Closed for the Season

  Meanwhile, Bear stood guard, snarling, the fur on his back standing up. He was so fixated on Mr. DiSilvio, he hadn't even noticed the police.

  "Whose dog is that?" a cop asked.

  I noticed he was holding a stun gun. Scared for Bear's safety, Arthur, Danny, and I ran to the dog. Somehow we managed to haul him back on his hind legs, still straining to get at Mr. DiSilvio. It took all three of us to hold him.

  With Bear out of the way, the cops moved in, cuffed Mr. DiSilvio, read him his rights, and led him away. As they shoved him out of the clearing, he glanced over his shoulder at Arthur, Danny, and me. He didn't need to say anything. The anger in his eyes spoke for itself. For our own good, I hoped he was facing life with no parole.

  "Did you get Silas?" Arthur asked the remaining cop.

  Before the cop could answer, Bear broke away from us and tore into the underbrush. All three of us ran after the dog. If anyone could find Silas, it was Bear.

  "Come back here!" the cop yelled after us.

  "Danny!" Violet wailed.

  But we'd already zigged and zagged and vanished into the kudzu. It sounded as though the cop tried to follow us, but judging by the noise he made, he fell down. We heard him thrashing around in the kudzu and shouting. Overhead, the helicopter circled so low, the kudzu danced a spooky jig in the wind from the blades. The noise made it hard to hear anything else.

  With us on his heels, Bear headed down the path that led to Willie the Whale. We thudded across the rainbow bridge straight into a crowd of protesters gathered around the whale's dark pond.

  "Get the cops!" Old King Cole hollered at us. "He's inside the whale!"

  Bear tried to charge through the excited protesters, but they didn't make way fast enough. Arthur and I managed to grab his collar and stop him.

  "You'd better come out!" Alice in Wonderland cried into Willie s gaping mouth. I noticed she was clutching a stuffed white rabbit.

  The Knave of Hearts seized Alice's hand and pulled her away from the whale. "What if he's got a gun?" he shouted. "The detective said he was dangerous. Didn't you hear her?"

  Danny pushed his way through the crowd and stopped in front of the whale. "Come outta there!" he yelled. "They got you now—you ain't going nowhere but jail."

  If Silas answered, he was drowned out by at least a dozen cops charging out of the woods. "Clear the area!" they shouted. "Clear the area!"

  Behind them came Nina and Violet. While the protesters moved slowly back from Willie, Nina pulled Danny away and handed him over to Violet. "Keep him under control," she said, as if Danny was a raging pit bull or something.

  With guns drawn, the cops approached the whale. "Come out with your hands up, Phelps!" one yelled. "We've got you surrounded."

  There was a scuffling sound inside Willie. His fiberglass sides shook a little. Slowly the vines covering the whale's mouth moved aside, and Silas crawled out. His eyes sought Danny.

  "Tell 'em, son. I was just down here to join up with them protesters," he said. "Ain't no need to arrest me. I got that freedom-of-speech thing—just like everybody else." As proof, he held up a SAVE THE MAGIC sign he'd found somewhere.

  At that moment, a news photographer stepped out of the crowd and began taking pictures. I noticed Arthur moving a little closer to the action. He was still determined to be in the paper.

  "I'm not lying for you, not after what you did to Mom!" Danny yelled at his father. "And either you or that rich dude killed my grandma. I hope both of you get the chair."

  Silas gave Danny a look of such pure ugliness, I wondered how he stood it. If my dad ever looked at me like that, I would have melted like ice cream on a hot sidewalk.

  "Shush," Violet whispered, still holding Danny tight. "Let the police handle this."

  We watched an officer read Silas his rights, cuff him, and lead him away.

  I turned to high-five Arthur, but he wasn't beside me. In fact, I didn't see him anywhere. Not talking to the cops, not talking to reporters, not posing for pictures. Just as I was getting worried, he crawled out of Willie's mouth with a big grin on his face. In his hand was the briefcase.

  "Silas hid it under a pile of leaves," he told us. "He must have planned on coming back for it."

  "Ha," I said. "He's not coming back here or any other place for a long, long time. Hopefully never."

  "Let's give the briefcase to Violet," Arthur said. "She should have it."

