LUKE SAT DOWN cross-legged on the dock and motioned for me to sit on the warm wood next to a goose with her head tucked under her wing. I nudged her with my foot. She ruffled her feathers and stuck her head further out of sight.
“For Christ’s sake, she’s not going to do anything,” said Luke. “It’s not Mildred.”
I stood still, trying to appear cool about a goose bill being ten inches from my exposed ankle. “Where’s Mildred then?” I asked.
Luke stretched out, long and muscular. “Just sit down,” he said. “It’s all ready.”
“Okay.” I sat, wrapping my arms around my legs. I was tired of thinking about what was coming and ready to get it over with. If Luke was determined to harass Miss Pritchett, there was no stopping him. It’d been five days since our discovery of her and I considered it a miracle he’d done nothing so far.
Cole plunked down next to me, vibrating with excitement. “What are we going to do?”
“Recon, dude, recon,” said Caleb.
“What’s recon?” Frank sat at the far end of the dock next to April and behind Ella, who looked bored and hot. April handed Frank a rubber band and a ribbon. He looked at it like she’d handed him a dead gerbil.
“We have to go get the lay of the land and find out their schedules. Stuff like that.” Caleb lay face down on the dock soaking up the heat from the wood like a lizard.
“We already know his schedule, but we have to figure out hers,” said Luke.
“How do we know his? We don’t even know his name,” I said. My desire to teach the man a lesson had cooled and I wanted to forget the whole thing.
“Yes, we do. It’s Jason Greenbow. He’s a lineman for the phone company and he works Sunday through Thursday nine to five. He’s also on-call every other Saturday,” said Luke as he brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes. He looked positively gleeful.
“How in the hell do you know that?” I asked.
“I asked around, dufus, and called the phone company,” said Luke.
“The phone company just told you all that stuff?” asked Frank. He held his hand out to April, the ribbon and rubber band perched on his palm while she braided her hair.
“You have to know how to ask. Besides, it’s not like I was asking for state secrets or something. What do they care?”
“There’s still Miss Pritchett,” I reminded Luke.
“Yeah, but we already know she’s dumb. We’ll just watch her for a couple of days and get the hang of her routine. Then we’ll start,” said Caleb.
“What are we going to do?” Frank’s voice went up an octave.
“Chill, Frank. You’re just a lookout. Here.” Luke took a walkie-talkie out of his backpack and handed it to Frank. Frank looked at it and relaxed.
“I’ve only got three, so we’ll have to take turns watching.” Luke gave a walkie-talkie to me and kept one himself. “This morning Puppy, me and Frank will go. This afternoon it’s Caleb, Cole and Ella. Then tonight it’s me again with April and Carrie. Tomorrow we’ll switch the shifts around.”
“But what are we going to do once we know her schedule?” asked Frank.
“Me and Caleb are working on that. For now, we have to find out when we’re free to go in,” said Luke.
I shrugged my shoulders at Frank, who seemed satisfied with his part in the plan so far.
“Okay, so here’s the deal. I have a notebook in the backpack so we can write down everything we see. And this, my friends, is the final piece.” Luke took a roll of black wiring out of the backpack.
“What’s that for?” Ella crossed her arms and pursed her lips. “I haven’t seen it before.”
“This is how we get a look into the house, my dear cousin,” Luke said.
“That doesn’t tell me what it is,” said Ella.
“It’s the spy cam you used in Miss Pritchett’s office, isn’t it?” April finished French braiding her hair. She fastened the long plait with the rubber band and decorated it with the ribbon. Frank’s empty hand wavered for a second before he dropped it.
“You had a spy cam in Miss Pritchett’s office?” I looked from April to Luke and back again.
“Yeah. How do you think we knew what she was up to?” Luke stood up and indicated it was time to head out.
“I bugged her phone, too,” said April.
“You? You bugged her phone?” Frank stared at April, who smiled at him.
“Sure,” she said. “Somebody had to do it.”
“But what if somebody finds it?” asked Frank.
“They won’t. I already took it out. It was totally useless anyway. She never called anyone. Come on, Ella. Let’s go tell Carrie the plan.” April pulled Ella to her feet. The girls walked off the dock and down the path towards the house.
“How’d she get in her office?” I couldn’t believe my little sister knew how to bug a phone, something I hadn’t bothered to learn.
“I taught her how to pick the lock,” said Caleb. “It’s pretty easy. I taught you, didn’t I?”
I couldn’t think of anything else to say. April didn’t seem much like a little sister anymore.
“Do we have to stay on those shifts you said?” asked Frank.
“Got a problem with Luke, Frankie?” Caleb slapped Frank on the back.
“No, no,” he said. “I just got to go to the bathroom. Maybe I could switch with Carrie?”
“Fine with me, but we don’t have time to switch right now. Me and Puppy will do this shift alone. Go take your dump,” said Luke.
Frank whispered his thanks and jogged off the dock, enjoying the hollow pounding under his feet. He ran back to the house in search of April. Today was the day. He’d eat a couple of the cookies Mrs. MacClarity gave him and he’d talk to April. They’d have a real conversation. No “Pass the butter.” If he could pull off that first talk he wouldn’t need Mrs. MacClarity’s brand of courage again for a long time. He’d stick the last two in the freezer for the emergency she’d spoken of, the SATs or his first date. All he needed now was the ability to act, and Mrs. MacClarity had given him that in chocolate form.