On the Case (From the Files of Madison Finn, 17) (18 page)

“Thank you, Francine,” Dad said.

Madison grabbed her two smaller bags. Aimee rolled her suitcase back out onto the porch. Mom kissed Maddie, Aimee, and Phin good-bye.

“I packed his little doggy sweater,” Mom said. “The one that Gramma Helen knit for him.”

“Awwwww, that is so-o-o-o-o sweet!” Aimee said.

Even though Madison was feeling much more alert, Aimee’s high-pitched squeals were still a little over the top.

Everyone said a second round of good-byes and then the travelers headed for the car. Stephanie was inside, half covered by a wool blanket.

“Good morning,” Madison said as she squeezed into the back. It was a snug fit. Phin wasn’t sure where he was supposed to go. Finally, he curled up in a ball on Madison’s lap. Aimee got in on the other side.

Madison stared out the window as they pulled away. By now, the sky was white with morning light. Trucks headed for delivery stops. City buses chugged along on their early-morning routes. There were only a few other cars along the road.

They passed the Far Hills Animal Clinic, where Madison liked to volunteer. They even drove past a tomblike Far Hills Junior High.

“It’s official. We’re really on winter break,” Madison said with a sigh. “I never thought it would come, but now it’s here. And we’re leaving town!”

“Um… can we listen to the radio?” Aimee asked.

“Sure,” Stephanie said. She clicked on a station. “Ask Me How I Feel” was playing.

“No way!” Aimee cried.

“The same song!” Madison screamed.

Dad jumped. The car lurched. Phin scrambled into the front seat.

“Phin! Madison!” Dad groaned. He used her full first name only when he was annoyed at something.

“Oh, sorry, Dad,” Madison said. “It’s just that this song was playing on the radio at Mom’s, too, just a few minutes ago, and if you randomly hear the same song like that, it means that it’s your lucky song. Doesn’t it, Aim?”

“You’re the one who believes in all that superstitious stuff,” Aimee said.

“Well,” Dad said, “I don’t care if it is your lucky song. That’s no reason to scream in the car. I thought something was wrong.”

Aimee made a “whoopsie” face. Madison squirmed in her seat.

They drove on. Once they hit the highway, everyone (except Dad, of course) started to doze off.

Madison awoke half an hour later with a cramp in her leg. Stephanie was looking out the window, or sleeping—Madison couldn’t tell. Phin slept on Stephanie’s lap. Dad was listening to talk radio, not the cool music station they’d been listening to before. Aimee was still out cold, her mouth hanging open the way it usually did when she slept. She always slept funny. Once, at a sleepover, Madison, Fiona, and their other friend Lindsay watched as Aimee rolled over, mouth open, asleep, onto her giant teddy bear. The next day, Aimee woke up with fur on her tongue.

“Daddy?” Madison asked softly from the back seat. “I’m going to use my laptop. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” he said. “That’s why I got you the laptop. So you could take it anywhere you wanted.”

“I mean, is it okay if we don’t talk?” Madison asked. “I don’t want you to think I’m being rude or that I don’t want to talk or… well, you know what I mean.”

Dad looked briefly over his shoulder at her and then turned back to the road. He could see Madison through his rearview mirror.

“Maddie, this is your vacation,” he said. “Do whatever you want.”

Madison logged on and opened a new file.

On the Road


Rude Awakening:
I thought taking a trip with Dad and Stephanie would drive me crazy. But this vacation feels like it’s driving in a very different direction.


Big news: in addition to keeping her mouth wide open like a trout, Aimee snores! I never knew that, even after all the times I slept over at her house and she slept over at mine. Or maybe she snores because she is sitting up. I wish I had my video so I had proof. She will totally deny that she does this.


I forgot that once you drive out of Far Hills, there are so many trees and mountains, and everything here is dusted with snow. Dad says that when we get up to the Adirondack mountains, we’ll be climbing in altitude. It gets colder, so there’s even more snow on the ground. He’s good with all that science data. I know he watches the Weather Channel a lot.


Oh, wow! As I’m writing this, we just passed this HUGE farm with cows everywhere. And I can see there’s a flurry of snow in the air now. Stephanie’s waking up in the front seat. She rolled down her window for a little fresh air and WHAMMO! A gust of snowy air blew right into her face. Between the snow and the snores, this is pretty funny stuff. But I’m trying desperately not to laugh back here.


I have absolutely less than no idea where we are, except that we just passed a sign that said “ALBANY, 40 Miles” and I know that’s the state capital. So we must be more than halfway there. Dad said it takes five hours.


Madison glanced over at Aimee, who was still snoring. Stephanie heard the snoring, too, and smiled at Madison from the front seat.

