CHAPTER 5
The next morning, Saturday, Sinda was watching cartoons on TV in the living room while she ate cereal and milk. Her corn flakes were soon soggy because Sinda constantly yelled at the cartoon characters to either watch out for villains behind them or watch out for cliffs in front of them. Sinda never ate at the kitchen table. Instead she sat on the floor with her legs crossed in front of the coffee table. She shoveled the food into her mouth with a spoon. Her eyes never left the screen.
Ti-Ling, the family Siamese cat, lazily sprawled across the table very close to the cereal bowl. He knew that Sinda always shared her leftovers. Sometimes when she wasn’t looking, Ti-Ling reached over a paw and snagged some corn flakes.
Lynda was still sleeping and Cheri was talking on her cell phone. Mother was already gone to buy their weekly groceries. Even after the excitement of the burglary, Mother still had to do weeky chores.
"Yes, Jade, I really want to see that show! This guy Brad in my Gifted and Talented class at school said there was lots of great special effects....Well, we could go to the morning matinee so you can get to your afternoon dance lesson. Okay. Mother will say yes if your mom can take us. Go ask.”
She turned from the phone.
“Sinda, turn that blasted set down! I can barely hear Jade!” Shaking her head, she turned back to her phone. “Great! . I'll see you in fifteen minutes."
"I'm leaving soon for the movies. Sinda! Are you listening?”
When Sinda remained focused on the television show, Cheri shrugged.
“Oh, forget it. I’ll call Mother on her cell phone.” She made the call.
“Drats. It went into voice mail. I'll have to write Mother a note." Cheri searched for a pencil and piece of paper. None of the pencils in the kitchen desk had lead in them. Finally, she found a red crayon in a drawer and a used envelope that she fished out of the wastebasket to write Mother a note.
Dear Mother,
I've gone to the movies with Jade and then to her dance lesson. Her mom is driving. I’ll be home by supper. Love, Cheri.
A car horn honked outside. Cheri grabbed her purse and shoes and ran barefoot out the front door.
Sinda yelled, "What didja say, Cheri? Huh?" She never took her eyes off the television screen.
Lynda came downstairs, feeling groggy and wondering what she had eaten last night to make her mouth taste so bad. Maybe it was the chili quesadillas or the very hot picante sauce. She went into the kitchen to find some breakfast.
"Sinda, did you eat all the cereal and drink all the milk again?” asked Lynda. She opened the refrigerator. “I hope Mother is buying lots of groceries because there's nothing left but a shriveled green apple, a jar of mustard, and prickly pear jelly."
Looking around the kitchen, Lynda saw some of the housework that would need doing today. Sinda had left dirty dishes and an empty milk carton on the kitchen counter. Cheri had spread out her computer magazines all over the kitchen table. Ti-Ling must have dragged one on the floor because it had big holes in it. Mother’s shoes and briefcase were on a chair where she had thrown them the night before.
Mother had rented this small house in Richardson. The house was in an older section of town. The front yard had lots of huge trees and the back yard had flower beds. Their California house didn’t have much yard, but it was within walking distance of the beach. In fact, the girls walked everywhere--to the beach, to school, to the library, to the show. In Richardson, the girls had to ride the school bus or the DART (Dallas’ city bus system) or ask for car rides from parents of friends.
Mother had always wanted to plant a big garden, and she did last summer. Mother had this thing about pesticides and preferred growing her own fresh vegetables. Lynda and her sisters loved to take a salt shaker out to the back yard, pick ripe tomatoes, and eat them without even washing them off first.
Lynda took a bite from the apple and absentmindedly said out loud, "I wonder what could have happened to Mother's computer stuff?” Sinda, actually listening from the family room, yelled, "I bet those people know what happened."
"What people?"
"Those people I heard while I was hiding in the copy room yesterday."
"What did they say?"
"I dunno."
"Sinda Jayne, turn that off and come talk to me."
When Lynda used her middle name, Sinda knew she was serious. She reluctantly turned off the set, and skipped into the kitchen. Ti-Ling followed close behind her because he knew wherever Sinda went, there was food. He meowed loudly and rubbed against Sinda’s legs. She bent down and petted him behind his ears.
"Pay attention now. If you heard anything at all about Mother's missing equipment, you really need to tell me."
"I can't really remember much. Something was gone that one of them wanted. Oh yeah...they're meeting today."
"Who's meeting today?"
"The people I heard."
"Did you get a look at them?"
"How could I? It was too dark and I was hiding beside the copy machine."
"Never mind all that. Where did they plan to meet and when?"
"Gimme a break, why all the questions? I want to go out and play with Tiffany. She has a new doll with a wedding gown."
"Sinda, stay with me here. I need to find out what you know."
"Ok." Sinda sat down on the floor. Ti-Ling rolled over on his back and nudged Sinda with his head. She began to rub his tummy.
"Now, think! What place did they mention?” "Mmm.....let me think.....I think Fairy Park. Yeah, that's what she said. That sure seems like a strange place to meet." She cocked her head. “Think there’s reall fairies there?”
"Are you sure they said Fairy Park? Now, concentrate. Could it have been Fair Park? And what time was mentioned?"
"I don't remember. Can I go play now?"
"This might be worth a trip to the toy store for you. Where and when was the meeting?”
"I think they said 1:00 and it could be Fair Park. That’s all I ‘member."
"Thanks, Sinda. Now go on out to play."
Sinda ran outside yelling for Tiffany to climb up the ladder on her side of the fence and bring her new doll. Sinda, grabbing her favorite doll with the gold evening gown, climbed up the ladder on her side of the fence. The two little girls perched on top of the fence and talked about fancy party dresses.
Lynda began to think about what to do. Mother wasn't home yet from the grocery store and Sinda was in the back yard playing. She had read Cheri’s note about going to the movies. She had some homework to do: a book report on Anne Frank for English class and a page of Algebra problems were due on Monday.
Even if she got Mother's permission to go to Fair Park, should she take her sisters? Should she stay home and work on her homework? How could she get to Fair Park anyway? Fair Park was an exhibition center with many different buildings and was located close to downtown Dallas. It was far from their house and it was almost 11:00. They also needed some money in case of emergencies.
Stalling, Lynda knew an opportunity would be missed if she didn’t act now. Maybe the whole matter would best be left to the police. Hmm.....Not!
Time for action!