March Mischief (3 page)

“We were mad at Lucky,” Ben said. “He got Mom to punish us for messing around in his room. So we came up with an idea. We stole the three statues last night. We dragged them home in our sister’s wagon. Then we hid them in Lucky’s closet, under his gym clothes.”

“Then we called you,” Ralphie said. “We just wanted to mess with Lucky, not get him arrested!”

“Anyway,” Ben went on, “after Officer Fallon took Lucky away, we ran upstairs to his bedroom. We figured we’d bring the three leprechauns to Officer Fallon and tell him the truth.”

Ben and Ralphie glanced at each other.

“So, what happened?” Nate asked.

“When we looked in the closet, the leprechauns were gone,” Ben said.

Bradley thought Ben O’Leary was going to cry.

“Someone swiped them again?” Nate asked.

“We don’t know what to do!” Ben said. “Our mom is upset, Lucky is in jail, and everyone’s crying all over the house!”

“You really should tell Officer Fallon that you did it,” Lucy said.

“We want to!” Ralphie said. “But the leprechauns are gone. How can we explain that?”

“There’s something I don’t understand,” Bradley said. “How could Mrs. Wong or Mr. Paskey report that Lucky stole their leprechauns when he didn’t do it? You guys took them.”

“I don’t get that, either,” Ben said.

“Maybe Mrs. Wong or Mr. Paskey saw one of you and thought you were your big brother,” Nate suggested. “You sort of all look alike.”

“Let’s go ask them,” Brian said.

“Good idea!” Bradley said. He put Pal in the house.

“Why can’t we bring Pal?” asked Lucy.

“Because he’ll bark at all the pets in Mrs. Wong’s shop,” Bradley explained.

The kids headed down Eagle Lane. They cut through Center Park and crossed Main Street in front of the Furry Feet Pet Shop. A bell tinkled when they opened the door. Mrs. Wong was cleaning a tropical fish tank.

A box of bunny rabbits stood on a table. Parakeets and canaries sang from a row of cages.

“Hi, kids,” said Mrs. Wong. She wiped her hands on a cloth. “How can I help you today?”

“We heard about your stolen leprechaun,” Brian said. “Ours got taken, too!”

“No!” Mrs. Wong said.

“And Officer Fallon told us Mr. Paskey’s disappeared, too!” Nate said.

“Goodness!” Mrs. Wong said. “Green Lawn has a leprechaun thief!”

“Officer Fallon thinks it’s my brother Lucky,” Ben O’Leary said.

Mrs. Wong laughed. “Lucky wouldn’t steal a penny!” she said. “He’s the most honest kid I know.”

Bradley felt even more confused. “You mean you didn’t tell Officer Fallon you thought Lucky took your leprechaun?”

“Heavens no,” Mrs. Wong said. “I simply told him someone had taken it. I didn’t name any names. I have no idea who took my leprechaun.”

“Um, it was us, Mrs. Wong,” Ralphie admitted. “Ben and I took yours and two others to play a trick on Lucky. We’re really sorry.” Then they explained how they hid the statues in Lucky’s closet, only to find them missing later. “But we’ll get yours back before the contest, honest!”

Mrs. Wong grinned. “I accept your apology,” she said. “But this whole thing is very strange. Let me know what happens.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Wong,” Bradley said. “Now we’re going to talk to Mr. Paskey.”

The bell tinkled again as the six kids left.

They crossed Main Street and passed Howard’s Barbershop. They all waved to Howard. He was cutting the mayor’s hair.

The kids walked up the steps to the Book Nook. Mr. Paskey was on a ladder, dusting a row of books. “Hello, young readers!” he said.

“Hi, Mr. Paskey!” all six kids said.

The bookseller stepped down from the ladder. “What can I do for you today?” he asked.

“We heard that your leprechaun got stolen,” Nate said.

“It did indeed!” Mr. Paskey said. “One moment it was on my sidewalk, and the next, it was gone!”

“Mrs. Wong’s got swiped, too,” Bradley said.

“And ours, too!” Brian said.

“It’s a real-life mystery,” Mr. Paskey said. “Who would steal leprechauns right before the contest?”

