bit, trying to get more speed.
“C’mon, c’mon!” With faster speed than ever, she soared over the finish line, then—like a good robot would do—turned her feet to come to an abrupt stop. Kate’s heart raced a hundred miles an hour.
“I did it! I did it!” She pulled off her goggles and began to cheer at the top of her lungs. She could hear the roar of the crowd and felt a little embarrassed. Kate put her hands over her mouth and giggled. Making it to the bottom without falling felt so good! And Sydney was right! She had proven something to herself.
I’m not bad at sports! I need to stop saying that!
One by one, she watched the other skiers in her age group. A couple of them fell. One of them made it all the way to the bottom, but didn’t seem to be moving as fast. One girl was really, really good. Kate watched her as she came sailing down the hill. Her bright blue snowsuit stood out against the bright white snow.
“Wow, she looks like a pro.” At the very last minute, the girl lost control of her skis and went sprawling in the snow.
“Oh man! I hope she’s okay,” Kate whispered.
Thankfully, the girl rose to her feet and raised her hand to show everyone she wasn’t injured. Everyone cheered and she skied down to the bottom of the hill and took a bow.
Finally it was Michael’s turn. Kate had almost forgotten he was competing until she saw him. She could hear Uncle Ollie’s cheers off in the distance.
Michael is really blessed to have Uncle Ollie in his life. He needs someone like that to support him.
Michael started off well and even made the first curve with no problem. But then, at the second big turn, he almost lost his footing. Thankfully, he didn’t fall, but it did slow him down a little. He still skied very well, and Kate knew he’d made up for the lost time. At least, it seemed like it! She was surprised when she saw his time come up on the board. Oh wow. It took him almost a full second longer to reach the bottom than me. Weird.
Only one skier was left. Kate watched as the boy sailed down the hill like a professional skier.
“Wow, he’s so good!” She watched in awe as he gracefully moved back and forth on his skis. Then, just before he reached the final turn, his skis somehow bumped up against each other and he toppled over! A loud gasp went up from the crowd.
“Oh, that’s terrible!” Kate covered her eyes, not wanting to look. Hopefully he wasn’t badly hurt.
It took a couple of minutes for him to stand, but he finally managed. The crowd applauded his efforts, and he responded with a dramatic bow. Kate laughed. He’s a great sport!
After that, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Kate heard her name announced over the loudspeaker. “The winner of this year’s Winter Festival junior level competition is twelve-year-old Kate Oliver from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!”
It almost felt like they were calling someone else’s name.
“Me?” she whispered. “I won?” Kate could hardly believe it! The whole thing seemed impossible…like a dream. Only this wasn’t a dream! It was true. Every bit of it!
An o
lder man gestured for her to come to the stage, which she did with shaking knees. She climbed a few stairs and stood before the people.
“Kate Oliver, congratulations on skiing the Rat! You’re now an official member of the Rat Pack!” He handed her a T-shirt and opened it to show the icky-looking rat on the back.
Kate giggled and took the shirt. “Thank you so much!” She searched for Uncle Ollie in the crowd. When she found him, she held up the shirt and grinned.
“The Winter Festival of Mad River Valley is proud to give you this trophy for your performance today.” The man standing next to Kate gave her a big silver trophy with two skis on top. “And of course…” the man continued, handing her a check, “the grand prize of three hundred dollars!”
Kate gripped the check in her hand and whispered a prayer. “Oh, thank You, Lord! I know just what to do with this!”
The crowd started applauding, and Kate felt her cheeks warm up. They always did that when she was embarrassed. No doubt they were as red as tomatoes!
She looked through all of the people till she found her family and Sydney standing off to the left of the stage. Getting down the stairs was the easy part. Making her way through the crowd—with so many people patting her on the back and saying congratulations—was a lot harder than she imagined!
Finally she saw her mother. “Oh Kate! You were wonderful! Congratulations! We’re so proud of you!”
“I knew you could do it!” her dad hollered.
