The Super Spies and the Pied Piper (7 page)
Read The Super Spies and the Pied Piper Online
Authors: Lisa Orchard
“Good news.” Jackie flashed her million dollar grin and then leaned forward. “Alex, there's a gas station on the left.”
“I see it. I'm going to pull in there.” Alex glanced into the rearview mirror. He gave Sarah a quick smile, before turning his attention back to the road. He pulled into the gas station and parked. When he turned off the engine, the car shuddered and then knocked several times before it died.
Alex slumped forward and rested his forehead on the steering wheel. “Man⦠that was one wild ride.”
“You can say that again,” Sarah said before pressing her lips into a grim line.
Scott reached over Lacey and grasped his friend's shoulder. “Come on. Let's go see what the damage is.”
Alex straightened and then stepped out of the car.
The rest of the Super Spies followed him to the rear of the vehicle.
Alex groaned when he saw his bumper. “This really stinks! It's going to cost me a fortune to fix.”
“At least it's still drivable,” Sarah said with a nervous twitch of her lips. She tried to put a positive spin on the situation. It bothered her to see Alex so upset. When he didn't react to her words, she tried to shoot him a reassuring glance. When he still didn't respond her face grew hot. She knew she was blushing so she turned and stared at the car.
The bumper and trunk sported a huge dent right in the center. The dent reminded her of a cartoon dog she used to watch when she was little. The dog's name had been Scruffy and every time he ran into something his nose would get smushed in, so it didn't look like he had a nose at all. She had always laughed when she watched the cartoon and a smile played on her lips for a brief moment. She shifted her weight and eyed the gas station. “I'm going to get something to drink. Does anyone want anything?”
“I'll go with you,” Jackie said.
“Can you get me some bottled water?” Lacey asked.
“Sure,” Sarah said and then grabbed Jackie's arm. “Come on.”
Jackie stumbled, but clutched Sarah's arm and kept from falling. Sarah glanced down at her friend's heels. “I can't believe you wear those things.” She rolled her eyes. “I mean⦠really⦠what's the point? You're already pretty tall.”
Jackie pulled herself up to her full height and gave Sarah the haughtiest look she could muster. “I think it's important to stay up with the trends.”
“Even if it means breaking an ankle?” Sarah shook her head.
“Do I have to remind you that being fashionable is an asset?”
Sarah snorted. “An asset for who? The bad guys chasing us? Yeah, it's an asset all right.”
Jackie sighed and shook her head, acting like a parent with a rambunctious toddler. “Who was the one who carried the perfume that got us away from the Cat Lady killer?” She pretended to look around at an audience and then she waved her hand in Sarah's face. “Me. It was me who had the perfume. Fashion statement, girlfriend.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “One time.” She gave Jackie a dismissive wave.
Jackie stopped and put her hands on her hips. She stared at Sarah with an indignant expression. “I count two times.”
Sarah giggled. “Oh all right, two times, but only two.”
“We've only had two mysteries.” Jackie started walking again and caught up to Sarah. “This one hasn't been solved yet. Mark my words. Fashion will play a key role. It always does in every aspect of life.” She stuck her nose up in the air and marched past Sarah with long, determined strides. She beat her to the door. Looking over her shoulder, she gave Sarah another haughty look and then flounced inside; her curls bouncing with her jaunty steps.
Sarah giggled and shook her head.
Only Jackie
. Gratitude for her friend warmed Sarah's heart. It felt good to have someone like her to hang out with. She'd shared some pretty important moments with her and couldn't imagine what her life would be like if Jackie wasn't in it. Picking up her pace, Sarah entered the gas station and searched for her friend. Spying her by the soft drinks, Sarah hustled over and spooked her friend by poking her in the ribs.
Jackie jumped. “Knock it off, would ya?”
Sarah laughed and gave her friend a nudge. Jackie nudged her back and the girls burst into laughter.
After getting their giggles under control, they selected their beverages, paid for them, and sauntered out the door.
“It looks like everyone's ready to go,” Sarah said, pointing at the car.
The rest of the gang had climbed into the Brown Bomb and seemed to be waiting for the two of them.
“It does. Must be the car can still make it home.”
“Looks like it.”
The girls picked up their pace. Reaching the vehicle, Sarah paused before climbing in. She glanced around, searching for the Stalker and his black truck. When she didn't see either one, she took a deep breath and climbed inside.
They made their way back to Harrisburg without any further mishaps and Alex dropped the girls off at Sarah and Lacey's. He waved goodbye and then left to take Scott home.
“Want to stay for dinner, Jack?” Sarah asked.
“I'm sure Aunt June won't mind,” Lacey piped up.
