“Yeah, whatever.” Brandon clapped Josh’s shoulder. “We gonna win this year?”
“You know it.” Josh turned and pinned something on the bulletin board.
“What’s that?”
“Just a call-out for team helper volunteers. I promised Coach I’d put it up for him. Let’s go.” Josh led the group down the hall and out of the school.
Emily stared after him. As far as she knew, no school team had ever gotten a large donation from an anonymous donor. Money was tight for all families right now. At least, that’s what Dad said when he and Naomi discussed the hardware store business. Who would have money to give away as a donation? Seemed a little suspicious, considering the surf team had hosted several fund-raisers over the last couple of months. If someone had wanted to make such a donation, wouldn’t they have done so before now?
“What are you doing hanging around here, thief?”
Emily spun around. She’d had enough. “What’s your problem, Rachel?”
Rachel’s eyes widened. “I’m fine, Emily. It’s you who is the problem. Everyone knows you stole Mary Dancer’s necklace. You’re a thief, and probably a cheater too. Maybe that’s why you get such good grades. And maybe you cheated your way onto the History Smackdown team.”
“I’m not a cheater, and I’m no thief.” Emily took a step toward Rachel.
Mrs. Moon, the algebra teacher, moved in their direction. “Is there a problem here, girls?”
Rachel smiled her fake, sweet smile at the teacher. “No, ma’am.”
“Then move along.” Mrs. Moon crossed her arms over her chest and monitored the hall’s traffic flow.
Rachel tossed Emily a final sneer, then bounced off with her friends.
“Hey, I waited for you at the locker.” Olivia stepped beside Emily and nodded toward Rachel’s back. “Was she starting trouble again?”
“Doesn’t she always?”
“Don’t let her get to you.” Olivia smiled. “Why are you here, anyway? Her locker is just down the row.”
“I came over for this.” Emily pointed at the bulletin board. “Did you know an anonymous donor gave the surf team new wet suits and board bags?”
“No. And I should care about this, why?”
Emily filled Olivia in on what she’d overheard from Josh. “I just think that’s really coincidental, don’t you?”
Olivia shrugged. “Could be. But there’s no way you can find out who the donor is. Especially since you aren’t even on the surf team.”
Emily glanced at the bulletin board. “I could be one of the team helper volunteers, though.” Olivia would see through her in half a second.
“Are you serious?” Olivia’s hazel eyes went wide. “You can’t even swim.”
Pointing at the sheet Josh had posted, Emily said, “I don’t think swimming is part of the job. Helping keep track of the team equipment and stuff is what they do.”
Olivia laughed. “Yeah, right. You can’t even stand to be too close to the water, Em.”
True, but the posting said nothing about getting in the water. “I’m going to talk to the coach.”
“You’re serious?”
“I am.” Emily let out a sigh. “It’s the only way I might be able to learn something about this donor.”
“You just want to be close to Josh.”
Heat burned Emily’s face. “Well, that’s a bonus, yeah, but you know it’s not the main reason I’m going to do this.”
“I know. I was just teasing you.” Olivia handed Emily her backpack. “I grabbed your stuff for you.”
“Thanks. You going to come with me to the coach’s office?”
“Sure. Do you really think I’d let you sign up by yourself? Someone’s gotta keep an eye on you.”
Emily smiled and headed toward the gym under the covered walkway. The wind had picked up, and the crash of the waves from Lake Superior washed over the little town. Emily shivered despite the seventy-degree temperature.
Sneakers squeaked on the basketball court as Emily and Olivia made their way to the coach’s office in the back part of the gymnasium. The door sat ajar, and the coach was on the phone with his back to the door.
“I understand that, and we appreciate everything we get, but right now we really need a couple more backup boards. If one of our team’s boards breaks, we’ll be disqualified.” The coach tossed a pencil onto his desk.
Emily chewed her bottom lip. It sure didn’t sound like the team was rolling in money.
The coach hunched in his chair. “Then do whatever you have to do to get another donor on the line. We will take the championship this year.” His voice sounded harsh. Cold. Mean.
