Tracking Daddy Down by Marybeth Kelsey

Author:Marybeth Kelsey [Kelsey, Marybeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780061974045
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

When we got to the diner, the first thing I did was run in the kitchen and call Ernestine. I hung up for the second time that day when her mother answered.

Later I was scrubbing the floor around the kitchen sink when Mama interrupted me. “I want you to take Carla for her haircut,” she said, poking her head in the kitchen. “It’s too busy for me to get away.”

“Can’t she go by herself? I’ve got this whole dirty floor to take care of.”

Mama narrowed her eyes at me. “Now that’s a new one. I’ve never known you to enjoy scrubbing the kitchen.”

I shrugged, turning my attention to a sticky spot by my knee.

“Why don’t you tell me the real reason you don’t want to go?” she said.

The goo wouldn’t come up. I sprinkled scouring powder on my sponge and went at it again, hoping Mama would go back to her customers and forget about the haircut. I dreaded the thought of going into the beauty parlor, of everyone staring at me.

Mama stepped into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. “Okay, Billie, what’s going on? Joe and I aren’t swallowing your story about the money. We think there’s something you’re not telling us.”

“Who cares what he thinks?”

I shouldn’t have said it; I knew that the second it came out of my mouth. Mama shot across the kitchen and whisked me and my sponge right up off the floor. “I’ll tell you what I care about, young lady. I care about the truth. And I care about you showing respect. I want to know what really happened Saturday, and I aim to find out.”

“I already told you the truth. We didn’t steal any money. Tommy and I found the envelope under Mrs. Sumner’s tree. Someone else must’ve dropped it there.”

She didn’t believe me, I could tell, but I was saved by Fuzzy Hilton, one of Mama’s lunch regulars. “You got some hungry folks out here,” he called from the diner.

“I’ll talk to you later,” Mama said to me through tight lips. “Right now, you take Carla for her haircut.”

On the way to Miss Mona’s I found out why Ernestine hadn’t answered her phone: It’s because she was riding bikes with Ada Jane. They whizzed right by Carla and me like we weren’t even there, then threw their bikes down and disappeared into Clarksons’. I hurried Carla down another alley so we wouldn’t have to see them come back out. I’d rather have had another measles vaccination than watch Ada Jane steal my best friend.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.