“Cool beans! I'll just call my mom and make sure it's okay.”
“Awesome,” Sarah said.
Climbing the stairs leading to the porch, she cast a furtive glance around. The thought the Stalker was still out there sent tingles of apprehension throughout her body.
Who is he
?
And why was he after us
?
And why did he ram our car
? No answers came to her and she shook the questions from her mind determined to focus on finding her parents.
Once inside, the girls hustled into the kitchen; the friendliest room in the house with its warm pine cabinets and bright yellow, pineapple print wallpaper. Sarah took a deep breath and picked up the scent of pot roast. Her stomach rumbled as she dropped her backpack by the back door. “I'm starving.”
“Hello, girls,” Aunt June greeted, glancing over her shoulder. “I'm just putting the salad together and then we can eat.” Spotting Jackie she said, “Would you like to eat with us?”
“We already invited her,” Sarah said.
“I've just got to ask my mom.” Jackie set her backpack down next to Sarah's and then walked out of the room to make the call on her cell.
Sarah opened a cupboard. “I'll set the table.”
“Thanks, honey.” Aunt June smiled. She walked over to the oven and pulled out a roast. “It's done. I'm going to turn down the temp and just mash the potatoes.”
Jackie strolled into the room. “My mom said it was okay.”
“Cool.” Sarah beamed and gave her a thumbs-up.
While Aunt June mashed the potatoes, Sarah and Jackie finished setting the table. When they were done, everyone sat down and began filling their plates.
“After dinner I'm going up to visit your uncle. I want you girls to clean the kitchen,” Aunt June said.
“Awww⦠I wanted to visit Uncle Walt tonight, too.” Sarah pouted.
“I know, but he started his therapy today and I'm sure he's very tired. You girls can go up tomorrow.”
“Oh, all right,” Sarah grumbled.
Aunt June sighed and turned her attention to Lacey. While they discussed the school day, Sarah and Jackie focused on finishing their meal quickly.
Sarah kicked Jackie under the table. “Hey.”
“What?” Jackie asked in a low voice.
“When we're done cleaning the kitchen, let's get on the Internet and see if we can find out anything about the Stalker.”
“Okay.” Jackie shoved a forkful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, and then gave Sarah a mashed potato smile.
“You are totally gross.” Sarah cringed and turned away from the sight.
Jackie snickered and kicked at Sarah under the table. “You say that like it's a bad thing.”
“It
is
.” Sarah rolled her eyes. “I mean really how old are you?”
“Old enough.” Jackie sat up straight in her chair and shoved another forkful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, then grinned broadly.
Sarah filled her fork with potatoes, but instead of putting them in her mouth she got into position to fling them at her friend.
“Sarah!” Aunt June interrupted. “You put those potatoes down right now!”
Grimacing, Sarah placed her fork on her plate. “I wasn't really going to do it.”
“I bet,” Jackie said as a sly grin crossed her face. She pursed her lips to hide it.
“I certainly hope not,” Aunt June said in an annoyed voice. She sighed and stood.” I'm going to get up to the hospital.” She carried her plate and glass over to the counter and set it down. “I should be home around nine o'clock.”
“Okay,” the three girls said in unison.
Aunt June hurried out of the kitchen. Sarah heard the jingle of keys and then the front door closing. Standing, she picked up her plate and headed for the sink. “Let's hurry and get this kitchen cleaned up, then we can start getting some info on the freak that followed us today.”
“Great idea,” Jackie said. She stood, picked up her plate and then walked over to the dishwasher.
The girls worked in silence as they cleaned the kitchen and put the leftovers away.
“Come on.” Sarah motioned for them to follow her into Uncle Walt's office. “Let's start looking into this Robinson guy.”
“Great idea.” Jackie followed Sarah into the office.
“Yeah, I want to find out what his deal is,” Lacey added.
Sarah pulled a couple more chairs up to the computer, before turning it on. After logging in, she began her search.
“Okay,” Sarah said, shifting in her seat. “Here's some info on the town of Alden. And they mention the Robinson family, but I don't see any pictures of them.”
“Hmmm⦔ Jackie chewed on her lip. “Maybe we could just look up the Robinson name?”
“But we don't know his first name.” Sarah furrowed her brow. “I wonder if we did a search for Robinsons in Alden, Michigan⦠I wonder what we'd find with that.”
“I don't know. Give it a try.” Jackie shrugged.
Sarah typed and then waited for the computer to find the information. She leaned forward and peered at the screen. “Okay⦠here's something.” She bit her lip and clicked on the mouse.
“Holy cow,” Jackie said. “He doesn't look anything like the guy that followed us today.” She furrowed her brow and looked at Sarah.
