Dunc and Amos on Thin Ice (2 page)

“No doubt about it. Now let’s forget about Melissa for a while and concentrate on having a good time. This pamphlet”—Dunc took a glossy white piece of paper out of the folder in his lap—“says you get an ice-skating lesson from a top athlete and your picture taken with the winning bobsled team.”

“That should impress Melissa.”

Dunc frowned. “I thought we were going to think about other things, like having a good time.”

“You have fun your way and I’ll have fun mine.”

Dunc looked back at the brochure. “We’re also invited to a get-acquainted party for all the athletes.”

“Did you bring your camera?”

“Sure. Why?”

“I thought maybe Melissa might like some autographed pictures of me and some of the stars.”

•
3

“What’s first on the schedule?” Amos was sitting in the freshly painted lobby of the winter sports complex trying to read over Dunc’s shoulder.

“Ice-skating.” Dunc folded the itinerary and stuffed it into his pocket. “I still can’t believe we’re here. And the best part is, they’re actually letting us stay on the same floor as the Canadians.”

Amos cocked his head to one side. “I worry about you sometimes.”

“Seriously, Amos. We’re talking history here. Some of the athletes you meet today will be future world champions.”

“Whatever. When are we supposed to be there?”

Dunc looked at his watch. “If we want to get good seats, we better go now. Here’s a map. The skating rink is through these doors to the left.” He led the way across the lobby and out the double doors.

The complex was constructed like a miniature town. It was fully self-contained, and several temporary stores and restaurants lined the sidewalks.

“Stop!” Amos grabbed the back of Dunc’s coat. “Check it out.” He pointed to the sign on one of the stores.

“Video Games Paradise? Amos, we don’t have time for that right now. The boys’ free skate is about to begin.”

Amos threw his shoulders back and started for the store. “Well, pardner, you go ahead. But I’m sticking with a real
man’s
sport. By the way, can you loan me some money? I’m a little short.”

Dunc shook his head. “I left my extra cash in my suitcase. I guess you’ll just have to come with me and watch the skating after all.”

Amos shoved his hands in his pockets and scowled. “Are you sure you don’t even have
one
lousy quarter?”

“Scout’s honor.”

“No good. You’re not a Scou—”

A young Korean girl rushed between them, pushing Amos off the path. He fell backward just as a large security guard rode by on his bicycle. The guard crashed sideways into a light post. Amos scrambled to his feet and tried to help the guard up. “Sorry, Officer. It was a total accident. You see, this strange girl ran by and—”

“Save it.” The red-faced guard crawled to his feet and picked up his dented bicycle. He took out his citation pad. “Do you know the penalty for assaulting an officer, kid?”

Amos paused. “No, but if you hum a few bars I’ll give it a try.”

The guard started writing.

Dunc stepped in front of Amos. “Officer, I’m really sorry about this. But in all fairness you should know that they only let him out of the institution once a month.”

The guard looked puzzled. “Institution?”

Amos pulled on Dunc’s sleeve. “Institution?”

Dunc stood on his tiptoes and whispered something in the guard’s ear.

The guard stepped back and looked at Amos. “I see what you mean.” He ripped up the ticket. “Okay, I’ll let it go this time. But you better keep an eye on him. He looks dangerous.”

“I will. Thanks, Officer.” Dunc dragged Amos down the sidewalk. “That was a close one.”

“What did you tell him?” Amos asked.

“Nothing much.”

“Dunc.”

“Okay, I said you were in intensive psychotherapy and that it was time for your medication. And if you didn’t get it really soon there was no telling what you might do next.”

“Thanks a lot.”

“No problem. Hurry up now. We don’t want to be late.”

“Speak for yourself.”

•
4

“That twirling stuff doesn’t look all that tough.” Amos watched the last male skater spinning in a tight circle below them. The skater jumped into the air, missed his landing, and came down hard on his backside. Without stopping his program, the boy got up and flew right into the next jump. This time it was flawless.

“I didn’t know you could skate.” Dunc looked at Amos. “In fact, I was wondering how you were going to manage at Melissa’s party even if she did decide to invite you.”

“Details. After these guys give me a few pointers tomorrow, I’ll be so good Melissa
will want me to go skating with her every weekend.”

“It’s a lot harder than you think. These athletes spend years in training. Some of them don’t even get to live with their families. They almost never get to do regular stuff. They spend all their time practicing with coaches. In a way it’s kind of sad.”

