KC and Marshall walked around to the door. “Nice going,” Marshall whispered. “KC, this reminds me of when Hansel and Gretel walked into the witch’s hut.”
Sergeant Royce opened the door. “Have a seat,” he said. “I hope you like stories, because Corporal West has one to tell you.”
KC and Marshall sat at the table across from Arnold. He was in full uniform, and his digital camera was on the table in front of him.
“I didn’t know your last name was West,” KC said to Arnold.
Arnold nodded. His face had gone from pale yellow to pink, like a sunset.
Sergeant Royce sat in the remaining chair. He crossed his long legs. “Okay, get it off your chest, Corporal West,” he said.
If KC hadn’t been so upset, she would have laughed at the accidental poem.
Arnold took a deep breath. “I had forgotten all about the Halloween party until your mom asked me to bring the washtubs outside yesterday,” he said to KC. “Then I saw Marshall’s costume, and I got an idea. I went to my apartment and made a costume out of some of my old Marine Corps socks and a plastic garbage bag.”
“An octopus, right?” Marshall asked.
Arnold blushed even deeper. “I know it was kind of lame,” he said. “But it’s the best I could come up with. I figured my motorcycle helmet would do for a mask.”
Arnold stole a glance at Sergeant Royce. “The sarge assigned Ditz, Henry, and me to watch the gate,” he went on. “After all the guests were inside, I asked Ditz and Henry to cover for me so I could come in here and get into the costume. Sergeant Royce was here, and he was nice enough to go along with it. See, I had my digital camera and I just wanted to get a few pictures of everyone dressed up.”
KC nodded. “That’s why my mom told us there were three guards at the gate, but Lauren Tool only saw two,” she said.
Arnold looked at KC. “I planned to e-mail the pictures to my kid brother, Dez,” he said. “After I took the pictures, I came back in here, got out of the costume, and went back to the gate. I was only gone about fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll take over, Corporal West,” said Sergeant Royce. “I went along with West’s idea to slip into the party, snap a few pictures, and slip out again. I saw no harm in it. But when I saw the pictures on TV, I knew something had gone wrong. And by the time you kids showed up earlier today, I knew the president was in trouble.”
Sergeant Royce went on, “Corporal West was out of town fishing, and didn’t see a TV or newspaper,” he said. “He had no idea what was going on until I called.”
“But the pictures showed the president dunking a kid and pinning a wart on Dr. Jury’s face,” Marshall said. “He’d never do those things!”
Arnold wiped his face with a dark green handkerchief he pulled from his pocket. “When I sent the pictures to my brother, he had an idea,” Arnold said, shaking his head. “A really stupid idea.”
“He changed the pictures, right?” KC said.
Arnold nodded. “Just for a laugh. He has this editing software that our father gave him for Christmas. It lets you change pictures and make new ones. Dez and I e-mail each other goofy pictures of the family all the time. He thought I’d get a kick out of seeing the president dunking a kid.”
Arnold had a sick look on his face. “I never thought Dez would e-mail the pictures to his friends,” he said. “I guess that’s how they got all over the Internet.”
Arnold wiped his forehead with the handkerchief again. Letters on the green cloth caught KC’s eye.
“Could I see your handkerchief?” she asked.
Arnold handed it over.
“Look, Marsh,” KC said. She put her finger on the initials USMC, for United States Marine Corps. Then she turned the handkerchief upside down. Now the initials were a backward C, then W and S, then an upside-down U that looked like an n.
“We saw the initials on one of the socks you used on your costume,” KC said.
Sergeant Royce stood up. “Corporal West, you need to talk to the president as soon as he’ll see you,” he said. “For your sake, I hope he believes your story.”
Arnold hung his head. “Yes, sir,” he muttered. Arnold stood up and looked at KC. “I’d do anything for the president.” Then he walked out of the guard hut.