Shoulders stiff, Scott walked swiftly away. At the road, he turned right and soon disappeared behind the green leafy trees. A door slammed and a noisy engine sputtered into life. A red pickup truck clattered into view and roared angrily down the road in a swirl of dust. The same truck Katie and Rusty had seen the night before.
Cliff turned away. “Hey, Birthday Gal.” He smiled, walking toward Katie. “I hope I didn't miss out on cake.”
She shook her head. “Why don't you like Scott?”
“I don't trust that kid. If he stole once, he'll do it again, so I don't want him hanging around the place.”
“But, are you sure it was him? What did he take?”
Cliff stopped at the door. “Nothing for you to worry about, Katie-girl,” he said and stomped into the kitchen.
Katie pulled a face. Why did everyone treat her like a little kid?
“Katie!” Her mom appeared at the door. “Your dad's on the phone.”
Katie ran inside. Until today, she hadn't realized how much she missed her dad. She hadn't seen him in almost a month and could hardly wait to hear his voice. As she ran through the kitchen, it occurred to her that until last week when they visited his Alberta ranch, Sheila hadn't seen her own father in close to a year.
Then she heard her dad's familiar voice. “Happy Birthday, Katie! I wish I was there with you.”
The second Katie emerged from Aunt Margaret's office the kitchen exploded in inharmonious song. On the table, two cakes blazed with twinkling candles. Mouths opened and closed, teeth and the whites of eyes flickered in candlelight while Katie waited awkwardly for the birthday song to end. On the far side of the room, Megan leaned sullenly against the kitchen doorway. Aunt Margaret watched as if afraid her daughter might make a run for the door.
At last the song screeched to an end with, “Happy Birthdays Dear Megan-and-Katie, Happy Birthdays to you.”
Katie swooped over to see her cake and examine the presents piled on the table.
She blew out every candle and ate a huge piece of her chocolate cake with thick, dark chocolaty icing. Then she tried a slice of Megan's carrot cake. It tasted spicy and sweet and surprisingly good. Not at all like a carrot. Across the table, Megan nibbled on some crumbs but avoided the icing. The sliver of cake looked almost intact when she pushed her plate away.
“How about some of this chocolate cake?” GJ slid a slice toward Megan. “It's absolutely delicious.”
Megan looked at it and licked her lips. For a moment, Katie thought she might actually take a bite. But she pushed it away too. “No thanks,” she said. “I'm way too full.”
“We should come here every year,” Rusty said. “Where else can you get two birthday cakes at once?” He ate quite happily, ignoring the foul looks from both of his cousins.
Katie didn't wait for the others to finish their cake. She started opening her presents. A fancy new notebook with a hardcover and a pocket for tucking in important papers (or evidence) came from her grandparents. Inside the front cover were slots that held a pocket-sized notepad, pen, pencil, eraser, magnifying glass and calculator.
Aunt Margaret gave her a Swiss Army knife. “Because,” she said, “you never know when it might come in handy.”
Rusty's parents, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jason, gave her a book called,
Crimes of the Century
. She could hardly wait to read it. And from Rusty came a small, compact flashlight. She switched it on and shone it in his face.
Rusty put his hand up to shade his eyes. “I thought you could use a new one,” he said. “Since your old one got kind of bashed up when you dropped it down that tunnel on my head.”
“It landed on the rocks beside you, not on your head. But, thanks, Rusty.” She switched it off and slipped it into her pocket alongside the paper from Aunt Margaret's office. “It's nice and small but it's bright too.” She almost added that it would be perfect for investigating crime scenes but caught herself in time. She had promised to stay out of trouble this summer. Unfortunately, to her parents' and grandparents' way of thinking, investigating crimes was not the ideal way to go about it.
Her parents gave her a cell phone. “Wow! That's exactly what I wanted!”
“We figured you could use it in case you find yourself in trouble again. At least you can phone for help,” said her mom.
“Thanks, Mom.” Katie pushed the power button and waited for the little screen to light up. She fiddled with the phone for a few minutes, pushing buttons to see how it worked. “It takes pictures too!” she grinned. “That will come in handy!”
