life may be in danger’,” Louise reminded her.
She moved to the bed and sat down.
Abbi remained
silent.
“OK. If you don’t
want to talk, we won’t talk. But forget about the dance contest. That would
only draw attention.”
“You know what? I
think you’re right, Louise! Besides, I don’t gots time for no freakin’ dance
contest!”
“I don’t gots
time?”
“That’s what I
said. Life’s an adventure, not a spectator sport!” Abbi said. “You get on and
ride it or you get thrown to the curb! I’m riding this baby!”
Then she quickly
spun around to look at Louise.
“Oh, my gosh! I
have to look at Mom’s stuff! What in the world was my mother into? You have to
tell me, Louise! What am I up against here?”
Louise looked like
she was backed into a corner. She whispered hoarsely, “Bad stuff. Criminal
investigations. It’s the work they do! Your parents. My parents, too, Abbi!
It’s their way of life! Listen, for their safety, just be a spectator for once.
Your parents are in way over their heads and you don’t even know it. You’re not
prepared to handle it.”
“Oh, wow! So what
folder was taken? Most of Mom’s material is kept on the computer. Louise, I’ve
got to get back home and get those other files printed before someone else gets
to them! If they’re even still there. I can find a connection. I know it!”
“How can you do
that?”
“I’ll have to hack
into her files. I’m going alone this time,” Abbi said. She ran down the stairs
and into the kitchen.
“You can’t, Abbi!”
Abbi felt so angry
at Louise. She finally talked, but it was a little late. Abbi tried to ignore
her. She also tried to ignore Lowell’s trumpet playing. It seemed the more
Louise wanted to talk, the louder Lowell played his trumpet.
Abbi grabbed her backpack
to leave.
Louise came
downstairs and looked at her hard. “Before you do anything stupid, we really
need to talk.”
“Really? More? What
about all those times I wanted to talk, and you just went along with Fred’s
Boots? If my parents are in over their heads, then they need my help.”
“And just what do
you think you can do? You’re not prepared to take this on.”
By now, Abbi was
so angry she just had to get out of the house. She stared at Louise who was
standing near her and not blinking, as if the challenge was on.
“I’m going. I’ll
be back with everything I can find that might be important.”
“You shouldn’t go
alone.”
“You wanna come?”
“No.”
Abbi was upset
with Louise, but decided to use her anger to make things happen. Otherwise,
being upset was simply a waste of time.
For the third
time, she took her bike and made a bee-line to her house, avoiding the main
streets. She cut through yards and alley ways whenever she could, sometimes
passing the same people out in their yards.
Even when people
yelled for her to stop or began cursing at her, she kept going and just yelled
over her shoulder, “Sorry. Emergency.”
Within a few
minutes she was back home. The first thing she did was to take a full bag of
chicken feed and scatter it around the yard. She opened the pen so that the
chicks could get out. “Listen, chicks, you’re on your own. Don’t go out into
the street and don’t drown in the pond. Just hang out here and be good little
chicks until I get back. And one more thing, if you start laying, use the
nests.”
Again, she used
her passcode to get into the house, grateful that it wasn’t dark. Her mother’s
office had been tampered with a little, but at least Abbi had already taken the
file of drawings that was on the desk.
Abbi quickly
turned on the computer, managed to get back into the locked program, and
returned to Fred’s Boots with its files. She checked the printer and added more
paper.
She looked around
for a storage device. Not finding one, she remembered the secret chamber in her
mother’s desk, just big enough for small items. There was a tiny lever
somewhere underneath on
She moved to the bed and sat down.
Abbi remained
silent.
“OK. If you don’t
want to talk, we won’t talk. But forget about the dance contest. That would
only draw attention.”
“You know what? I
think you’re right, Louise! Besides, I don’t gots time for no freakin’ dance
contest!”
“I don’t gots
time?”
“That’s what I
said. Life’s an adventure, not a spectator sport!” Abbi said. “You get on and
ride it or you get thrown to the curb! I’m riding this baby!”
Then she quickly
spun around to look at Louise.
“Oh, my gosh! I
have to look at Mom’s stuff! What in the world was my mother into? You have to
tell me, Louise! What am I up against here?”
Louise looked like
she was backed into a corner. She whispered hoarsely, “Bad stuff. Criminal
investigations. It’s the work they do! Your parents. My parents, too, Abbi!
It’s their way of life! Listen, for their safety, just be a spectator for once.
Your parents are in way over their heads and you don’t even know it. You’re not
prepared to handle it.”
“Oh, wow! So what
folder was taken? Most of Mom’s material is kept on the computer. Louise, I’ve
got to get back home and get those other files printed before someone else gets
to them! If they’re even still there. I can find a connection. I know it!”
“How can you do
that?”
“I’ll have to hack
into her files. I’m going alone this time,” Abbi said. She ran down the stairs
and into the kitchen.
“You can’t, Abbi!”
Abbi felt so angry
at Louise. She finally talked, but it was a little late. Abbi tried to ignore
her. She also tried to ignore Lowell’s trumpet playing. It seemed the more
Louise wanted to talk, the louder Lowell played his trumpet.
Abbi grabbed her backpack
to leave.
Louise came
downstairs and looked at her hard. “Before you do anything stupid, we really
need to talk.”
“Really? More? What
about all those times I wanted to talk, and you just went along with Fred’s
Boots? If my parents are in over their heads, then they need my help.”
“And just what do
you think you can do? You’re not prepared to take this on.”
By now, Abbi was
so angry she just had to get out of the house. She stared at Louise who was
standing near her and not blinking, as if the challenge was on.
“I’m going. I’ll
be back with everything I can find that might be important.”
“You shouldn’t go
alone.”
“You wanna come?”
“No.”
Abbi was upset
with Louise, but decided to use her anger to make things happen. Otherwise,
being upset was simply a waste of time.
For the third
time, she took her bike and made a bee-line to her house, avoiding the main
streets. She cut through yards and alley ways whenever she could, sometimes
passing the same people out in their yards.
Even when people
yelled for her to stop or began cursing at her, she kept going and just yelled
over her shoulder, “Sorry. Emergency.”
Within a few
minutes she was back home. The first thing she did was to take a full bag of
chicken feed and scatter it around the yard. She opened the pen so that the
chicks could get out. “Listen, chicks, you’re on your own. Don’t go out into
the street and don’t drown in the pond. Just hang out here and be good little
chicks until I get back. And one more thing, if you start laying, use the
nests.”
Again, she used
her passcode to get into the house, grateful that it wasn’t dark. Her mother’s
office had been tampered with a little, but at least Abbi had already taken the
file of drawings that was on the desk.
Abbi quickly
turned on the computer, managed to get back into the locked program, and
returned to Fred’s Boots with its files. She checked the printer and added more
paper.
She looked around
for a storage device. Not finding one, she remembered the secret chamber in her
mother’s desk, just big enough for small items. There was a tiny lever
somewhere underneath on
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