Wild Rescue (2 page)

Chapter 3

Bryce finally rounded up Peanuts
and took him to the backyard. I stayed with Mrs. Watson while the police asked questions. She told them the only person who had a key to the house (other than Sam), was the paper delivery guy, Hank Krenshaw.

“Did he know you were gone?” the officer said.

“Sure. I told him not to deliver Friday or Saturday. I like to look at the ads from Sunday’s paper, so it was on my front porch when I got back.”

“Would you have any reason to suspect—?”

“Hank? No. I know he’s a little weird, but he would never take anything. He watches my place from time to time.”

“Does he live around here?”

“Up the mountain a ways. My husband knew him—he’s a veteran, fought in Vietnam, I think. It can’t be him.”

The officer wrote on a pad of paper and walked around the house. Bryce showed him the smudges on the door and the carpet.

“No sign of forced entry,” the officer said. “But we’ll do our best, ma’am.” He handed her a copy of the theft report. “This is for your insurance.”

Mrs. Watson’s eyes rimmed with tears. “I don’t want money. I want my things back.”

After the police left, Bryce met me in Mrs. Watson’s kitchen and I filled him in.

“I know a Krenshaw,” he said. “He’s in band with us.”

“The little guy who plays the tuba?”

Bryce nodded. “Toby.” He flipped through the phone book.

Chapter 4

Toby mostly kept to himself.
I guess tuba players are loners.

His house sat at the base of one of the mountains in Red Rock, and Ashley and I easily navigated a route through pastures and back roads on our ATVs. The Krenshaw place was near a formation we called “Pride Rock,” because it looks like the one in
The Lion King
. When Ashley wants to get me to laugh, all she has to do is grab our little brother, Dylan, under his arms, hold him high, and sing “Circle of Life.”

The Krenshaw driveway was falling apart, and an old basketball hoop stood with pieces of net dangling from the dented rim. The house looked like it had been built by people late for a party. Windows weren’t level, and the whole thing leaned to one side. Patches of grass grew between weeds and thistles.

Mr. Krenshaw’s truck was in the driveway. A large tarp stretched across the back with blue newspaper bags sticking out.

The front door was open, and I heard the TV. I tapped on the screen door and a dog barked.

Toby told the dog to be quiet and looked surprised to see Ashley and me. “Timberline? What are you doing here?”

“Came to talk to your dad,” I said.

“Hi, Toby,” Ashley said.

Toby blushed. “Hi. He’s sleeping. He gets up really early on Sundays. He has a regular job too, and Sunday is his day to sleep.”

A train whistled in the distance. It would rumble near the Krenshaw house soon, and I wondered how anybody slept when that thing came by.

“What do you need, anyway?” Toby said.

“Nothin’ really. We’ll come by another time.”

Mom and Sam still weren’t home when we got there.

“You think Mr. Krenshaw did it?” Ashley said.

“Who else knew Mrs. Watson was away?”

She shrugged. “And it looks like it had to be somebody with a key.”

“Maybe her husband gave one to somebody and never told her.”

Chapter 5

Mom and Sam rushed over
to see Mrs. Watson as soon as we told them what happened. Sam gritted his teeth and mumbled something about the dirty rats who would steal from someone like her.

The next day in the band room my friend Hayley looked sad, so I asked how her weekend trip to the Mall of America in Minnesota had gone.

“Great,” she said. “We had a lot of fun. But when we got back last night, a bunch of our stuff was gone.”

“Your stuff?”

“Our DVD collection, lots of jewelry, my dad’s new computer.”

I told her about Mrs. Watson.

“No sign of a break-in there either, eh?” she said. “We have a whole-house security system. If anybody tries to get in, the alarm goes off and the police are notified automatically.”

“Does anybody have a key?”

“Only our neighbor.”

A thousand thoughts ran through my mind. The bell rang, and Hayley turned to hurry off.

“Wait,” I said. “Do you guys get the Colorado Springs paper?”

She nodded.

“Delivered?”

“Yeah. Except this weekend. We had it stopped while we were away.”

Chapter 6

Everybody was excited
about the band trip coming up Friday, but our final concert of the year was Tuesday night. Our band director, Mr. Scarberry, said first things first. I guess he meant we had to concentrate on the concert before we had fun, but that was hard.

I knew Ashley was nervous because she had moved up two chairs, and the girls she beat for first chair weren’t happy about it. We had only a few days of school left, but these girls could make things pretty uncomfortable.

Toby lugged his tuba toward his chair. He put his mouthpiece into the instrument and got ready to sit down. Usually percussion people don’t mix with the horn section, but I was curious.

“How’s your dad?” I said.

“Okay, I guess. Police came by yesterday. What did you want to talk with him about?”

I shrugged. “Just a question about his route.”

“You thinking about throwing papers too?”

“I don’t know. Sounds pretty hard getting up that early.”

“Works okay for Dad. Helped him buy a new scanner.”

“Scanner?”

“Yeah, you know, you can hear police and fire station calls on it. He’s got it in his truck now.”

Chapter 7

Liz and Denise plopped
their books onto chairs two and three, where they hadn’t been all year. I kept looking to say hello or just smile at them, but they focused on their music and their stands, obviously pretending they didn’t see me.

My being number three had been fine with them. At least they had recognized that I was alive. I leaned over and waved at Hayley in chair number four. She gave me one of those wary smiles and leaned back.

Finally, Liz spoke. “So, the new first chair, and just in time for the concert. Don’t you feel lucky?”

“Look, I wasn’t trying to beat you guys, I just—”

“Don’t you have to
request
a challenge?” Liz said to Denise.

“That’s how it works,” Denise said. “But I’m sure it was a flute fluke. We’ll be back.”

The two turned and glared at me.

I stared back. “Don’t blame me. I just did my best, and Mr. Scarberry put me here.”

Liz squinted at my shirt like I had pulled it off a dead raccoon. “I hope you’re not wearing
that
to the concert.”

Mr. Scarberry passed us with an armload of sheet music, greeting groups by instrument, as usual, in his high-pitched voice. “Morning, percussion. Morning, flutes.”

Normally that amused me, but I was reeling. I wanted to be strong, to tell off the two brats, but I could barely breathe. I had to get out of here, even though the bell was about to ring. I put my flute on the stand and hurried to the bathroom to splash some water on my face—and to pray.

God, I feel like Jonah in the belly of the whale. Show me how to get out or at least how to survive. There must be something you’re trying to teach me.

Mr. Scarberry gave me a look when I came back. He was reminding everyone how much the concert would count toward our final grade. Then he had us pair up for the Friday trip to Happy Canyons, an amusement park near Denver. Liz and Denise quickly chose each other as buddies. I picked Hayley. Two buses would go to the park. I hoped we could get on the one Liz and Denise
weren’t
on.

A couple of the girls chose guys as buddies, and I knew they would sit together on the bus and hold hands and try to sneak away from the others. I’m all for romance, but some people try to grow up way too fast, and it’s gross.

Bryce and Duncan Swift usually pair up since they’re best friends, but Bryce chose Toby instead. It made me want to choose Duncan. If only I had the nerve.