“You're right.” She shook her head and stared at the screen. “He's totally bald and has blue eyes.”
“Are you sure that he's the Robinson guy we're looking for? Lacey asked.
Sarah sighed and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “It says right here, he's the descendant of the great Samuel Robinson who started the logging business in Alden.”
“What's his name?” Lacey asked, twirling her long blonde hair around her finger.
“His name is Warren, and his son's name is Michael.”
“So, who is the guy that chased us today?” Jackie asked.
“I don't know.” Sarah shook her head. “But there's only one way to find out. We have to go back to Alden.”
“We were planning on going back after school tomorrow. We've already set it up with Alex,” Lacey pointed out.
“I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait until after school.”
“What are you saying?” Jackie asked.
“I'm saying we skip school tomorrow and head back up to Alden in the morning.”
“What? Are you crazy?” Lacey protested.
“No, I'm not.” Sarah shook her head firmly.
“Yeah⦠you are,” Lacey argued.
Sarah rolled her eyes. “I can't sit in school all day when we're this close to finding Mom and Dad.” She held up her thumb and index finger in a measuring motion. Her fingers were a centimeter apart. “If you don't want to come, you don't have to.”
“I'm in,” Jackie said as she put her arm around Sarah.
“We'll get grounded,” Lacey warned.
“So what?” Sarah challenged. “We've been grounded before.”
Lacey sighed and pouted. “You don't even know if Alex will drive us.”
“We can always ask him.” Sarah clenched her teeth.
“So what are we going to do?” Jackie asked, furrowing her brow. “We're not going to go up there and just wait for him to come out of the house are we?”
“No. That'd be a waste of time.” Sarah chewed her lip and furrowed her brow. “How are we going to get him to come out of the house?”
“I've got it!” Jackie's face lit up like a light bulb. “We can pretend we're selling something.”
“That's a good idea, Jack, but what if that freak answers the door?” Sarah frowned. “I mean we don't know if he lives there or not. And he's seen us.”
“True.” Jackie stood and paced, fiddling with her curls as she walked.
“We definitely don't want him chasing us. I say we don't go back,” Lacey said as she glared at her sister with angry eyes.
Sarah rolled her eyes and stood. “We have to go back. This is the closest we've ever come to finding our parents.” She bent over the desk and turned off the computer.
Jackie let out an exasperated sigh. “You know what? He's seen all of us. There's no way we can go up and knock on the door.”
Sarah straightened, placing her hands on her hips. “You got that right⦠unless we can find someone who'd be willing to do it.”
“No one would be willing to do that,” Lacey stated and exhaled a deep breath.
Sarah made eye contact with Jackie, who slowed her pacing and seemed to be trying to read Sarah's mind. “What?”
“I bet Scoop would do it.” Sarah grinned and her heart leapt at the possibility of a solution.
We're getting closer
. She clenched her hands as they tingled.
Jackie beamed. “I bet he would, too.”
“He would not.” Lacey scoffed. “What a horrible idea.”
Sarah snickered. “We can always ask. What's the worst that'll happen? He says no and we have to come up with another idea.”
“Let's call him.” Jackie grabbed Sarah's arm and pulled her toward the kitchen.
The two girls made it to the kitchen, where Sarah pulled her phone out of her backpack and punched in Scoop's number.
“Hello⦠Scoop?” Sarah spoke into the phone while eyeing Jackie at the same time.
Jackie huddled next to her friend and Sarah turned the phone so she could hear the conversation.
“Sarah Cole. How are you?” Scoop asked.
“I'm good. Can you meet us down at Hinkle's in like fifteen minutes? The Super Spies need your help.”
“Sure. I'm always willing to help out. I'll be there in ten minutes.”
“Let's get our bikes and go.” Sarah grabbed Jackie's arm.
“Wait,” Jackie said. “We should call Scott and Alex. I think we'll need everyone in on this.”
“Good point.” Sarah searched for her sister. “Where's Lacey?”
“I don't know. She didn't follow us down.”
“Lacey!” Sarah called out.
“What?” Lacey asked as she into the kitchen, sporting an irritated frown.
“You need to call Scott and tell him we're meeting Scoop down at Hinkle's. Tell him we're making a plan for tomorrow. And tell him to call Alex.”
Lacey pursed her lips and sighed. Oh⦠all right.”
“Jackie and I are going to get the bikes out of the garage. Meet us out front when you're done.”
Without another word, Sarah pulled Jackie toward the front door. The girls raced outside. Sarah entered the dark garage and reappeared with her bike.
“What am I going to ride?” Jackie asked.
