White House White-Out (3 page)

Dink told the other kids what he’d learned. They all raced through the parking area. Then KC began shouting Natasha’s name. There was no answering bark.

“Look for footprints,” Ruth Rose said.

Five pairs of eyes studied the snow-covered ground. What prints they saw were all made by human boots. Even these were quickly getting covered with fresh snow.

“Why don’t you try your dog whistle?” Marshall suggested.

KC beamed at Marshall. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

She put the whistle in her mouth and blew as hard as she could.

Dink and the others heard no sound.

“Are you sure that thing works?” Josh asked. “I mean, what if—”

“Shhh, I think I heard something,” Ruth Rose said.

The five kids stood silently, listening as the snow fell softly around them. Dink heard only the wind and the hum of traffic.

KC tried the whistle again.

This time they all heard a dog howling.

“NATASHA!” KC yelled. “Come, girl! Come, girl!”

They heard more howling and barking.

“Maybe she’s in one of these vans or trucks,” Josh said.

“How could she be?” Marshall asked.

“Well, she’s not coming,” Ruth Rose said. “KC, who owns all these cars?”

“The people inside doing the decorating,” KC said. “They pulled up to the door to unload their stuff, then they parked over here.”

“Would Natasha jump inside someone’s car?” Dink asked. “Maybe to get out of the snow?”

“I don’t know,” KC said.

“Keep using the dog whistle,” Dink said. “And we can walk around and
look in all the windows.”

The kids split up and began wiping truck and van windows. KC kept blowing the whistle.

Dink approached a long white van. A sign on the side said flowers by jo. There were no rear windows, so Dink walked toward the front of the van. He called out Natasha’s name loudly. Suddenly he heard a howl from inside. “Over here!” Dink cried. “I think I found her!”

The other four kids came running. They wiped off all the windows and tiptoed to peek inside.

“I don’t see her in there,” KC said. “NATASHA, ANSWER ME, GIRL!”

Excited barking came from inside the van.

“She’s in there!” Dink said. “Try the doors, guys.”

Both front doors were locked. But
when the kids tried the van’s double rear doors, they opened.

Dink expected Natasha to leap out, but she didn’t. The kids stared into the van’s rear compartment. Three sides were lined with shelves holding florist supplies. Dink saw spools of ribbon and wire, tools, some plastic fruit, and a bunch of fake Christmas flowers. On the left near the doors, a spare tire stood, clamped to the wall.

Straight ahead of them, backed up against the driver’s compartment, sat a large wooden crate. Someone had printed white house wreaths on the wood with a black marker. Several folded packing quilts were stacked on top of the crate.

“She’s not here!” KC said.

“But we all heard her!” Marshall said. “She has to be!”

Then Natasha began barking again.

“She’s in that crate!” Ruth Rose said.

They all scrambled into the back of the van, leaving the doors open a crack behind them. There were no windows, but a little light came through the rear doors.

Dink felt carpeting under his knees. His fingers felt pine needles, and the air smelled of them.

Suddenly a tiny light went on.

“What’s that?” Josh asked.

“It’s me,” Ruth Rose said. “I have a light on my key chain.”

Using the small glow, the kids examined the crate. They heard Natasha’s nails scratching at the wood inside.

“I’m here, Natasha!” KC said into the crate.

“How the heck did she get in there, anyway?” Josh asked.

Dink and Josh swept the blankets off the top. KC tried to lift the lid.

“It’s stuck!” she said.

“No, it’s wired shut,” Marshall said. “Someone put her in here on purpose!”

He and Dink worked together to untwist the wire. Then the crate lid was up and Natasha leaped out. Her red sweater was covered with pine needles.

KC wrapped her arms around Natasha while the dog licked her face and trembled. “Girl, what happened to you?” she asked.

Just then they heard the doors behind them slam shut. Except for Ruth Rose’s tiny light, they were in total darkness.

“Who closed the doors?” Marshall whispered.

Before any of them could answer, the engine roared to life. Natasha began barking.

The kids were knocked off balance as the van suddenly backed up. Then
there was a sharp turn, and they fell again as the van lurched forward.

“Where are we going?” Ruth Rose whispered in the dark.

“We don’t have to whisper. The driver can’t hear us,” Dink said. The wall that separated them from the front cab would absorb all sounds from the back.

“Guys, I think we’re being kidnapped!” Josh said.

“But I don’t think he knows we’re back here,” Marshall said. “The only windows are up in front. I’ll bet he’s trying to steal Natasha!”

“Maybe the kidnapper used Natasha as bait,” Ruth Rose said.

“What do you mean?” Josh asked.

“To get KC in the van,” Ruth Rose said.

“Why would some florist want me?” KC asked.

“For ransom,” Ruth Rose said. “The president’s stepdaughter is worth a lot of money.”

CHAPTER 3

“She’s right,” Marshall said. “Your mom and President Thornton would pay anything to get you back.”

KC didn’t say anything. She sat on the carpeted floor and hugged Natasha. The other kids sat near her. It was cold in the van, so they spread the packing quilts over their legs.

The van roared on to no one knew where.

“What are we gonna do?” Marshall asked.

“I don’t know,” KC said. “My mom and the president probably aren’t even home yet. They don’t know we’re gone.”

Dink thought about his father waiting for him at the hotel. “Can I see your light?” he asked Ruth Rose.

He shone the tiny glow on his watch. It was five o’clock. “My dad doesn’t know we went to the White House,” he told the other kids. “When we don’t show up at five, he’ll call the cops.”

“But how will the cops find us?” Josh asked. “They won’t know where to look!”

“The president can get an airplane, right?” Marshall asked KC. “Or a helicopter?”

“But it’s snowing, Marsh,” KC said. “And we’re in a white van. They’d never see us.”

“Plus, it must be getting dark by now,” Josh reminded them all.

“I wish we could see out,” Marshall said.

“I wonder where he’s planning on
taking us,” Ruth Rose said.