There was one more present on the table. Katie picked it up and read the card.
Happy Birthday, Katie. I'll be thinking of you
today.
Miss you,
Sheila.
Katie tore open the paper and found a new mystery novel by her favorite author. She held it in her hands and thought about Sheila, her ex-best friend. But maybe Sheila wasn't a deserter at all, maybe she just really needed some time with her dad.
“You can phone Sheila on your new cell phone and thank her,” Mom suggested. “Yeah,” Katie said, “I will.” She glanced at the clock. “But she'll be out on the range riding Silver right now. She likes to go with her dad after dinner.” Katie smiled, knowing she would talk to Sheila soon; maybe they could still be best friends after all.
“Let's try the phone to be sure it works,” Mom suggested. “Why don't you phone Megan on her cell?”
Katie shook her head. “I don't know the number.”
Cliff got to his feet and nodded to Katie's and Rusty's mothers. “It was wonderful meeting you two lovely ladies, and I hope you enjoy your visit to Saskatchewan. I thank you all for a wonderful meal, but I really must go now, I've got chores waiting.”
While their moms smiled happily after Cliff, Katie looked at Rusty and rolled her eyes. Rusty opened his mouth and jabbed a finger toward his throat. They both grinned.
“I don't have my phone,” Megan jumped up, patting her empty waistband. “I left it to recharge in Mom's office last night and forgot it when we went to Humboldt.” She disappeared into the office and came running out a second later. “It's not there!”
“It's Scott again.” Cliff lingered at the door. “He must have taken it when no one was home today.”
“Why would he do that?” Katie asked. “It doesn't make any sense.”
“Why does he do half the things he does? Maybe he wants to check Megan's calls to see who's been phoning her. I'm sure it's him. Seems to me I saw a phone just like Megan's clipped to his belt when he was outside.”
“You're wrong,” Megan told him. “Scott didn't have a cell phone on him. I was there too, remember?”
Cliff took a step toward her. “Your mother told you to stay away from that boy. Can't you understand he's stalking you? He could be dangerous.”
Megan backed toward the stairs. “Who do you think you are?” she screeched. “My father?” She turned and ran up the stairs.
“Megan, come back here!” Cliff yelled and started after her.
“It's all right, Cliff, let her go,” Aunt Margaret said.
“No sense in letting her spoil everyone's fun.”
That was the most sensible thing Katie had heard all day. She smiled when Megan's bedroom door slammed and the sound of it reverberated through the house.
“And I really don't think Scott is dangerous,” Aunt Margaret continued. “He's just a boy who made a mistake. As for Megan's cell phone, she's forever misplacing it. I'm sure it will show up soon.”
Once again, Cliff headed for the door.
“Why don't we get Katie to try the number now?”
GJ suggested. “If it rings we can track it down. What's the number?”
Aunt Margaret gave Katie the number, and she started to punch it in. Not that she wanted her first call on her new cell phone to be to her cousin, but she was curious to find out where the phone had gone. You never knew what might turn out to be a clue.
“If it rings, say hello to Scott,” Cliff called over his shoulder.
Katie pushed Send. They didn't hear the phone ringing anywhere in the house. After four rings, Megan's voice answered, “Hey, it's Megan. Leave a message. If you're real lucky, I'll get back to you.”
“I should go.” Emily's mouth twisted down on one side. “I don't think, like, Megan wants me here?”
“I'm really sorry, Emily,” Aunt Margaret said. “I don't know what's gotten into Megan lately; she's acting just plain rude. But I poured you some tea. Why don't you stay and finish it? We enjoy your company even if Megan is too preoccupied with herself right now.”
“I can help you clean up,” Emily suggested with an unhappy glance at stacks of dishes piled on the countertop and overflowing the sink.
“Thanks, but no.” Aunt Margaret grinned. “That's what my sisters are here for.”
Katie's mom and Aunt Sarah groaned.
“Katie,” said her mom, “why don't you and Rusty take Emily out to the porch? There's no need for her to rush off just yet, and you kids can keep her company while we get these dishes done.”