Olivia stared at Emily, who stared right back. Who was he talking to?
“See that you do.” The coach slammed the phone down.
Emily quickly knocked on the cracked door. “Hello? Coach Larson?” Maybe the coach wouldn’t realize they’d been eavesdropping.
“Yes?” He swiveled in his chair and pierced her with a scowl. He was a big guy with fair, thinning hair and a thin Finnish nose.
“I’m here to sign up to be a surf team helper volunteer.” She smiled as widely as she could.
“A what?” His thoughts were clearly still on the disturbing phone call.
“I saw a notice on the bulletin board. Josh put it up there?”
“Oh. Yeah.” He stared at them. “So you want to be helpers, eh?”
She forced herself to stand tall and smile. “Yes, sir.”
“Okay. Let me get you the permission slips.” He opened a desk drawer and rummaged through papers. “You’ll have to come to all the practices and, of course, the competitions.” He opened another desk and continued rummaging. “Where did I put those things?” He slammed another drawer. “Oh, here they are.” He handed two slips to them. “Fill these out, have a parent sign, then bring them back to me, and we’ll get you signed up.”
Emily took them. “Thank you.”
The coach met her eye and gave a curt nod, clearly dismissing them.
She motioned to Olivia, and they left.
“Wow, that was intense. I’m almost glad I can’t sign up yet.” Olivia hustled down the walkway toward the street.
Emily stopped dead in her tracks. “Why not?” It was one thing to be brave in word, but totally different in deed.
Olivia nodded to the slips in Emily’s hand. “I can’t exactly get a parent’s signature, now, can I? Not until my parents get back from their cruise.”
Rats! Olivia had a point. “But will you? I mean, after your parents get back?” That would still let her help out for the big competition.
“Sure.” Olivia stopped walking and tilted her head. “Are you kind of not sure about this, Em? You don’t have to do it. I know how much water scares you.”
“No, I just wanted an extra pair of ears.” Which was true, but not the entire truth. Olivia gave her courage. With her friend there, the water wouldn’t be so scary. But now wasn’t the time to admit her fear. “We’d better hurry or Inetta will think we forgot about her.”
They reached the street and turned toward the Suomi Café, walking faster. The gong of the fog bell out in Lake Superior rang, its echoes filling the streets of Rock Harbor. Goose bumps pricked Emily’s arm, and she had no idea why. She shook it off and quickened her pace.
They spotted Inetta as soon as they entered the café and rushed to join her at a corner table. Already waiting on them were a panukakkua and two steaming mochas.
“You didn’t have to order us this, Inetta, but thank you.”
“I don’t like eating alone.” Inetta chuckled. “So, how was school today?”
“It was okay.”
Olivia plopped her backpack to the floor for emphasis. “This early in the year it ought to be illegal to give so much homework.”
Inetta shook her head. “But enjoy school while you can. All too soon you grow up and have to face the real world.” Her expression turned almost sad. “Growing up isn’t a
ll it’s cracked up to be. Sometimes it’s hard.” She gave a little shake, then smiled at Emily. “So let me tell you about my trip to the pawnshop today.”
Emily slipped a bite of the Finnish pastry into her mouth while Olivia took a sip of her mocha.
“I met with the owner. Really nice man. He was more than happy to share information with me.”
Emily swallowed and took a sip of mocha.
“Did you find the necklace?” Olivia asked.
Inetta smiled. “No. I’m sorry to say it wasn’t there. And the owner hadn’t seen it. I gave him a copy of the picture we took for the article.”
Emily slouched in her seat. She had really been hoping the necklace would be at the pawnshop.
“But he’s going to keep an eye out for it and promised to call if he saw it.” Inetta ran her finger along the rim of her nearly empty coffee cup. “He did tell me that someone had been selling some jewelry recently, though. Really nice, high-dollar jewelry. Like diamond brooches and earrings.”
Inetta finished off the last bite of her pulla. “He said he checked all the reports and these items weren’t reported stolen, but he showed me some of the pieces—they’re nice. Much better than the stuff he usually gets in the shop. I took pictures and am going to do some research.”
