Nickel Bay Nick by Dean Pitchford

Author:Dean Pitchford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2013-10-03T04:00:00+00:00

THE CHALLENGES OF CARJACKING

December 30

On Sunday, the fifth day of Christmas, the cease-fire between Dad and me doesn’t last through breakfast.

“Tomorrow night’s New Year’s Eve,” he announces. “Lisa’s having a few people over, and I told her we’d be happy to be there.”

“What do you mean, we?” I ask. “I won’t be happy to be there.”

“Well, you can’t stay home,” he says forcefully. “We both know what happened the last time I left you here alone on a holiday night.”

“You mean Christmas? Christmas was different.” I practically throw my cereal bowl in the sink. “That’s when I found Mom’s wedding picture you hid from me. And besides, I won’t know anybody at Lisa’s, and what if I have to work for Mr. Wells, and—”

“Stop!” Dad shouts. “You’re coming. End of discussion. Did you take your meds?”

Defiantly staring him in the eye, I stick out my tongue and shove the pill to the back of my throat. On his way out of the kitchen, Dad adds, “And pick out something nice to wear to welcome in the New Year.”

• • •

“Don’t bother taking your coat off,” Mr. Wells says when I arrive at eight thirty. “We’re leaving immediately.”

Dr. Sakata pulls on his gloves and helps Mr. Wells into a winter coat as Hoko gapes at all the activity with his tongue hanging out.

“Where’re we going?”

“If you’ve been watching the news this morning,” Mr. Wells says, tying a scarf around his neck, “you’ll know that people are guessing about where Nickel Bay Nick will next appear.” He turns to me with a wink. “Or, rather, not appear, if we do our job correctly. And I’m pleased to see there’s one section of town that everyone’s overlooking.”

“Where’s that?”

“The waterfront,” he announces. “On the shores of Nickel Bay.”

Back when Nickel Bay used to attract tourists, they’d all want to visit the area called Bay Front. From Bay Front Drive, you can get great views of the islands out in the water and the mountains on the opposite shore. Once the economy went south, though, even the most popular section of town lost a lot of businesses and residents.

As we pass through the kitchen, Dr. Sakata speaks quietly to Hoko, who immediately goes to curl up in his crate. Mr. Wells gathers maps and notepads on his way to the garage, where Dr. Sakata lifts him from his wheelchair into the front passenger seat of a hulking black SUV. I climb into the backseat and fasten my seat belt.

As we drive through the heart of town, I notice that, even though it’s a super-cold, overcast Sunday, there’s a lot more activity in the streets than I had seen only twenty-four hours earlier.

“Do you believe all these people?” I ask. “Nickel Bay Nick did that.”

“But Nick still has two more missions ahead of him,” Mr. Wells points out. “Now, tomorrow is December thirty-first, and you know what that means.”

“New Year’s Eve,” I answer.

“Exactly. We can work early in the day, but I’m sending you home by mid-afternoon so that you can celebrate with your father.

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