  Violet was sitting on a dilapidated bench beside Danny. Bear lay at their feet, but he looked up and thumped his tail when he saw us coming.

  The first gray light of dawn lit Violet's face, showing the bruises Silas had given her. One eye was swollen shut. Her upper arms were black and blue, and her T-shirt was torn at the shoulder and stained with blood from her nose. She'd never had a happy face, but now she looked sadder than ever.

  Arthur laid the briefcase in Violet's lap as if it were a holy offering. She stared at in disbelief. "You found it," she whispered. A real smile lit her face, and she flung her arms around him. "Thank you, Arthur, thank you!"

  Arthur blushed, and Danny groaned in embarrassment, but I was just plain happy to see that smile on Violet's face.

  Violet fumbled with the briefcase s rusty old catch and lifted the lid. On top was a pink envelope and an ordinary five-subject spiral notebook, the sort you'd use in school. Under that were bundles of bills, more money than I'd ever seen in my life. Thousands—millions, maybe. It was unbelievable.

  Too stunned to speak, we sat there and stared at the money. No one touched it, not even Danny.

  With care, Violet plucked the envelope out of the briefcase. Inside were two things: a note from Mrs. Donaldson and a green plastic gingerbread man. Holding the little man in one hand, Violet read her mother s words out loud.

  "Dearest Violet,

  This is Richard DiSilvio's briefcase. It contains over two million dollars, which he embezzled over a period of years from the Magic Forest and other businesses in Bealesville. The notebook contains the records he kept of his criminal activities.

  "I think Silas is somehow involved, but I'm not sure how. Maybe he does Mr. DiSilvio's dirty work. Someone must.

  If anything happens to me, one of them is responsible. Take the briefcase to the police. I know Mr. DiSilvio's an important man, and he's done a lot for Bealesville, but the fact is he's a criminal. And a dangerous man. Be careful, Violet. Keep yourself and the children safe.

  I love you.

  Mrs. Donaldson had signed her name with a flourish. Beneath it, she'd added:

  P.S. Here is the twelfth gingerbread man, which you have earned by retrieving the briefcase.

  As Violet finished reading her mother s note, she began to cry. Danny patted her shoulder and mumbled things I couldn't quite hear. They might have been descriptions of awful things he wanted to do to Silas and Mr. DiSilvio. Or they might have been attempts to comfort his mother. Knowing Danny, who could tell?

  Nina left a group of police and sat down beside Violet. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked in a soft voice.

  Violet showed her the briefcase, the notebook, and the money. "It's the proof you need. And look—Mr. DiSilvio's initials are on the lid. See?" She pointed to three faded gilt letters, R. J. D.

  Nina reached for the briefcase. "What's in your hand?" she asked Violet.

  "Just a note from my mother," Violet said. "And this." She held out her hand, palm-up, and showed Nina the little gingerbread man.

  "I'll need those, too," Nina said gently.

  Violet closed her fist around the gingerbread man and pressed the note to her chest. "You can't take these. There're from my mother—"

  "I'm sorry," Nina said. "It's evidence."

  "Please."

  "If possible, I'll have the little plastic figure returned to you. I imagine the police will keep the letter. If you wish, I'll make a copy for you."

  Violet nodded silently and let Nina take everything. "There was another letter," she said, "but Silas took it."

/>   Arthur reached deep into his pockets and took out a wadded-up sheet of paper. "Here's the copy Logan and I made."

  "Thank you, Arthur." Nina smiled at him in the old way, charming me all over again.

  "So who killed my grandmother?" Danny broke in, "Mr. DiSilvio or my—my—" It seemed the word "father" had gotten stuck in his throat, and he just couldn't say it.

  Nina patted his shoulder. "We can't be sure until both men are tried." Turning to Arthur and me, she said, "I've talked to your parents, Logan, and your grandmother, Arthur. It's time to take you both home."

  A policeman stepped forward and offered Violet and Danny a ride to Wal-Mart so she could get her car. Bear followed them into the back seat.

  "Hey," Arthur yelled at the dog. "Come back here."

  Danny looked out the window at us, his scowl firmly in place. "Told ya—he's my dog," he snarled. "I'm taking him home. To my house. Just try and stop me."

