you did. Well, the site lied, because I don’t see the cameras anywhere.”
“Never mind,” I told her. The site must be using the last known data. Penny had gotten a map of where I’d placed the cameras the first time. “It isn’t safe here, and it’s getting dark. Let’s go home.”
I helped her through the fence and we started back up Half Street. No blue bolts of electricity this time.
“Jim, do you believe in robots?” Penny asked.
“Of course I believe in robots. They’re not like fairies. We know robots exist.”
“Yeah, but this one probably doesn’t,” she said.
“Which one?”
“The one I just saw,” she said.
“You saw a robot that doesn’t exist?”
“I saw a robot,” she said. “Back there at the junkyard. It was a big lizardy robot.”
“Maybe you just saw something that looked like a robot.” I glanced back at the fence and the piles of snowy debris. Who knew what was lurking there?
“I’m too tired to walk home,” she said. “Can we call Mom and get a ride?”
“Sure. We should call anyway, just to let them know we’re OK.” The only problem was I’d left my cell at home again. “We just need to find a phone.”
The first two businesses we saw were closed, but the third was open—the service station. Webber Automotive. “We repair imports!” the sign boasted.
The door rang a bell as we came in. There was nobody there, so we waited a moment. A man came in, wiping greasy hands on a towel.
“Sorry, we’re not technically open—” he started saying. “Oh, it’s you.”
It was Sergei Volkov.
CHAPTER 10
He gave us a ride home in the tow truck, all three of us in the front. I gave him the address, and he turned onto First Street, stopping for a train.
“Listen,” he said. “I’m sorry I was mean to you this morning.”
“No problem.”
“Dmitri told me what happened,” he said. “You need to know, my brother’s not a thief. He’s never been in trouble before. He just acts retarded sometimes.”
“You’re not supposed to use that word,” said Penny.
“Yeah, there’s lots of stuff I’m not supposed to do.” The train passed, and Sergei headed up the avenue. “So, I’d make Dmitri give the stuff back, but somebody stole it from him.” He found our street and turned. “Dmitri doesn’t need to get into real trouble. It would kill our mom and dad to even know. Dmitri is the good one.”
“If he’s the good one, why did he steal?” Penny asked.
“I think he was trying to prove a point.” He pulled over, a couple of houses short of ours.
“Prove what?” I asked.
“That he’s a re—that he’s a dimwit,” said Sergei. He glanced at Penny. “Can I say dimwit?”
“I think so,” she said.
He reached into his pocket, came up with a handful of bills, and shoved them at me.
I thumbed through the bills. There were lots of ones and fives, and a few tens and twenties.
“That’s probably not enough to pay for everything that got stolen,” said Sergei. “But it’s all I got right now. Don’t tell anybody what happened, OK? Especially don’t tell anybody who might tell the police. Did you tell your mom and dad?”
“Not yet.”
“Then don’t.” I realized that the money wasn’t compensation. It was a bribe, with the hint of a threat on the other end.
“They were my dad’s cameras,” I told him. “He’ll find out sooner or later, and when he does, he’ll ask me a bunch of questions, and I’ll have to answer.”
“Listen,” said Sergei. “I’ll try to replace the cameras, all right? See if you can hold out a week or two.”
“Really?”
“Just keep your mouth shut.”
“He will,” said Penny. She shoved me out the truck door before I could think things over.
Mom was waiting for us.
“Where were you this time?” She sounded more exasperatedthan angry. “Penny disappears; you go stamping out the door without telling us where you’re going. Now your father’s out looking for you
“Never mind,” I told her. The site must be using the last known data. Penny had gotten a map of where I’d placed the cameras the first time. “It isn’t safe here, and it’s getting dark. Let’s go home.”
I helped her through the fence and we started back up Half Street. No blue bolts of electricity this time.
“Jim, do you believe in robots?” Penny asked.
“Of course I believe in robots. They’re not like fairies. We know robots exist.”
“Yeah, but this one probably doesn’t,” she said.
“Which one?”
“The one I just saw,” she said.
“You saw a robot that doesn’t exist?”
“I saw a robot,” she said. “Back there at the junkyard. It was a big lizardy robot.”
“Maybe you just saw something that looked like a robot.” I glanced back at the fence and the piles of snowy debris. Who knew what was lurking there?
“I’m too tired to walk home,” she said. “Can we call Mom and get a ride?”
“Sure. We should call anyway, just to let them know we’re OK.” The only problem was I’d left my cell at home again. “We just need to find a phone.”
The first two businesses we saw were closed, but the third was open—the service station. Webber Automotive. “We repair imports!” the sign boasted.
The door rang a bell as we came in. There was nobody there, so we waited a moment. A man came in, wiping greasy hands on a towel.
“Sorry, we’re not technically open—” he started saying. “Oh, it’s you.”
It was Sergei Volkov.
CHAPTER 10
He gave us a ride home in the tow truck, all three of us in the front. I gave him the address, and he turned onto First Street, stopping for a train.
“Listen,” he said. “I’m sorry I was mean to you this morning.”
“No problem.”
“Dmitri told me what happened,” he said. “You need to know, my brother’s not a thief. He’s never been in trouble before. He just acts retarded sometimes.”
“You’re not supposed to use that word,” said Penny.
“Yeah, there’s lots of stuff I’m not supposed to do.” The train passed, and Sergei headed up the avenue. “So, I’d make Dmitri give the stuff back, but somebody stole it from him.” He found our street and turned. “Dmitri doesn’t need to get into real trouble. It would kill our mom and dad to even know. Dmitri is the good one.”
“If he’s the good one, why did he steal?” Penny asked.
“I think he was trying to prove a point.” He pulled over, a couple of houses short of ours.
“Prove what?” I asked.
“That he’s a re—that he’s a dimwit,” said Sergei. He glanced at Penny. “Can I say dimwit?”
“I think so,” she said.
He reached into his pocket, came up with a handful of bills, and shoved them at me.
I thumbed through the bills. There were lots of ones and fives, and a few tens and twenties.
“That’s probably not enough to pay for everything that got stolen,” said Sergei. “But it’s all I got right now. Don’t tell anybody what happened, OK? Especially don’t tell anybody who might tell the police. Did you tell your mom and dad?”
“Not yet.”
“Then don’t.” I realized that the money wasn’t compensation. It was a bribe, with the hint of a threat on the other end.
“They were my dad’s cameras,” I told him. “He’ll find out sooner or later, and when he does, he’ll ask me a bunch of questions, and I’ll have to answer.”
“Listen,” said Sergei. “I’ll try to replace the cameras, all right? See if you can hold out a week or two.”
“Really?”
“Just keep your mouth shut.”
“He will,” said Penny. She shoved me out the truck door before I could think things over.
Mom was waiting for us.
“Where were you this time?” She sounded more exasperatedthan angry. “Penny disappears; you go stamping out the door without telling us where you’re going. Now your father’s out looking for you
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