Emily’s mouth went dry. “Why would you research that?” She shrugged and pushed her fork around the plate. “I mean, there’s nothing illegal about selling your jewelry, is there?”
“No, but even though it wasn’t reported stolen, I’m suspicious. He said the woman who sold them looked nervous.”
Olivia cleared her throat. “Or maybe she was emotional about having to sell her jewelry.”
Inetta looked from Emily to Olivia. “Okay, girls, what’s going on? I have a feeling you know about these pieces of jewelry.” She snapped her fingers. “Wait a minute . . . The reason you believed Mary Dancer’s necklace might have been sold to the pawnshop . . . You know who sold this jewelry, don’t you?”
Emily fidgeted in her seat. “We don’t know for sure, but we have a good idea.”
Inetta stared at Emily, then Olivia. Then she sighed. “And you girls don’t trust me enough yet to tell me about it, right?”
“It’s not that, it’s really not,” said Olivia. “It’s just that if this person is selling off her jewelry, it’s because she has no other choice.”
“But you thought maybe she’d stolen Mary Dancer’s necklace and sold it?”
“Well, not necessarily,” Emily began. “She could have been selling it for Mrs. Dancer.”
“Which means you think Mary lied about the necklace being missing?” Inetta shook her head. “It’s okay for now. I’ll take you girls at your word that you think this person is legitimately selling her own jewelry.”
“We’re pretty certain she is.” Olivia nodded.
Throwing several bills onto the table, Inetta stood and slung her purse strap over her shoulder. “Tell you what . . . if I get any leads about the necklace, I’ll let you know. And if you girls get another lead or even an idea, you let me know so I can follow up on it. Deal?”
Emily pushed to her feet. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.” Inetta glanced at her watch. “Now, I have to get back to work or Mr. Farmer will wonder what happened to me. You girls stay out of trouble and come see me.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Olivia said as she grabbed her backpack from the floor.
“Thanks, Inetta. For everything.” Emily extended her hand.
Inetta smiled, then shook Emily’s hand. “Thank you. See you later.”
Emily waited until the reporter had left to take her last sip of mocha and grab her backpack. “Well, that was a dead end.”
Out on the curb, Olivia waited for Emily to situate her backpack. “Maybe you’ll find out something with the surf club.”
“Yeah.” But Emily wasn’t going to hold her breath. She marched toward the road home.
“Aw, come on, Em . . . we’ll get a lead.” Olivia followed her.
“From where?” She kicked a rock down the sidewalk. “And what’s the sheriff doing? Nothing. I haven’t seen him doing any investigating on the case at all. It’s like he’s accepted that I was the one who took Mrs. Dancer’s necklace, based on nothing more than Rachel Zinn’s lies.”
“If that’s true, then why hasn’t he arrested you?” Olivia asked.
This wasn’t going as planned. Not at all. She saw how the kids looked at her at school. Even her family was acting differently. And it wasn’t fair when she hadn’t done anything wrong. “Maybe he’s waiting on Dad and Naomi to wear me down so he can swoop in and recover the necklace and look like a hero.”
“You know he’s not doing that.” Olivia caught up and fell into step with her. “You probably just haven’t seen the work he’s doing. I’m sure he’s working on the case. Hey, he might even have a lead.”
“Then he would have told Dad or Naomi.” Emily stopped and faced her best friend. “Do you always believe the best in everyone all the time?”
Olivia laughed. “Emily O’Reilly, you’ve been my best friend for how many years? You should know the answer to that.”
Despite herself, Emily giggled. “Yeah, you do.” She reached out and hugged Olivia. “It’s one of the things I love most about you.”
Olivia squeezed her back. “Cheer up. I’ve been praying we get a lead.”
“I hope God hears you.” It seemed he hadn’t heard her pleas yet. Or he’d said no. Emily straightened and adjusted the backpack. She glanced over Olivia’s shoulder toward the Coffee Place. Thank goodness Rachel and her followers weren’t there again.
Bree opened the door of the popular coffee shop. Emily grabbed Olivia’s hand. “Come on.”