The others in her family gathered around, looking at the trophy. Kate held it up for all to see.
“She’s a beauty!” Uncle Ollie said.
“That’s the coolest trophy I’ve ever seen!” Dexter added.
“Wonderful, wonderful!” Aunt Molly added. “I’m tickled pink, honey. And even more tickled that you were wearing my old skis! What an honor!”
Biscuit jumped up and down in excitement. Kate reached down to scratch him behind the ears. “I know, boy! You’re so excited!”
Sydney came hobbling toward her on her sore ankle. “Oh Kate! I’m so proud of you! You’re the fastest skier here.”
Kate shook her head. “I still don’t know how it’s possible. And I know for a fact that your time would have been better than mine, if only…” She looked down at her friend’s ankle and sighed.
“No if onlys today,” Sydney said with a happy nod. “Today we’re all winners.”
Off in the distance, Michael walked by, his shoulders slumped forward in defeat. Kate noticed the sour look on his face. He looked her way and glared at her.
Wow. Not everyone is acting like a winner, Kate thought.
He reached underneath the stage and pulled out his backpack, but as he started to put it on, something fell out of it. Something small. And furry.
“Is that what I think it is, or is my imagination acting up again?” Kate whispered.
At once, Biscuit went crazy! He ran toward the small fuzzy critter, barking like a maniac. Only when Kate took a second look, did she realize for sure just what she was looking at! Right away, she began to scream!
“It’s…it’s…a…rat!”
The Mouse Takes the Cheese
As soon as Kate shouted, Michael dropped his backpack into the snow and began to run away from the crowd. Kate had never seen anyone move that fast! He shot through the throng of people, heading toward the lodge.
“Oh, I wish I could run!” Sydney said, wringing her hands together. “This bum ankle of mine won’t let me!”
Kate raced after Biscuit, who now stood at the edge of the snow barking like a maniac. She couldn’t blame him! Did I really see what I thought I saw? Did a rat…a real, live rat…just fall out of Michael’s backpack?
As she got closer to the stage, she glanced down to see what Biscuit held in his mouth. He yanked it around to the right, then the left, then the right, then the left.
“Oh, gross! If it was a rat, it’s a goner now!” Kate didn’t want to touch it. Oh, how disgusting!
A crowd gathered around. “Look, everyone!” Dexter shouted. “Biscuit caught a rat. Good boy!”
“A rat?” one man said with a smirk on his face. “How ironic!”
It took Kate a minute to realize what he meant. They were standing at the bottom of the Rat ski course, after all.
People began to laugh, but Kate didn’t feel like joining them. Not yet, anyway. She had a sinking feeling.
“Look!” another man called out. “This dog is going crazy!”
Biscuit continued his chewing and chomping frenzy, and Kate actually felt sorry for the poor little rat. What a terrible way to die!
She grabbed the dog by his collar and scolded him. “Biscuit, let go! Stop! Enough already!”
After a couple of seconds, he finally dropped the furry little thing. Kate gasped when she looked down and saw…metal pieces? Metal pieces inside a rat? What?
“What is that?” Sydney hobbled up beside her.
“Oh, wow, Kate!” Sydney looked shocked. “It’s not a real rat at all. It’s a little…”
“Robot,” Kate whispered. “It’s a robotic rat! No wonder it ran in crazy circles that day at the creamery. And no wonder McKenzie couldn’t find a photo of another rat that looked like this one. It’s not real. It never was.” Relief swept over her. “That means they never really had a rat infestation at the creamery. Not real rats, anyway. Just robotic ones. But why? Why would Michael do this?”
Uncle Ollie reached down into the snow to pick up the robotic rat, which Biscuit had almost destroyed. He rolled it from one hand to another, looking it over. “I don’t believe this. I really don’t believe this. I’m the one who taught him how to build robots, but I never dreamed he would take the things I’d taught him and use them to hurt someone!”
