The New Year Dragon Dilemma (9 page)

Suddenly an earsplitting whistle
pierced the air. “POLICE! FREEZE!” a voice shouted.

Dink peered out from under the truck. If the police were here, he was getting out of this place right now! He sprinted for the door as fast as his trembling legs would take him.

Somebody grabbed him as soon as he had cleared the door. It was Josh, who pulled Dink out of the way.

Then Ruth Rose slammed the door shut and snapped the padlock. She turned and grinned at Dink. “Josh and I made a plan when you went to take the guy’s picture,” she said.

“But … but the police, the whistle …,” Dink stammered.

Ruth Rose held up her Swiss Army knife. From it dangled a tiny teddy bear and a shiny police whistle. “That was me,” she said. “I was hoping Burk would think I was the police and hide, and you’d run outside.” She dropped her knife into her backpack. “And you did!”

Josh picked up his bent sketchbook. “Now use that cell phone of yours and call the real police!” he said.

“They’re twin brothers?” Dink asked.

Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were sitting on the floor in the living room of their Bayside Hotel apartment. Dink’s father sat on the sofa. He had just gotten off the phone with Officer Feist.

“Yes, Dr. Winston Worthington has a twin brother named Wayne Worthington,” Dink’s father told them. “Wayne got out of prison a few months ago. He stayed with Winston for a while, then borrowed some money from him and bought that old sailboat, where he now lives.”

Dink thought about Wayne’s tattoos. “So those were W’s on his hands, not M’s,” he said. “I was reading them upside down!”

His father nodded. “Apparently, Wayne did some snooping when his brother wasn’t around,” he went on. “That’s how he learned about the parade, Miss Chinatown’s crown, even when the fireworks would go off. He was the one who set off the second round of fireworks.”

“So he decided to steal the ruby?” asked Ruth Rose.

“Yes, but he needed help, so he enlisted Burk, the little guy who actually stole the crown right off Lily’s head,” Dink’s father said. “He and Burk had once shared a prison cell.”

“So that’s why Dr. Worthington seemed so sad on the swan float,” Dink said. “He must have figured out that his
own brother was the crook!”

“I think you’re right about that,” Mr. Duncan said. “Luckily, you kids figured out what they were up to.”

“Dad, why didn’t Burk just take off with the ruby after he stole it?” Dink asked. “Why did he hide it in the dragon’s mouth?”

“Burk knew if he didn’t go back to help carry the dragon in the parade, he would be suspected,” Dink’s father answered. “But he was worried that everyone would be searched, so he stuck the ruby in the dragon’s mouth, figuring he or his partner in crime could get it later.”

“So he confessed?” Ruth Rose asked.

Dink’s father laughed. “Yes, he did,” he said. “But not right away. When the cops let Burk out of the warehouse, he denied everything. Said there was no proof. But when the police showed him
the picture Dink took, he changed his story.”

“Cool!” Dink said. “I wasn’t sure if the picture was any good. It came out pretty dark.”

“It was fine,” his father said. “It showed Burk holding the ruby. And when the piece of yarn matched his sweater exactly, he began to sing like a bird.”

“Did Burk put the crown in Holden’s buggy?” Dink asked.

“Yes, because he hoped that would make the police believe that Holden and his girlfriend had pulled off the caper,” Dink’s father said. “While Wayne was staying with his brother, he learned that Lily was one of the two finalists for Miss Chinatown. So he followed her, learned about Holden, then made his plans.”

“But that was pretty dumb,” Ruth Rose said. “Because even if Holden was
the thief, he would never have hidden the crown in his own buggy!”

Dink’s father laughed again. “That’s right,” he said. “But most crooks aren’t very smart!”

“So where are Holden and Lily?” Josh asked. “I hope he’s not still in jail!”

Just then the apartment telephone rang. Dink’s father answered. “Yes, please send them up, Mr. Alderson,” he said into the phone.

“Send what up?” Dink asked.

“I ordered take-out food,” his father said.

A minute later there was a knock on the door. Dink got up and opened it. Holden and Lily stepped in, with bags that smelled very good.

“Is anyone here hungry?” Holden asked.

“Yes!” everyone yelled.

If someone asked you to name your favorite thing, what would you say? Chocolate? Money? Reading? Watching TV? Playing a sport? Obviously, this list could go on and on. If you were to ask me, I would have to admit that I like all the things in the above list, but my favorite thing is traveling. I have been many places in the United States, and have visited a lot of other countries as well. Here’s just part of my travel list in the U.S.: Hawaii, Florida, California, Colorado, Texas, Washington State and Washington, D.C., Maine, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania. I have also had wonderful vacations in England, France, Italy, Hong Kong, Panama, Belize, Germany, Mexico, Canada, and India.

In
The New Year Dragon Dilemma
, my
characters travel to one of my favorite cities: San Francisco, California. Have you been there? What a place! My first visit to San Francisco was during a college vacation. I’ll never forget the steep hills, the cable cars, the food, and the smells and noises made by those sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf. And I love to eat Chinese food, so I loved wandering around Chinatown.

It’s not hard to find a mystery in a large city. You just have to use your imagination and keep your eyes open. In this book, Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose had a lot of fun in San Francisco. But they found a crime to solve, too. I hope you enjoyed going along with them on their big adventure!

Happy reading!

Sincerely,

P.S. Be sure to look for the answer to the hidden message on the bottom of the next page. And please keep visiting my website at
ronroy.com
!