  "He won't stay," Arthur said. "Bear's used to a higher standard of living."

  "You'll see." Danny rolled up the window, and the police car drove away.

  "You'll see," Arthur muttered.

  Nina put a hand on our shoulders. "You know you've been incredibly foolish."

  Arthur's chin jutted out. "We had to get that briefcase before the bulldozers came."

  "It would have been safer and much more sensible to go to the police," Nina said.

  "If we'd known you were a detective," I said, "maybe—"

  "And maybe not." Arthur was angry, I could tell.

  "What do you mean?" Nina asked.

  "You told Logan's mother a lot of stuff about me," he said. "Mrs. Forbes used to like me a lot, even invited me to eat dinner at their house, but now she hates me—just because of what you told her."

  To keep from looking at Arthur, I started scratching an itchy place on my leg. He had no idea how Mom actually felt about him. Which was just as well.

  "Listen to me, Arthur." Nina lifted his chin and forced him to look at her. "Your boy-detective routine was getting in the way of a criminal investigation. I thought if I broke you two up, you'd stay out of the Magic Forest and I'd be free to get on with my work without having to worry about you."

  "You didn't have to tell Mrs. Forbes lies."

  Nina sighed. "I'll talk to Logan's mom," she told Arthur. "I'll say I was 'misinformed.'"

  He shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. From the look on his face, I guessed he didn't have much faith in Nina.

  To change the subject, I tugged Nina's arm. "What happened to Billy and Johnny? Did they get caught, too?"

  Nina shook her head. "They managed to slip away in the confusion. But don't worry, we'll find them."

  On the way out of the park, a gang of reporters came running over. "Are these the boys who found the evidence?" one asked while another thrust a camera in our faces.

  It seemed they d already talked to Violet and Danny, but they wanted to hear the story from us. Arthur did most of the talking. Using his fanciest vocabulary words, he exaggerated everything, especially the part where we'd faced down Mr. DiSilvio. Even though Nina tried to correct his most outlandish claims, the reporters were pretty impressed with Arthur's heroic actions.

  After about half an hour, Nina managed to pry us away.

  "At least they were real reporters." Arthur gave Nina a sidewise look. "And we really will be in the newspaper this time."

  Nina didn't even blush.

  21

  In the parking lot, I expected to see the bulldozers revved up and ready to go, but they sat there silently, not a hard hat in sight. "What will happen to the Magic Forest now?" Arthur asked.

  "The owner of the property is in jail," Nina said. "Nothing can be done with the land until the case against Mr. DiSilvio is resolved."

  Arthur grinned and high-fived me. "The Magic Forest is saved—at least for now!"

  Nina settled Arthur in the front seat and me in the back, started the engine, and turned on the air conditioner. At first, all it did was blow hot air, but by the time we were heading up the first hill on Route 23, a nice stream of cool air blew on me.

  "Our bikes!" Arthur suddenly squawked. "We left them in the woods."

  With amazing patience, Nina drove back and waited while Arthur and I retrieved our bikes. She opened the trunk, and we laid them carefully inside, trying not to do anything ungrateful like scratching her car.

  The ride home was pretty quiet. For one thing, I was totally exhausted. I'd never been up all night in my life. Nor had I ever seen a loaded gun or run so much or been so scared. All I wanted was to go to bed and sleep until Mom and Dad got over being mad.

  Even Arthur didn't have much to say, except for a few questions about Nina's global navigation system. "Grandma would love to have one of those," he said. "She gets lost all the time. Soon she'll need a map to find the back door."

  As we turned the corner onto my street, I saw a welcoming party waiting on the porch—Mom, Dad, and Mrs. Jenkins. No one was smiling. They just sat there in a grim row, like a jury about to announce a guilty verdict.

  The scene was about as bad as I'd thought it would be. Maybe even worse. Our bikes were confiscated. We were scolded until we felt like worms drying up on a sidewalk after a rainstorm. We were sent to our rooms to bake in the heat.

  But true to her word, Nina somehow managed to convince Mom that she'd been wrong about Arthur. I can't say Mom totally changed her opinion of Arthur, but she managed to tolerate him.