“There were three rats that first day at the creamery,” Sydney said, reaching for Michael’s backpack. “So there must be at least two more inside!” She looked up at Uncle Ollie. “Is it okay to open it and look inside to see?”
“I give you permission.” Michael’s mother, Maggie, drew near. “We need to know for sure before…” Her eyes filled with tears, and Kate suddenly felt very sorry for her.
Poor woman! She’s still sad about her dad dying, and now this!
Mr. and Mrs. Hampton walked up. They both looked completely shocked.
Sydney reached inside the backpack and came out with not just one but two furry critters! As soon as she saw them, she began to scream. “Ooo! More rats!”
One of them flew up into the air, then hit the ground. Kate reached down and grabbed it. “But they’re not real. See?” She rolled it around in her hand. “I can feel the metal parts inside. And look, here’s where the batteries go.” She showed everyone the belly of the rat.
By now, several people had gathered.
“Step back, everyone!” Mr. Hampton said, drawing near. “Step back!”
He approached Kate and took the rats from her, examining them carefully. “Whose bag is this?” he asked, pointing to the backpack.
“It belongs to my son, Michael,” Maggie said with tears in her eyes.
“Where did he go?” Mr. Hampton looked around. “Is he still here?”
“I saw him running toward the lodge,” an older woman said. “He was going mighty fast!”
Mr. Hampton and Uncle Ollie led the way to the lodge. Kate and her family trudged along behind him in the snow. Kate prayed all the way. Lord, please let Michael still be there. And help us understand why he would do something like this to the Hamptons!
As they entered the main room of the lodge, Kate saw Michael sitting in front of the fireplace. As soon as he heard everyone come in the door, he turned and looked their way. Kate couldn’t help but notice he had tears in his eyes.
What’s up with that? What secrets are you hiding, Michael?
Mr. Hampton walked straight over to him and dropped the backpack down on the floor. “Is this yours, son?”
“Yes, sir.” Michael looked down at the ground.
“And these, um, rats. They’re yours?” Mr. Hampton continued.
Michael hung his head in shame. “Yes, sir. I made them. In my basement.”
Maggie walked to his side and slipped an arm over his shoulder. “Michael, we just need the truth. Are you the one who…” Her voice cracked. “Are you the one who put the rats in the creamery?”
Kate’s heart twisted as he gave a slow nod and then began to cry.
Why would he do such a thing? That’s horrible!
Michael turned to Uncle Ollie, talking a mile a minute. “You don’t understand what they did to my grandpa!”
With an angry look on his face, he pointed to Mr. and Mrs. Hampton, who stood in silence listening to him. “My Grandpa Joe worked for them for years as a security guard. He was a good man…” Michael’s voice cracked. “But they fired him! Fired him. For no good reason. He needed that job. We had bills to pay!”
Mr. Hampton looked stunned. “We had good reasons for firing him, Michael, whether you know it or not.”
Michael shook his head, growing angrier by the moment. “After he lost his job, Grandpa started getting sick. I know it was because he was so depressed. He was never the same after that. And my mom had to work harder than ever to pay for his medical bills.”
Michael began to shake uncontrollably. Kate watched as he clenched his fists.
“So you wanted to get even with them?” Uncle Ollie asked. “You sabotaged the creamery to get even?”
Michael nodded. “I…wanted to bring them down! They hurt my grandpa, and I wanted to hurt them!”
Ooo! Kate thought about the scripture she had learned from Aunt Molly. So that’s what happens when you hold a grudge! People really do end up getting hurt!
“What did you do, son?” Uncle Ollie asked. “Tell me everything.”
“I…I went to the old barn on the south slope and got lots of spiders. I set them loose in the creamery. But I could tell that wasn’t going to be enough to convince people, so I…” He shook his head, then stared at Uncle Ollie. “I used what you taught me about robots. Made three of them. Figured if I could…” He paused and shook his head. “I just wanted sales to go down at the creamery. I wanted to hurt the Hamptons like they hurt us!”
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