downstairs to the front door and then returned to the living room.
Everyone sat down again. Nobody spoke for a few minutes.
Finally Mrs. Lake broke the silence. She pointed to the backpack.
“Stevie? Do you know anything about this?” she asked.
Regina nudged her. “The Fifth. Plead the Fifth!” she mumbled clearly enough for everybody to hear.
Stevie weighed her options very quickly and then shook her head.
“I never could fool my mom,” she said to Regina. “She’s a real truth machine and she always knows everything because she knows me so well. This time, what she knows, and I don’t even have to tell her, is that somehow it was her daughter, her only daughter whom she loves very,
very
much, who provided the critical piece of the puzzle that enabled the police toround up an entire gang of crooked contractors. In the end she’ll be proud of me. But right now she knows I need more sleep. A lot more sleep. Right, Mom?” she asked, and then looked hopefully at her mother.
Mrs. Lake shook her head. “I plead the Fifth,” Stevie’s mother said.
“Y OU
WHAT ?” C AROLE asked.
“Helped the police catch a ring of crooked contractors,” Stevie repeated.
“I don’t get it,” said Lisa.
The three of them were sitting on bales of hay at Pine Hollow. They didn’t have long to talk because Stevie was technically grounded for a week, but her mother had allowed her to go to the stable to talk to Deborah, and she’d managed to arrange a meeting with her best friends as well. She’d shared every detail of her adventure—and her misadventure.
“It was part of one of the biggest contractor fraudrings in the country,” Stevie informed her friends. “See, Deborah thinks that this guy is connected to the people she’s been investigating down here.”
“Only Stevie,” said Lisa.
“What?” Stevie asked.
“Only you would go to New York, break into someone else’s property, set a fire, fall through a floor, and come out a hero.”
Stevie nodded. “My thoughts exactly, but I can’t take all the credit. Regina was there, too. I’ll tell you one thing for sure, though, and that is that I’m
never
doing anything like that again. That was scary!”
“I bet Deborah was grateful for the inside scoop,” said Carole.
“She was, but there were a few little details I left out when I was talking with her.”
“Like the truth?” Carole asked.
“No, everything I told her was true,” Stevie said. “I just didn’t want to confuse her with unnecessary facts. I mean, there were some things that just don’t need to appear in print anyplace my parents might possibly read them. I did tell her about the mounted policeman, though. She said Max was going to love that part, but she wasn’t sure her readers would care much.”
“Not care about the horse?” Carole asked, shocked.
Stevie laughed. It was just like Carole to focus on the horse and not the policeman or the cry for help. Lisa laughed, too.
“How did you feel about what you did—I mean the part you didn’t tell Deborah about?” asked Lisa.
Stevie didn’t have to think very hard to answer that. “Awful,” she said. “It didn’t seem so bad when we were just having some fun in what we thought was an abandoned building—or at least a forgotten one. But when we did things that damaged it—like accidentally starting the fire—I felt terrible. I can usually come up with some pretty good excuses when I get into trouble, but not this time. I mean, I’m not confessing or anything. But everybody knows what we did was wrong; otherwise why would my parents ground me for a week? All the other kids got punished one way or another, too, except Gordon. Nobody’s telling on him. Even though the end has a silver lining, it was pretty stupid, wasn’t it?”
That was a question Lisa and Carole didn’t really think needed an answer.
“So how did it go with Maxi?” Stevie asked, happy to change the subject.
“It was tough at first,” said
Everyone sat down again. Nobody spoke for a few minutes.
Finally Mrs. Lake broke the silence. She pointed to the backpack.
“Stevie? Do you know anything about this?” she asked.
Regina nudged her. “The Fifth. Plead the Fifth!” she mumbled clearly enough for everybody to hear.
Stevie weighed her options very quickly and then shook her head.
“I never could fool my mom,” she said to Regina. “She’s a real truth machine and she always knows everything because she knows me so well. This time, what she knows, and I don’t even have to tell her, is that somehow it was her daughter, her only daughter whom she loves very,
very
much, who provided the critical piece of the puzzle that enabled the police toround up an entire gang of crooked contractors. In the end she’ll be proud of me. But right now she knows I need more sleep. A lot more sleep. Right, Mom?” she asked, and then looked hopefully at her mother.
Mrs. Lake shook her head. “I plead the Fifth,” Stevie’s mother said.
“Y OU
WHAT ?” C AROLE asked.
“Helped the police catch a ring of crooked contractors,” Stevie repeated.
“I don’t get it,” said Lisa.
The three of them were sitting on bales of hay at Pine Hollow. They didn’t have long to talk because Stevie was technically grounded for a week, but her mother had allowed her to go to the stable to talk to Deborah, and she’d managed to arrange a meeting with her best friends as well. She’d shared every detail of her adventure—and her misadventure.
“It was part of one of the biggest contractor fraudrings in the country,” Stevie informed her friends. “See, Deborah thinks that this guy is connected to the people she’s been investigating down here.”
“Only Stevie,” said Lisa.
“What?” Stevie asked.
“Only you would go to New York, break into someone else’s property, set a fire, fall through a floor, and come out a hero.”
Stevie nodded. “My thoughts exactly, but I can’t take all the credit. Regina was there, too. I’ll tell you one thing for sure, though, and that is that I’m
never
doing anything like that again. That was scary!”
“I bet Deborah was grateful for the inside scoop,” said Carole.
“She was, but there were a few little details I left out when I was talking with her.”
“Like the truth?” Carole asked.
“No, everything I told her was true,” Stevie said. “I just didn’t want to confuse her with unnecessary facts. I mean, there were some things that just don’t need to appear in print anyplace my parents might possibly read them. I did tell her about the mounted policeman, though. She said Max was going to love that part, but she wasn’t sure her readers would care much.”
“Not care about the horse?” Carole asked, shocked.
Stevie laughed. It was just like Carole to focus on the horse and not the policeman or the cry for help. Lisa laughed, too.
“How did you feel about what you did—I mean the part you didn’t tell Deborah about?” asked Lisa.
Stevie didn’t have to think very hard to answer that. “Awful,” she said. “It didn’t seem so bad when we were just having some fun in what we thought was an abandoned building—or at least a forgotten one. But when we did things that damaged it—like accidentally starting the fire—I felt terrible. I can usually come up with some pretty good excuses when I get into trouble, but not this time. I mean, I’m not confessing or anything. But everybody knows what we did was wrong; otherwise why would my parents ground me for a week? All the other kids got punished one way or another, too, except Gordon. Nobody’s telling on him. Even though the end has a silver lining, it was pretty stupid, wasn’t it?”
That was a question Lisa and Carole didn’t really think needed an answer.
“So how did it go with Maxi?” Stevie asked, happy to change the subject.
“It was tough at first,” said
Similar Books
