Stolen Secrets (19 page)

Chapter 76

Neither Ashley nor I
wanted to see Cammy and Tracy. Solving this puzzle was one thing. Taking responsibility for turning them in was another. We waited a few minutes, then walked into the police station behind Sam.

Officer Ormsby waved us into the waiting area and handed me the recorder. “We found a duct tape purchase at the hardware store on the afternoon of the attack. A cashier remembered two girls buying the tape that day.”

“Where are they?” Ashley said.

“One is in the room at the end of the hall. The other is in that room.” He nodded to the other end of the station house.

“Do they know what’s going on?” Ashley said.

He shook his head and glanced at Sam. “Your kids are part of this investigation. Come with me.”

Chapter 77

Officer Ormsby led us
into a small room with video monitors. On one screen we saw Tracy sitting at a table next to her father. Her hands were folded in her lap. On another screen, Cammy sat with her mother. They both looked like they needed a smoke. I felt sorry for them. They looked scared, and their parents looked grim.

The chief went into Tracy’s room, plopped in a chair, and rubbed his face like he was exhausted. “Sorry to bring you down here tonight, but we have a development.”

“He confessed?” Tracy’s father said.

“No, he sure didn’t,” the chief said. “Still says he never touched your daughter.” He looked at Tracy. “Anything you want to tell me?”

Tracy frowned and shook her head.

“Since we can’t find much hard evidence linking him, we’d like you and your friend to take a polygraph. Know what that is?”

Tracy shook her head.

“A lie detector test?” her father said.

“Yeah. This guy is in big trouble, and we need the test as evidence.”

It looked to me like Tracy’s face turned pale. Her dad looked at her.

“I’ll leave you alone for a minute,” the chief said. “Think about it.”

As soon as the chief was gone, Tracy’s father said, “What’s the matter?”

Tracy started crying.

The chief then visited Cammy and her mother, pulled out the recorder, and set it on the table.

“What’s this, Officer?” Cammy’s mom said.

The chief looked at Cammy. “You want to tell her, or do you want me to?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

On the other video screen Tracy had put her head on the table and was sobbing.

“Cammy,” the chief said, “we have an innocent man in our jail, don’t we? Isn’t it time you told us the truth?”

“You don’t believe her?” Cammy’s mom said.

The chief stared at Cammy. “This is your chance. Right here. Get it out in the open.”

Cammy seemed to shrink into her chair, like the Wicked Witch of the West in
The Wizard of Oz
. “I told you the truth. Why don’t you believe me?”

The chief pushed a button on the recorder, and Cammy’s voice filled the room.

Cammy’s mom turned to her, looking like she was about to explode.

Finally Cammy spoke. “Tracy and I were goofing off at school, and I knew you’d ground me for being late to babysit. When we went past the Toot Toot and saw that guy, we figured everybody would believe us. We bought the tape and tied each other up.”

I looked at Bryce. He looked as sad as I felt. Sometimes the truth makes you feel bad and good at the same time.

Chapter 78

The whole story came out
in the news the next day. One TV station announced a series called “When Kids Lie.”

The TV news also showed Danny walking out of jail with his mother and father. He had shaved and was smiling, his arm in a sling. The family waved off reporters as they drove away.

I wondered if Danny knew we were the ones who had helped get him released.

All anyone could talk about at school the next few days was Cammy and Tracy. A rumor said that one or both of them had run away, but we had learned not to believe everything we heard.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Sam. He had been on the phone nonstop one night and in his office till late another. Mom seemed upset and hadn’t worked much on her new book.

Leigh became almost a stranger. She stayed out—“studying,” she said—and when she came home she just went to her room. She didn’t ask Mom or Sam to let her drive and get her night hours in. The tension was about to kill me.

Who was Sam?

Chapter 79

The fateful night came
when we had to turn in our candle orders. I had only five on my sheet. I tried to get Mom to buy more, but she said Mrs. Gunderson at the dance studio would understand. She didn’t know Mrs. Gunderson very well.

We handed our orders in at the beginning of the hour, and when the session was over, we all sat on the floor.

“You know that the person from each class who turns in the most orders gets a special prize,” Mrs. Gunderson said. She held up the ballet shoes, and I knew this was the perfect Sunday school example of coveting. I wanted the shoes bad, but I had no chance.

“Well, the person with the most sales . . .”

Please don’t drag this out.

“. . . is Ashley Timberline.”

It felt like I’d won an Academy Award without being nominated. I couldn’t believe it. Surely many other girls had sold more than five candles.

Mrs. Gunderson held out the shoes and smiled. “Ashley sold 45 units.”

Everybody clapped as I walked to the front. “But, Mrs. Gunderson,” I whispered, “I didn’t sell 45.”

She showed me two order slips. The one on top had five measly signatures. The one on the bottom was filled with 40 items and only one signature.

Harriet Ingram’s.

An envelope was taped to it. When everyone had gone, I opened it and pulled out a folded sheet.

Dear Ashley,

Officer Ormsby told us what you and your brother did. We can never thank you enough. Danny is doing better. He’s at home now and says he wants to change. We’re taking him for counseling next week.

I’m so glad I got to meet you, and I hope these orders help.

Love,

Harriet

Chapter 80

Jeff Alexander called
after school and asked me to come to his house. “I have something to show you,” he said.

I got there in record time. Jeff met me outside and waved me to the garage. He had a Boston Red Sox hat pulled low, and he seemed to have a spring in his step.

He opened the garage door slowly and I saw the tandem, blue with silver stripes. The backseat had a carrier behind it.

“A bike shop in the Springs donated it,” Jeff said, beaming. “Want to try it?”

I hopped on the front, and Jeff climbed on the back. The driveway had gravel on it, so it was difficult getting to the street, but once we were there, we took off. Jeff didn’t weigh much, and we flew down the hill whooping and hollering.

I looked back and saw Jeff pull off his hat and wave it in the air. “Wahoo! This is going to be the best summer ever!”

His bald head used to make me cringe, but now I barely noticed. Jeff was Jeff, hair or not.

I pulled over at a little park. Kids screamed as they ran through the playground equipment. Jeff and I found two open swings and sat.

“Can’t believe I’m actually going to do this,” he said.

“And I’m going to be there the whole way.”

We talked about the supplies we would need and how much training we’d have to have before the race started.

“It’s kind of like the Tour de France,” Jeff said. “It’ll be hard, but is there anything good in life that isn’t hard?”

“Twinkies.”

He laughed, then got quiet. “Ever had anything that stuck in your head that you couldn’t get rid of? You know, something you couldn’t figure out?”

Sam,
I thought. “Sure. Why?”

“Why God lets bad stuff happen.” He pulled his hat low over his eyes again. “I don’t blame God anymore about this. I mean, I don’t think he gave me cancer to punish me—I used to. I tried to think of all the things I’d done wrong and figure out which one made me get this.” He pointed to his head. “But I’m never going to get married or have kids. I might not even get to graduate high school—I can tell the doctors even think eighth grade is a stretch.”

“You’re gonna beat this,” I said. “The medicine they have, the treatment. You’ll probably outlive all of us.”

Jeff smiled. “I hope. But what if . . . what if we don’t even get to go on this ride?”

“We’re riding in the mountains this summer together. That’s it. End of story.”

Jeff smiled even bigger. “Yeah. We’re really going to do it, aren’t we, Bryce?”