  By the next day, she'd definitely changed her opinion of the DiSilvio family. "I never trusted that woman," she claimed. "The pretentious house, the luxury cars, the designer clothes, the lady bountiful act. I suspected something not quite legal was going on." She smiled at me. "I'm glad you had the sense to stay away from Anthony."

  Dad said nothing, but he winked at me—another moment of male bonding.

  Arthur and I gave our statements to the police, our pictures appeared in the paper, and we even got on Live-Action Evening News, along with Danny, who was as unfriendly as ever. He also made a big deal about his dog, the biggest hero of all.

  The cops arrested Johnny and Billy in Richmond. They, too, showed up on Live-Action Evening News, walking from the police car to the courthouse. Johnny hid his face with his hands, but Billy stared into the camera with a scowl mean enough to scare small children.

  Dad sighed. "Too bad Johnny got mixed up in this. I was counting on him to help me with those house repairs."

  "I don't think he and Billy did anything too bad," I said. "They just have a bad reputation, you know? So maybe..." My thoughts trailed off. What did I know about the law?

  Later in the week, The Bealesville Post ran a story about Silas. He claimed Mrs. Donaldson had died by accident. He didn't push her down the steps. She fell trying to get away from him. The reporter quoted him as saying, "She was my mother-in-law. Why would I want to kill her? All she had to do was give me the briefcase."

  In the same article, we read that Mr. DiSilvio had hired a big-time lawyer who was advising him to plea-bargain. So far, he hadn't admitted anything.

  With the bad guys in jail, the only thing that really worried Arthur and me was Bear. After days had passed with no sign of him, we decided Danny must have him chained up somewhere. Otherwise, he'd have come back.

  One hot afternoon, a day or so before school started, we rode our bikes to the Phelps place. Violet's car was gone, and the mobile home s shades were down. If it hadn't been for the loud rock music, I'd have thought no one was there.

  "Violet must be at work," Arthur said. "And Bear's probably locked up inside."

  Dumping his bike in the weeds, he walked across the sunbaked, dusty yard. As usual, I—the spineless wonder—followed him.

  At the door, Arthur pressed his face against the rusty screen and shouted, "Bear!"

  The dog rushed toward us and butted the screen door open. He was all over Arthur and me, wagging his tail, jumping, licking our faces. I swear he almost
knocked us off the mobile home s little porch.

  "Get away from him!" Danny came running from somewhere inside and grabbed Bear's collar. "I told you, he's my dog now."

  "Says who?" Arthur stuck out his skinny little chest and looked Danny in the eye, just asking to get himself killed.

  "Says me." Danny scowled at us. "He belonged to my grandma, and now he's mine. Mom said I could keep him."

  "But my grandma's been taking care of him ever since your grandma died," Arthur said.

  Bear looked from Danny to Arthur and back again, grinning and wagging his tail.

  "Get outta here." Danny yanked Bear inside the mobile home. He was about to slam the door in our faces. But Arthur stuck his foot out and stopped him.

  "Let Bear choose who he wants to live with," he suggested. "Turn him loose. If he comes with us, he's ours. If he stays here, he's yours."

  I didn't think Danny would go along with that idea, but he surprised me. "Good boy," he whispered to Bear, "good boy. You stay here with me, okay?" Then he let the dog go.

  Bear ran to Arthur and me and wagged his tail. With the dog behind us, we dashed across the yard, shouting encouragement to him.

  Behind us, Danny yelled, "Bear, Bear, come back!"

  It was the saddest call I'd ever heard. In fact, if I hadn't wanted the dog so badly, I would've felt sorry for Danny Phelps.

  Yanking our bikes out of the weeds, we hopped on and started pedaling downhill. Lance Armstrong couldn't have caught us.

  At the bottom of the hill, we waited for Bear to catch up with us. He was standing on the top of the hill, wagging his tail, but when we called him, he turned around and headed back to Danny.

  "Great idea," I told Arthur.

  He looked at me sadly. "I thought he'd come with us, I really did."

  "Me, too."

  We rode home without talking, each of us thinking about Bear. I hoped he'd change his mind someday and choose us. But I had a feeling I'd better not count on it.

  Two days later, school started. The big yellow bus was already crowded when we got on.