“What? We just had a snack.”
“Look.” Emily tugged her across the street and moved her to the side. People moved up and down the sidewalk, Rock Harbor residents and tourists alike.
“Oh-kay. Bree is getting coffee. She’s always getting coffee.”
Emily nodded slowly. “And who’s sitting at the table by the cashier?”
“That’s . . .” Olivia leaned closer and squinted around the busy coffee shop. “Oh. That’s Mrs. Cooper.”
“Yep. Let’s go use the ladies’ room. I don’t think we can chance missing what’s going on between them. Besides, I need to floss.”
And who knew? She just might find out something useful.
EIGHT
“Shh.” Emily led Olivia around the mass of people to the table behind where Mrs. Cooper sat.
“I wonder where Pansy is,” Olivia whispered.
“Don’t know.” Emily tilted her head toward the line.
Olivia wore a worried expression. “We’re sneaking around to spy. This is really wrong, Emily.”
“No, we’re trying to get information to clear my name. That’s not wrong.”
“How does spying on this meeting help clear your name?”
“Shh, Bree is almost to the cashier. She’s bound to see Mrs. Cooper any minute now.” She moved out of Bree’s line of sight and pulled Olivia with her.
Bree chatted with the cashier while she paid for her cappuccino, then turned. Emily had the perfect vantage point to see Bree’s face as her gaze landed on Mrs. Cooper. Emily held her breath for the five seconds it took for a range of expressions to cross Bree’s face, but mostly surprise.
On the sixth second, Bree stepped beside Mrs. Cooper’s table. “Hello, Lucy.”
Emily couldn’t see Mrs. Cooper’s face since her back was to them, but she had no problem hearing the surprise in her voice. “H-hello, Bree.”
Bree cleared her throat. “May I sit with you for a moment?”
“S-s-sure.” The hesitation in her voice tugged against Emily’s conscience. She’d all but accused the woman of stealing and pawning Mrs. Dancer’s necklace. With not a single bit of proof except that Mrs. Dancer had shown it to her.
“How is Pansy? She must have grown so much.” B
ree’s cheeks had little red spots on them as she slipped into the chair.
“She’s adjusting to being back in town. Being in school. Back in the house.”
Bree gave a soft smile. “I imagine it’s difficult at times.”
Mrs. Cooper nodded. “Bree, I know what people think—that I knew what he was doing.”
“Shh.” Bree laid her hand over Mrs. Cooper’s. “You had nothing to do with any of that. We all know that.”
Mrs. Cooper’s shoulders shook like she was crying. “Sure doesn’t feel that way.” She sniffed. “The way everybody in town is treating me.” She sniffed again.
Bree handed her a napkin. “What’s going on?”
Mrs. Cooper dabbed her face with the napkin, then blew her nose. “I thought coming home would be just that, coming home. But everyone’s avoiding me. Like I knew anything about what Pete was doing. I didn’t. I promise you, Bree, I had no idea. All that money . . .”
“I know. I believe you.”
“No one will give me a job. Not even a chance.”
Emily recognized the expression on Bree’s face. It said she’d made up her mind to do something about a problem. “It just so happens that we’re looking for a receptionist at the Kitchigami Search-and-Rescue Training Center. Would you be interested?”
Mrs. Cooper’s head came up. “Bree, you don’t have to make up a job to give me.”
“Seriously. I’ve had someone filling in, but she’s got a new job lined up in Houghton. She starts October first, so if you could start tomorrow, she’d have plenty of time to train you before she leaves. That would be perfect.”
“You don’t have to give me the job, Bree. I’m sure there are more qualified people.”
“I know you’d be good at this.” Bree smiled. “And I’d love to spend more time with you. I’ve missed you.” Her voice was soft.
Mrs. Cooper pressed her trembling lips together and inhaled. “Okay. I’ll take it. What time tomorrow?”
Bree smiled wider. “How about eight?”
Emily grabbed Olivia’s hand and led her out of the Coffee Place, making sure she kept their backs to Bree and Mrs. Cooper until they spilled out onto the street.