“How about Aunt June's bike?” Sarah disappeared into the inky darkness of the garage a second time. She returned with an old one speed bike. The handlebars were beginning to rust and the large wicker basket on the front had wilted with age.
Jackie gasped. “What? Are you kidding me?” She pointed at it as if it were the most horrific thing she'd ever seen. “You want me to ride this thing? Is there even air in the tires?”
Sarah snickered at Jackie's horrified expression. “Ye-e-ess⦔
“That bike is an
antique
.”
“So what?”
“So⦠it's not my style.”
Sarah laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. “Does everything have to be a fashion statement with you?”
“Absolutely,” Jackie said with a theatrical flourish of her hands.
Lacey bounced out the front door and skipped down the steps. “Scott and Alex are meeting us there.” She disappeared into the garage and returned with her bike. She looked around expectantly. “Come on, let's go. What's the hold up?”
Jackie groaned and with an irritated snort climbed on Aunt June's bike. “Oh look, it even has a bell.”
Her sarcastic tone wasn't lost on Sarah, who reached over and rang it. The old bell had lost some of its tone, but there was still a tiny tinkle of sound. “Ohh⦠so pretty,” Sarah said, trying to keep her laughter at bay.
“Shut up.” Jackie glared at her friend before she started pedaling toward Hinkle's.
“But⦠pretty is close to being fashionable, don't you think?” Sarah called out after her. Snickering, she climbed on her bike; relishing the sight of Jackie struggling to stay upright as she pedaled down the street.
Jackie made a gesture with her hand, Sarah didn't quite understand. She giggled. Jackie wobbled on the ancient bike as she tried to increase her speed; Sarah rushed to catch up to her. Lacey trailed behind, huffing and puffing.
Breathless from their bike ride, the girls reached Hinkle's with only a minute to spare.
“Come on,” Sarah urged as she parked her bike in the rack just outside the door. She strolled into the restaurant and the other girls fell in step behind her.
Once inside, Sarah stopped at the hostess stand and waited to be seated. She glanced around the diner and took in its jovial atmosphere. Christmas lights adorned the beams year round and humorous plaques hung on the walls throughout the restaurant, giving patrons something to read while they waited for their meals.
Sarah read one and laughed out loud.
A bald spot is like a
lie;
the bigger it gets the harder it is to cover up.
Jackie walked up beside her and grabbed her arm. “Come on. I see Scoop.”
“Where?” Sarah asked, peering around the restaurant.
“Over there.” Jackie pointed to a booth where a squat, balding man sat. His snowy white hair curled around his ears and his large belly gave him a jolly appearance. He removed his glasses, cleaned them with a napkin, inspected them, and then put them back on.
“Hi Scoop,” Sarah greeted before she slid into the seat across from him.
“Hello there, Sarah Cole.” He swept the table with his hand as if he were removing crumbs. “How can I be of service to the Super Spies?”
A waitress approached and interrupted the conversation. “What can I get you?” She asked around a huge wad of gum. Her dark hair was pulled back into a pony tail and her black eyes glittered. Sarah could tell she really didn't want to be there. The waitress sighed and tilted her head away from the group. She fidgeted with her apron and tugged at her name tag while she waited for their answer.
“I'll have lemonade,” Sarah said.
“Me too.” Jackie nudged Sarah telling her to move over. Once she did, Jackie sat down and blew the curls out of her eyes.
“Ditto,” Lacey answered as she slid into the seat next to Jackie.
“I'll have a cup of coffee,” Scoop said.
“I'll be right back with your drinks.” The waitress scurried away to fill the order.
“Well⦔ Sarah said as she glanced around the place. “We've got a lead on my parents.”
“Really?” Scoop leaned forward and met Sarah's gaze across the table. “Tell me about it.”
Sarah spoke in hushed tones and told Scoop about their experience earlier in the day. The other two girls listened intently and nodded their heads in agreement.
By this time Scott and Alex had found the group, and they all huddled together as Sarah finished her story.
When she finished, Scoop leaned back in his seat and pursed his lips. “That's quite a story. You think this guy has something to do with the disappearance of your parents?”
“Definitely,” Sarah answered in a firm voice.
Scoop rubbed his cheek with a heavy hand. “So, I'm guessing you have some sort of plan.”
The waitress strolled back to the table with their order. She set the drinks down and then faced Scott and Alex. “Do you guys want anything?”
She seemed friendlier this time and Sarah felt a twinge of jealousy. It dissipated when Scott and Alex decided against drinks.
Sarah turned her attention back to Scoop. “Yes, I do.” She feigned an innocent smile. “I've got an awesome plan.”