Chapter 19

When Mom got back from the church with Bryce, she asked him and me to get some meat from the freezer below Sam’s office in the barn. Sometimes it snows a lot and we can’t get out of our house for days, so they always keep a good supply.

Bryce noticed the muddy footprints first. They went inside and up to Sam’s office.

“Did you lock the door after you were done in there?” I said.

“Of course. I always lock it.” But I could tell that Bryce was nervous. Sam gets ticked when he finds the door unlocked.

Bryce led the way up the stairs and tried the knob. It turned.

“What if someone’s in there?” I whispered.

“We’ll surprise them,” Bryce said. “Be ready to run.”

Bryce burst in, yelling at the top of his lungs. There was no one in the exercise room. He turned on the light to the bathroom. Nothing. The door to Sam’s office was open a crack.

Bryce raised his voice. “Have the squad cars pull around the back.” I was sure he wouldn’t fool anyone. Bryce thinks his voice is a lot lower than it really is.

Bryce kicked the door open, and it banged off the water cooler in the corner. Nothing seemed out of place, except for the small refrigerator underneath Sam’s desk. It stood open and empty. Sam kept it stocked with soda, fruit, and his special coffee beans. (In the morning his office smells like one of those big bookstores.) A garbage can had been turned over, and the bag was missing.

“Who would steal sodas?” I said.

Leigh’s boyfriend, Randy, had been around, but would he steal something from Sam’s office?

“What about Boo?” I said. “He must know where we live.”

A sick look came over Bryce’s face.

We ran to tell Mom about the break-in, and she phoned Sam. He said he was on his way home and not to call the police.

“Why not?” Bryce said.

Mom wiped her hands on a towel. “I have to get the meat.”