“Good idea.” Katie hopped up from the table. She couldn't believe her luck. There were tons of unanswered questions rattling around in her brain and this opportunity to question Megan's friend was perfect timing. She grabbed her new notebook and cell phone and headed for the door before anyone could have a change of mind.
Emily carried her tea out and sat on a chair next to Katie. Resting her elbows on the white wicker arms, Emily stared into the mug she clutched in both hands. Rusty sauntered out and plunked himself down on the chair closest to the door, his sketchbook balanced on his knees.
“So, Emily,” Katie began, “have you and Megan been friends for a long time?”
Emily nodded. “Ever since we were three years old. Our parents were, like, I mean, friends too.”
“They aren't anymore?”
Emily shook her purple, sea urchin hair. “I don't know. Since Megan's dad died, they don't see each other so much. Megan's mom is always, like, way too busy.” She sipped her tea and muttered something under her breath.
“Are you mad because Megan hardly paid any attention to you tonight?”
“Why be mad?” she sighed. “I'm getting used to it.
Megan doesn't like, uh, like me so much anymore.”
“So, you don't hang out together?” Katie clutched her notebook on her lap, itching to take notes but afraid to open it. Sooner or later Emily would get tired of answering questions, just like everyone did. And if Emily saw Katie writing down everything she said, it would be sooner rather than later.
“Not like we used to. Summers used to be, like, so much fun. Megs, Scott and me always got together with kids from school and went swimming or biking, whatever. And we played tons of baseball.” Emily smiled, remembering. “Megs was good too. You should have seen her hit that ball!”
Her smile vanished. “But Megan never wants to do anything anymore. And she's been tons worse since Cliff fired Scott.”
“I thought Aunt Margaret fired him.”
“Huh? No, it was Cliff.”
“But, why?”
“Scott was staying here to help with seeding, and he slept in the spare room in Cliff's suite. They were real busy, so Megan was supposed to, like, take care of the housekeeping in their rooms? But she got too busy with exams. Anyway, her mom went in to clean one day and found something in Scott's room.”
“What was it?”
“A necklace. She didn't even know it was, like, missing? It used to belong to Megan's grandmaâher dad's mother? Anyway, before she died Grandma Piercy gave the necklace to Megan's mom.”
“So, is it, like, valuable or what?” Katie was vaguely aware that
like
had slipped into her sentence. Seemed like
like
was catchy.
“I guess so. It's old anyway. I think it's, like, a family heirloom or something? From England. Anyway, Megan's mom kept it in her jewelry box in her bedroom, but she never wore it. She doesn't like, uh, jewelry.”
“But, why would Scott take it?”
“I wouldn't have believed it a few months back, but who knows? It's totally weird how everyone around here has changed lately. Megan sure did. And Scott's so desperate to save money for college, maybe he planned on selling the necklace to make a bundle.”
“Then, why would he leave it in his room? You'd think he'd be smart enough to figure out Aunt Margaret would find it.”
Emily shrugged. “Haven't a clue. Maybe he felt guilty about taking it in the first place. I mean, he really likes Megan, and her mom's always been real good to him. She even gave him a job to help him make some money.” She sipped her tea and thought for a minute. “So, yeah, maybe that's it. Maybe he couldn't go through with it but, like, got caught before he could return the necklace.”
“But Megan still sees Scott?”
“Yeah, sometimes, when she can get away from here.”
“Why can't she get away?”
Emily frowned and stared out through the window screen. Katie was sure she'd had enough and wouldn't answer any more questions, but Emily surprised her. Maybe she was happy to share her worries. Still gazing outside, Emily said, “Megan's mom won't let her see Scott and she keeps a close eye on everything Megs does, 'cause she thinks Megan might, like, sneak off.”
Emily gulped her tea and lowered the mug to her knee, still holding it in both hands. “Then there's Cliff.
That guy watches over Megs too, like he's her big brother or something? It drives her nuts! Tonight, when I caught him alone in the kitchen, I told him to back off. He got real mad. He thinks I'm, like, a freak.”
“So that's what you were arguing about when we got back?”
Emily nodded.