“The perfect sisters think Steve and his gang are the thieves. They have an entire theory about it. You should ask them. They’ll tell you all about it—in stereo.”
It was Monday, and Riley had stopped at my place on his way home. I’d already told him about the unclaimed-property warehouse.
“Were the perfect sisters at soccer?” I asked.
“No, they were at the lake where we camped on the weekend. Except their families were staying in cabins, not tents. Matching cabins, side by side. And they have matching bathing suits. And matching flip-flops. And matching parents.”
“No, they don’t!” I said.
“Almost,” said Riley.
“Why do they think it’s Steve?” I asked. “Did they see something suspicious?”
“Superstitious?” asked Riley. “How do I know if they’re superstitious?”
I was crouched beneath the downstairs TV stand. I guess my voice was kind of muffled.
“Suspicious,” I repeated. “Did they see something suspicious?”
“Nope. They just know he’s a bully and picks on kids younger than him. Kids like us.”
“Except it’s not just kids’ bikes that have been stolen,” I said. “Adults have been reporting stolen bikes too. I met one of them. He hangs out on Battersby Street sometimes. Wears a black T-shirt and—”
“The guy with the biceps? And the tattoos?” asked Riley.
“Yup. His bike was stolen. A month ago.”
“That guy is scary,” said Riley. “He’s so scary I was scared to point him out to you. Even Steve wouldn’t mess with someone like that.”
“Except maybe Steve steals kids’ bikes. And someone else is stealing the other bikes.”
“Nah. My brother has been keeping an eye on Steve. He says Steve is more into skateboards than bikes. The skateboards are probably stolen, but…”
“Urrrg,” I said, shifting around to get a better angle.
“What are you doing under there?” asked Riley.
I took a deep breath. Talk about frustrating.
“I’m trying to figure something out,” I said.
“Okay. Figuring things out is good. Even under a TV,” said Riley. “Anyway, Emily Grimshaw doesn’t think it’s Steve either. She thinks—”
“When did…?” Wham! I’d lifted my head too quickly and clonked it on the top of the stand. I crawled out from underneath, half dazed, to take a breather.
“When did I see Emily?” asked Riley.
I nodded.
“Just now. Right before I got to your place,” he answered.
I frowned.
“She was lurking around here the other day too,” I said. “She’s probably going to start stealing again. I hope you locked up the The Flame.”
“Actually, I brought it right inside. But not because of Emily. Your dad said I may as well bring it in and that would save me the trouble of locking it. What’s with your dad today anyway?” asked Riley. “He’s in a really good mood. I mean, he’s always nice. But he’s usually kind of…”
“Serious,” I said. “Responsible. Predictable. Boring.”
Which reminded me. I slid back under the stand again.
“So?” I asked.
“Well, I wouldn’t say your dad’s that bad,” said Riley.
“I don’t mean my dad,” I said. “I mean who does Emily think the thief is?”
But Riley had crouched over to see what I was doing.
“My chain lock! Why is it wrapped around your video games?” he asked. “Are you trying to open it? Don’t you know the combination?”
“No, Riley,” I said. “I don’t know the combination. If I knew the combination I’d already have it unlocked.”
“Well, you should have just asked me,” said Riley. “It’s—”
“Stop!” I told him. Wham! I’d hit my head again. Luckily, not quite as hard.
“You’re going to knock yourself out if you keep that up,” said Riley. I could tell from his voice that he thought I was pretty entertaining. “Don’t you want me to just tell you?”
“No. I’m trying to figure it out myself. I think it’s like one of those puzzles where you have to line up interlocking parts in the right order. I think the first number is one. And the next number is four. But I can’t quite…”
“It would have been smarter to lock it someplace easier to work on,” said Riley. “And why lock up your video games?”
Time for another deep breath.
“I didn’t. I locked up the coffee cupboard.”
“The what?” asked Riley.
“The coffee cupboard, so Dad would have to open your lock in order to get in. And he did get in. Except I thought he had cheated and cut the chain because I couldn’t find it anywhere and he didn’t say anything about it. But last night I went to get a game and found them all wrapped around with your…”
I almost thought I had it. I pulled ever so gently…nothing. Rats!
I crawled out slowly so I wouldn’t hit my head again. Riley was sitting on the sofa, a look of complete confusion on his face.
“Your dad undid my lock?” he asked. “Your dad’s the bicycle thief?” He realized what he’d said and began to shake his head. “No way. Not a chance.”
“Dad’s not the thief,” I said. “But he can open locks like yours. He learned when he was a kid. That’s why he was so sure when he told me a kid could have stolen your bike. Except he was trying to hide it because I think he thought it might corrupt me.”
Riley grinned.
“Awesome,” he said. “Confusing…but awesome!”
I glanced over at the lock and then back at Riley. This was getting to be way too much trouble.
“I give up,” I said. “Tell me the combination.”
“I forget,” he said.
“Riley! You were going to blurt it out two minutes ago. You can’t have forgotten.”
“Yeah, but if it makes your dad this happy, do you really want to spoil it for him?” asked Riley. “Hey—maybe this is turning into some kind of father-and-son bonding thing. Cracking combinations together. Do you think that’s it?”
Riley comes up with the strangest ideas.
“I don’t know what it is,” I said. “I can’t figure out my dad.”
“You can’t figure out the lock either,” said Riley. “Hang on. Hang on. Don’t get steamed. You’ve got the first number right.”
“I do?”
“Yup,” said Riley. “But not the second one.”
“Is the second one close?” I asked.
Riley shrugged.
“It’s within five places,” he said. “Oops. Gotta head home.”
Within five places wasn’t any help at all. The numbers only went from one to six. But I was encouraged just enough to crawl beneath the TV again.
At supper that evening, Dad and I ate out on the back deck. Riley’s chain lock was wrapped around the railing. Yup, I’d done it. It had taken me awhile, but I’d figured it out. Mind you, Riley wasn’t going to be pleased next time he came over and tried to undo his lock. After I’d opened it on my own, Dad had shown me how to put the numbers in a different order. We’d had a good time together. Maybe Riley had been right about the father-and-son thing…in a weird way.
But I hadn’t yet got the details out of Dad about his own bike-stealing days. I was waiting for the right moment. Which was now.
“So you really stole your teacher’s bike?” I asked.
“I moved it,” said Dad. “That’s all, Levi. It never left school property.”
“Where did you move it to?” I asked.
“The fence, right nearby,” he said.
I knew there had to be more.
“Where else?” I asked.
“The bike stand. In the little kids’ playground.”
“Where else?” I asked.
The tips of Dad’s ears were turning red again.
“The roof,” he said.
“You climbed up on the roof of the school? Dad! That wasn’t responsible! What if you’d fallen off the ladder? What if the bike had fallen off the roof and hit someone?”
Dad sighed.
“No, Levi. It wasn’t responsible,” he said.
“And if I ever catch you doing something like that, I’ll be very, very upset and you will be grounded for the next ten years.”
I knew he meant it. Well, not the ten years of grounding, but he would be really upset. Dad takes his parenting seriously.
But still, it’s kind of nice to know your dad is human.