“Do you want to hold Phin?” she asked.

Madison nodded and carefully took the pug onto her lap.

“I think we’ll stop up ahead,” Dad said. “There’s a rest stop. We can grab some coffee or soda and take a bathroom break.”

Phin pressed his pug nose up against the back window, and it steamed up. The air was definitely getting colder. A light snow had begun to fall.

As they pulled off the road into a rest stop, Aimee finally woke up. “Where are we?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. “Look! It’s snowing!”

Outside, flurries were starting to fall faster now. It was as though they’d driven onto a movie set or into a giant Christmas card.

Everyone grabbed a drink and a snack at the rest stop, and then they headed out on to the road again. Dad was struggling a little bit with the map. He was looking for a shortcut to the resort. His client had given him directions for the back-road route, but Dad couldn’t seem to find one of the country roads he was looking for.

“Jeff, dear, take the main highway,” Stephanie advised sweetly.

Madison already knew what was going to happen—and it wasn’t pretty. Dad always refused to do things the easy way.

About a half hour after leaving the rest stop, Madison leaned over to Aimee and whispered, “We’re lost. I can feel it.”

“I heard that!” Dad snapped from the front. “We are not lost. I’m just taking the scenic route. I think the snow’s letting up.”

Stephanie chuckled. “Oh, Jeff, the snow is the least of our worries.”

Kerthunk.

The car moved shakily from side to side.

“What was that?” Aimee cried from the back.

“Yes, Jeff, what
was
that?” Stephanie asked, clutching her car door. “Was that the tire?”

“Rowwrooooo-rorrrroroooooo!” Phin barked.

Dad sat forward in his seat and gently applied the brake. “I have no idea what the—”

Kerplonk.

“Now, that didn’t sound like a flat tire. Did it?” Dad asked.

“It sounded bad,” Aimee responded.

“You can fix it. Right, Dad?” Madison asked.

All at once, the car lurched forward and then slowed down to a crawl. Dad guided it over to the side of the road. The five of them (including Phinnie) sat there quietly.

Dad pounded his fist on of the dashboard. “This is just my luck!” he cried.

Stephanie put her hand on his arm. “Don’t worry, Jeff.”

Madison liked the way her stepmother acted in stressful situations. Stephanie’s cooler-than-cool demeanor calmed Dad down. Madison remembered how different it had been between Mom and Dad. On family trips, they would make each other
more
stressed.

“So… are we going to get out of the car?” Aimee asked Madison. She looked over at her friend.

“I don’t know,” Madison said with a shrug.

“Let’s call triple A first,” Stephanie said. The American Automobile Association helped cars in emergencies like this. One call would summon a tow truck and mechanic to come and help fix the car.

“Oh, no.” Dad stared straight ahead at the steering wheel. “You won’t believe this, Stephanie. I left my card in my other wallet.”

“You forgot your card? When we were taking a major road trip?” Stephanie said. “Jeff, how could you do that?”

Madison and Aimee didn’t say a word more.

Dad hung his head. “We were so rushed, I just—”

“Here, use
my
card,” Stephanie said, pulling it out of her purse with a smile.

Dad leaned over and brushed Stephanie’s cheek with his hand. “Thank you,” he said.

When they got out of the Jeep, everyone saw the problem right away: not just one but
two
very flat tires.

Luckily there was still decent cell reception even though the hills were all around. Madison and Aimee waited near the car while Dad and Stephanie walked a bit down the road to make the phone call. Phin sniffed around the flat tires.

“Hey, Aim, do you see that?” Madison asked Aimee, pointing into the sky.

Aimee was too busy primping to notice. Her hair and outfit had gotten mussed when she fell asleep in the backseat.

Madison craned her neck to look up into the sky. Right above the Jeep, a group of crows circled around. They cawed loudly. She wondered if it were a bad omen.

Were flat tires and crows signs of bad luck that couldn’t be shaken?

Was the trip to Big Mountain headed for big problems?

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Give Me a Break
Now!

Author Laura Dower has a lot in common with Madison Finn: They’re both only children and they both love dogs, the color orange, and books! Laura has written more than ninety kids’ books to date, including twenty-five in the series From the Files of Madison Finn. Her other books include the new Palace Puppies series and
For Girls Only
, a guide to girl stuff. When she’s not writing, Laura loves to garden, sing (loudly), and volunteer as a scout leader for her daughter and two sons. She and her family live in New York. Want to be keypals? Drop her a note at
www.lauradower.com.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Text copyright © 2004 by Laura Dower

cover design by Connie Gabbert

978-1-4804-2310-7

This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media

345 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com