Voices at Whisper Bend by Katherine Ayres

Author:Katherine Ayres
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781497646629
Publisher: Open Road Media

CHAPTER 8

DOWN BY THE TRACKS

The next morning, Charlotte had to take Robbie to get his stitches out before school. She had a late-note for Robbie’s teacher and one for Mrs. Alexander too. It must have been a morning for notes, for when she reached into her desk for her history book, she found a folded scrap of paper with her name written in careful letters. She opened it quickly.

Meet me at recess! The mystery is solved! Sophie.

Was that possible? Had something happened this morning while she was getting Robbie to the doctor? Charlotte glanced at Betsy and motioned toward Sophie’s desk. Betsy shrugged, then turned back to her book.

The morning seemed to go on forever. Finally lunch-time arrived, and after lunch, recess. In the school yard, Charlotte spotted Sophie partly hidden in the shadows of the building, talking to her older sister.

Sophie looked like she was asking for something. Her sister Helen was shaking her head. Sophie turned and pointed toward Charlotte and Betsy. Helen kept on shaking her head. Finally Sophie snatched something from Helen’s pocket and hurried over to where the girls stood.

She pulled on Charlotte’s arm. “Come on. Over there in the corner. Where nobody will see.” She held something in her hand.

“What is it, Sophie?”

“Charlotte?” Mrs. Alexander’s voice came up behind her.

Sophie spun around and quickly stuck her hand into her jacket pocket.

“Charlotte, dear, I came over to ask about your brother’s injury, but I seem to have interrupted something. Sophie, what’s that in your pocket?”

“Nothing.”

Mrs. Alexander held out her hand. “Sophie Jaworski …”

Sophie reached into her pocket and pulled out two small squares of stiff paper. She gave them to the teacher, then looked down at her shoes.

“Why … whatever is going on? The three of you, follow me.”

Next thing Charlotte knew, the girls were upstairs sitting on stools in Mr. Costa’s science room. He and Mrs. Alexander were shaking their heads. What had Sophie gotten them into?

“Charlotte Campbell, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know, ma’am. You got there just when I did.” Her voice quavered. Charlotte wasn’t a tattletale, but even if she were, this time she had no idea what Sophie was up to.

“Betsy?”

“Me neither. I don’t know what Sophie had.”

“What she had is quite clear,” Mrs. Alexander said. “Mr. Costa’s draft card. And a club membership card. How and why is not clear. Sophie Jaworski, did you take these?”

Sophie shook her head slowly. “No, ma’am. I didn’t take anything.”

Mr. Costa frowned at them. “Jaworski. You have a sister? Helen? In the eighth grade?”

Sophie nodded, looking more miserable every second.

“Shall we get Helen, or do you want to tell us what happened?” Mrs. Alexander’s eyes had turned so dark they looked black.

“I think I know what’s going on,” the science teacher said. He sighed, then sat behind his desk. “Midmorning sometime, I discovered my wallet lying on the floor next to the windows. I checked it and no money was missing, so I thought I’d somehow dropped it. I hadn’t dropped it, though, had I, Sophie?”

She didn’t speak, just shook her head and looked sick.

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