Something Suspicious in Sask by Dayle Gaetz Page B

see Emily.” Megan stalked along the dusty driveway, pushed past Katie without a glance and shouldered through the crowd gathered at the door.
    Shoulders stiff, Scott walked swiftly away. At the road, he turned right and soon disappeared behind the green leafy trees. A door slammed and a noisy engine sputtered into life. A red pickup truck clattered into view and roared angrily down the road in a swirl of dust. The same truck Katie and Rusty had seen the night before.
    Cliff turned away. “Hey, Birthday Gal.” He smiled, walking toward Katie. “I hope I didn’t miss out on cake.”
    She shook her head. “Why don’t you like Scott?”
    â€œI don’t trust that kid. If he stole once, he’ll do it again, so I don’t want him hanging around the place.”
    â€œBut, are you sure it was him? What did he take?”
    Cliff stopped at the door. “Nothing for you to worry about, Katie-girl,” he said and stomped into the kitchen.
    Katie pulled a face. Why did everyone treat her like a little kid?
    â€œKatie!” Her mom appeared at the door. “Your dad’s on the phone.”
    Katie ran inside. Until today, she hadn’t realized how much she missed her dad. She hadn’t seen him in almost a month and could hardly wait to hear his voice. As she ran through the kitchen, it occurred to her that until last week when they visited his Alberta ranch, Sheila hadn’t seen her own father in close to a year.
    Then she heard her dad’s familiar voice. “Happy Birthday, Katie! I wish I was there with you.”
    The second Katie emerged from Aunt Margaret’s office the kitchen exploded in inharmonious song. On the table, two cakes blazed with twinkling candles. Mouths opened and closed, teeth and the whites of eyes flickered in candlelight while Katie waited awkwardly for the birthday song to end. On the far side of the room, Megan leaned sullenly against the kitchen doorway. Aunt Margaret watched as if afraid her daughter might make a run for the door.
    At last the song screeched to an end with, “Happy Birthdays Dear Megan-and-Katie, Happy Birthdays to you.”
    Katie swooped over to see her cake and examine the presents piled on the table.
    She blew out every candle and ate a huge piece of her chocolate cake with thick, dark chocolaty icing. Then she tried a slice of Megan’s carrot cake. It tasted spicy and sweet and surprisingly good. Not at all like a carrot. Across the table, Megan nibbled on some crumbs but avoided the icing. The sliver of cake looked almost intact when she pushed her plate away.
    â€œHow about some of this chocolate cake?” GJ slid a slice toward Megan. “It’s absolutely delicious.”
    Megan looked at it and licked her lips. For a moment, Katie thought she might actually take a bite. But she pushed it away too. “No thanks,” she said. “I’m way too full.”
    â€œWe should come here every year,” Rusty said. “Where else can you get two birthday cakes at once?” He ate quite happily, ignoring the foul looks from both of his cousins.
    Katie didn’t wait for the others to finish their cake. She started opening her presents. A fancy new notebook with a hardcover and a pocket for tucking in important papers (or evidence) came from her grandparents. Inside the front cover were slots that held a pocket-sized notepad, pen, pencil, eraser, magnifying glass and calculator.
    Aunt Margaret gave her a Swiss Army knife. “Because,” she said, “you never know when it might come in handy.”
    Rusty’s parents, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jason, gave her a book called, Crimes of the Century . She could hardly wait to read it. And from Rusty came a small, compact flashlight. She switched it on and shone it in his face.
    Rusty put his hand up to shade his eyes. “I thought you could use a new one,” he said. “Since your old one got kind of bashed up when you