“I don’t know. Except for having to wear those tight pants, it might be worth it to get away from Amy for a while,” Amos said.

The crowd applauded thunderously as the boy received his scores. He left the ice, and the girls came on to warm up.

“Look, Amos. There’s the girl who knocked you over.” Dunc pointed to a beautiful dark-haired skater in a crimson costume. “I wonder who she is.” He reached into his pocket for the program. As he did, a small gray envelope fell out.

Amos picked it up and flipped it over. There was no writing on the outside. “What’s this? Could it possibly be that Dunc, the boy genius, has a love letter?”

“Cut it out. It’s not mine. I must have
picked it up by mistake somewhere,” Dunc said.

“Sure. I believe you. You shouldn’t try to keep these things from your best friend, you know.” Amos ripped it open and frowned. “Looks like it’s written in some kind of code.”

Dunc snatched it out of Amos’s hand and read it aloud.

“Who in the heck is Kim Su-Yong?” Amos asked.

Dunc pointed to the Korean girl on the ice. “The program says it’s her. She represents North Korea in the games and she’s the same girl that ran past us outside the skating rink earlier. She must have stuffed this note in my pocket when she knocked you down. Hmmm.”

“No, don’t make that
hmmm
noise.”

“Why?”

“I haven’t known you since we were born for nothing. I know what that stupid sound means. It means you think you have some mysterious case to work on. Well, I have a news flash for you. I’m on vacation.”

“What about this?” Dunc held up the note. “We can’t just pretend we didn’t get it.”

“Why not? It’s not so hard. I do it in school all the time. The teacher says, ‘Where’s your homework, Binder?’ And I go—
‘What homework?’
Then she says—”

“This is different, Amos. This girl sounds like she’s in trouble.”

“Let her go to the police. There are plenty of them around here.”

“She wrote to us for a reason. Come on. Let’s go downstairs and wait for her to finish performing. We’ll talk to her when she comes off the ice.”

Amos watched Dunc walk down the aisle and shook his head. “Just once I’d like to go someplace where we actually wind up minding our own business.”

•
5

Amos stretched out on one of the beds in their room. “Too bad Security wouldn’t let you go downstairs at the skating rink. I guess that means you’ll have to forget all about Kim Su-Yong and the weird letter and everything. Want to go down to Video Games Paradise and drop a few quarters before the get-acquainted party? Maybe I could get them to take one of my traveler’s checks.”

“It doesn’t make sense.” Dunc was sitting at the desk writing on his notepad. He stopped and stared at his notes.

“Sure it does. If we leave right now, we’ll have thirty minutes. That’s just about enough time for me to wipe out everyone else’s score in Kamikaze Kickboxer and put my initials at the top.”

“I’m talking about Kim. Why would she go to all the trouble of getting that note to us if she didn’t plan a time to meet us?”

Amos shrugged. He sat up and tried to straighten his tie. It was a clip-on, but he still couldn’t get it to hang straight. The knot was in the center but the bottom part kept flopping sideways. “Maybe she’ll show up at the party. Hey, can you help me with this?”

“I already thought of that.” Dunc stood up and checked his suit for wrinkles. “If she’s there, she’ll be surrounded by government people and bodyguards. We won’t be able to get within ten feet of her. Unless …”

Amos yanked on the end of the tie, and the bottom part came off in his hand. “Shoot. You got any tape?” He glanced up and noticed Dunc looking at him the
way a cat looks at a goldfish in a bowl. “What?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking that if you kept Kim’s bodyguards busy at the party, I could get her alone and ask her what this is all about.”

Amos shook his head. “I don’t do bodyguards. How about a stapler? Maybe glue?”

Dunc snatched the end of Amos’s tie and stuffed it up under the knot. “There. Just don’t pull on it. By the way, did I tell you about the roll of quarters I packed in my suitcase by accident?”

“You have quarters?”

“A whole roll.”

“What are we waiting for?” Amos grabbed his coat. “Video Games Paradise, here we come!”

Dunc looked at his watch. “We can’t go now, Amos. We’ll be late to the party. And besides, I just wouldn’t feel right playing games while somebody’s in trouble and needs our help.”

Amos thought about it. For about two seconds. “All right. We’ll go to the party
and I’ll help you with the bodyguards. But you have to promise that right after you talk to her, we go play video games. Okay?”

Dunc held the door open for him. “Whatever you say, Amos.”

•
6

The Canadian hockey team waved from across the room. One of the older boys motioned for Dunc and Amos to join them.