GRIMSTED REVISITED
Actually, Justin didn’t figure out how to get the money to Grimsted. He simply woke up Saturday morning knowing. It was as if the idea had come winging through his bedroom window while he slept and was waiting in his brain when he opened his eyes.
He couldn’t tell the others about it until Mom left for work. Justin was about to explain his idea to Kate and Chip when Luther came pounding up the steps, followed by Lily. Lily jammed her hands into her pockets and brought them both out filled with one-dollar bills. “Here’s my share. You wouldn’t believe how many planters my dad made me fill to earn fifteen dollars.”
The others began reaching into their own pockets. Justin waved the money away. “Keep it for now. We’ve got something else to deal with first. Kate, do you have any magazines? Old ones we can cut up?”
“I don’t want my magazines cut up,” Kate protested. “I bought them with my own money, and they’re not cheap.”
“We’re not going to wreck them,” Justin promised. “Just—well, go get some of the older ones and I’ll show you.”
Kate disappeared into her room while the rest of them sat on the living room floor, squirming and occasionally pushing or punching each other. Little kids, Justin thought, are like puppies. They can’t be still unless they’re asleep.
“Hurry up!” he yelled to Kate. He was feeling pretty twitchy himself.
Kate came back with a stack of magazines, holding them close to her chest protectively.
“Okay,” Justin said, “Here’s what we do. We’re going to make a note, using words cut out of the magazine. You know, like a ransom note. Only this will be a reverse ransom note. Instead of telling Grimsted he’s got to give us money to get his goat back, we’ll tell him this is the money for his goat.”
“Who’s going to give him the note?” Lily asked.
“We’ll put it through his mail slot.”
“With the money?” Chip asked.
“That’s right. Then he’ll have the money, and the note will explain what it’s for.” Justin looked at Luther. “You think Booker will go for that?”
Luther nodded slowly. “I think Uncle Booker will be cool with that.”
Kate passed a magazine to each child. “Only take words out of ads. And make sure there’s not an interesting article on the other side.”
“So what words are we looking for?” Lily asked.
“All the note has to say is, ‘Here is the money for your goat.’ So I guess it’s just those seven words.”
Kate rummaged in the desk for scissors, glue, and a sheet of paper. She even found a manila envelope. By the time she got back with the supplies, the others had found all the words except “goat.” They flipped through the pages for fifteen minutes, but Kate’s magazines, which were 99 percent about movie stars and clothes and makeup, did not have anything to say about goats.
Finally Chip said, “Why don’t we do a put-together?”
Justin slapped himself on the head. “Of course! Find a ‘go’ and an ‘at.’ That’s all we need!”
The “go” was small and the “at” was large, but when they got them glued together on the sheet of paper, the message was perfectly clear.
Here is the MONEY for your goAT
“Now for the money,” Justin said, counting as everyone handed him their share. “Fifteen, thirty, forty, forty-five, fifty-five, sixty.” Then Lily counted out fifteen ones, and they all said at the same time, “Seventy-five!”
Justin folded the note around the money, put it in the envelope, and sealed it carefully.
“Now what?” Chip asked.
“I take it to his house,” Justin said.
“No way,” Kate objected.
Justin frowned. “Why not?”
“For one thing, you’re the one Grimsted knows best. If he sees you anywhere near his place, he’s sure to call the police. I say the rest of us should go.”
“Too risky,” Justin argued. “Better for me to go alone.”
Luther stood and brushed the cut-up bits of paper off his clothes. “Uncle Booker said we have to give the money back to Grimsted because we took the goat. We means all of us.”
“Look,” Justin said. “If we all go marching up to Grimsted’s door together, we’ll get caught for sure. If just one person goes, it’ll be a lot easier to drop the envelope through the slot without being seen.”
“How about we all go to the playground,” Chip proposed, “and then one person sneaks up to Grimsted’s house and puts it through the mail slot?”
“Which one?” Lily asked.
“Me,” Justin said.
Kate shook her head. “We draw straws.” She went into the kitchen and came back with a handful of straws from the broom.
“Not now.” She shoved the straws into the back pocket of her jeans. “When we get to the playground.”
Justin knew from experience that when Kate got that determined look on her face, it was pointless to argue with her. Besides, they didn’t have time to argue about it, not if they were going to walk. The smaller kids bounded off the porch and were already halfway out to Lost Goat Lane by the time Justin had slipped the envelope under his shirt and tucked it into his waistband. He had to hurry to catch up.
Kate veered off into the nursery to tell Mom they were going for a walk. The nursery was busy, as it always was on weekend mornings. In barely a minute, Kate was back.
“Did she ask where we were going?” Justin wanted to know.
“Sure.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I said we were taking the little kids to the playground.”
“We’re not little kids,” Lily muttered.
“Sorry,” Kate said.
“Did she say anything else?” Justin asked anxiously.
“Yeah.” Kate rolled her eyes. “She said we were ‘good role models’ for the little—I mean, for the younger children.”
They stood at the edge of the playground looking up the street toward Grimsted’s house. His car wasn’t out front, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t at home. Now that he wasn’t holding Little Billy prisoner in the garage, he might keep his car in there.
Kate held up her fist with five straws poking out. “We draw by age,” she said. “Youngest first. And don’t look until we’ve finished.”
One by one they each drew a straw. Justin pulled out the last one and held it up so the others could measure theirs against it. His heart sank when he saw that Luther had picked the shortest one. As soon as Luther realized he had the short straw, a stricken look came into his eyes.
“It’s okay,” Justin said, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I’ll deliver the money.”
When Justin pulled the envelope from under his shirt, Luther snatched it from his hand. “I’m not a coward!” he yelled, and darted up the street.
From the playground they watched Luther thrust the reverse ransom payment through the mail slot. Justin was surprised when, instead of coming back to where they were, Luther raced around the far side of the garage and headed toward the alley.
“He’s going over the fence,” Chip said, as if he’d read Luther’s mind. “Once he’s in the vacant lot, he’ll be hidden by the weeds. He’ll wait for us at the store—you know, the one where we got the milk crates.”
“Are you sure?” Kate asked. But Chip had already started running.
The rest of them followed, and sure enough, when they reached the little store, Luther was standing on the sidewalk, grinning. He hooked his thumbs in his pockets and swaggered as he walked toward them. “Mission accomplished,” he said proudly.
“Was he at home?” Justin asked anxiously.
“Don’t know,” Luther replied. “Soon as I stepped on the porch I heard dogs barking, so I shoved the envelope through the mail slot and split!”
“Dogs?” They looked at each other.
“Forget it!” Justin said quickly. “We are not going to rescue any dogs.”