“We did. My brother and I took them all,” Ben said. He and Ralphie blushed as red as Mr. Paskey’s bow tie. They explained about the trick they were trying to play on Lucky. They told him how Lucky had gotten arrested.

“Lucky arrested? What utter nonsense!” Mr. Paskey said. “I know Lucky. He worked here part-time a few summers ago. I saw him pick up a nickel off the floor one day. Instead of slipping it in his pocket, he gave it to me. Lucky would never steal leprechauns!”

“You mean you didn’t tell Officer Fallon you thought it was Lucky?” Bradley asked.

Mr. Paskey shook his head. “Never.”

Bradley looked at the other kids. He knew they were all thinking the same thing he was thinking: none of them had told Officer Fallon that Lucky was the thief. Mrs. Wong hadn’t, either. Nor had Mr. Paskey.

So if no one was blaming Lucky, why had Officer Fallon arrested him?

The kids thanked Mr. Paskey. As they were leaving, he said, “Happy reading!”

“This is a mess,” Ben said. “Nobody thinks Lucky stole those dumb leprechauns, but he’s still in jail.”

Bradley could see the police station across Main Street. “Let’s go talk to Officer Fallon,” he said. “Tell him what you told us. Maybe he’ll believe you if we go with you.”

The six kids crossed the street to the police station.

Inside, they walked down a quiet hallway. They passed a room where two officers were dressing a leprechaun statue in a tiny police suit.

Officer Fallon was at his desk sipping tea when the kids walked in. “Hello, gang,” he said. “What brings you here?”

“We came to see Lucky,” Ben said. “Is he okay?”

“Your brother is very comfortable,” Officer Fallon said.

“We want to confess!” Ralphie said.

Officer Fallon raised his bushy eyebrows. “What do you mean, Ralphie?”

“We did it. Ben and me.” Ralphie and Ben told Officer Fallon how they had stolen all three leprechauns the night before.

“We hid them in Lucky’s closet,” Ben said.

“We were gonna return them, honest!” Ralphie cried.

“We did it to get back at Lucky,” Ben went on. “We were mad at him, so we lied and told Bradley that it was Lucky. And we’re really sorry!”

Everyone got quiet.

Bradley could feel his heart beating too fast. “Officer Fallon, who told you that Lucky stole the leprechauns?” he asked. “We talked to Mrs. Wong and Mr. Paskey, and they said they didn’t tell you.”

Officer Fallon looked at Bradley. He tugged on an earlobe. He smoothed his mustache. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you,” he finally answered. “Not while an investigation is going on.”

Officer Fallon stood up. “Ben and Ralphie, you’re very brave to admit what you did,” he said. “Now just go get the statues and return them to their owners. Then I’ll let Lucky out of jail.”

“But that’s the problem,” Ben said. “The leprechauns aren’t in the closet anymore.”

“Well, where are they?” Officer Fallon asked.

“We don’t know!” Ralphie wailed.

Bradley thought the poor kid was going to burst into tears.

Officer Fallon looked down at the O’Leary brothers. “You don’t know where the leprechauns are?”

“No,” Ben mumbled.

“Someone stole them from Lucky’s closet!” Ralphie said.

“Oh, now I see,” Officer Fallon said. “First you stole them, then you hid them, then someone else stole them, right?”

“Right!” Ben and Ralphie both said.

“Some stranger walked into your house and took three leprechauns from Lucky’s closet?” Officer Fallon asked.

Ben and Ralphie nodded.

“Well, we have a problem,” Officer Fallon said. “I can’t let Lucky out of jail until the stolen goods are returned.”

“But—but we don’t know where they are,” Ralphie stuttered.

Officer Fallon sighed. “Sorry, kids, that’s the way it will have to be. We’ll make a trade. When you give me the leprechauns, I’ll give you Lucky.”

The kids left the police station. No one knew what to say.

Ben and Ralphie wanted their brother back.

Bradley, Brian, Lucy, and Nate wanted their leprechaun back.

At the fitness center window, they watched two women dressing a leprechaun statue in gym clothes.