The Homemade Stuffing Caper by John V. Madormo

Author:John V. Madormo [Madormo, John V.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781101572269
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2012-05-10T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

The Buoys and Girls Caper

Maybe it was just the guilt consuming me but at dinner that night when I announced my plans to work on a homework project at Henry’s, my parents seemed unusually combative.

“You have a paper due tomorrow and you’re waiting until tonight to write it? How smart is that?” my dad said.

“It was the first time Henry and I could get together to work on it.”

“What are you talking about?! The two of you are always together.”

“We just found out our topic the other day.” I should have anticipated this line of questioning. It wasn’t one of my better efforts.

“Well, it’s probably gonna look like a rush job. Is that what you want?”

“Dad, I’m at my best when the pressure’s on. I’m a crammer. I can pull it off.”

He stewed for a moment, then shook his head. I had survived the worst of it.

“I better get over to Henry’s.”

“You have a key?” my mom asked.

I nodded.

“Remember, your curfew is ten o’clock,” my dad warned. “Don’t be late, or you’ll be placed under house arrest, got it?”

“I got it.” I smiled and kissed my mom on the cheek. I didn’t always do that but I needed to soften her up in the event I missed my deadline. She was always easier to sweet-talk than my dad.

I met up with Henry about a block from Sherman’s house. We were on foot. We thought it would be a better idea than taking our bikes. Then, if Sherman suspected that he was being tailed, we could just dart behind a tree or a mailbox or something. This neighborhood seemed different from ours. Neither of us was particularly comfortable in this part of town. If you were alone, it was the last place you’d want to be. The streetlights had just gone on. We waited a few minutes before proceeding.

“This could be a complete waste of time, you know,” Henry said.

“Then again it could be the key to solving this case. You have to stay positive.”

A car filled with teenage boys roared by. I prayed that they wouldn’t see us. No luck. As they sped past, they uttered a few well-chosen expletives just for effect. We continued on just past Sherman’s house, trying to appear inconspicuous. When we were sure it was dark enough, we took refuge behind a row of evergreens. From our vantage point, we could see the front door and into the backyard—just in case our suspect made a hasty rear door exit.

We were fortunate that the bushes were rather sparse. We knelt down behind them for cover but were still able to see right through. Henry pulled out a deck of cards.

“What’s your pleasure?”

“How are we supposed to play cards in the dark?”

“You brought a flashlight, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, so what do you wanna play?” Henry said.

“I’m not gonna waste the batteries on that. We may need them later.”

Henry shuffled the deck. “I have a feeling he’ll never show, and we’ll have wasted the entire night.”

“That’s possible,” I said.

“Then why are we here?” Henry was getting a little edgy.

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