Crunch by Leslie Connor Read Free Book Online

said.
    “Wait,” said Officer Macey. “Are you talking about the guy I saw slinking around here when werode up? A guy with a weird walk?”
    “Yes. Mr. Spivey is a grumpus,” Eva leaned forward and whispered.
    “Yeah, and he’s a thief, too,” Angus piped.
    “A thief?” Macey said. He squinted at Angus.
    Vince shrugged. “Yeah. But he’s our thief.”
    “The fine neighbor is prone to petty egg thefts and such,” Runks explained. He kept his town crier voice low. “The Marrisses are rather good to him in spite of it.”
    “Too good!” Pop piped up.
    “Never mind,” Lil said, flapping a hand.
    “So Robert, are you ready?” I tipped my head toward the barn.
    “Yes,” he said. “Thank you all for dinner. You’ve been incredibly kind.” He gave me a nod. “To the barn,” he said.
    I led the way.

13
    RUNKS AND MACEY CAME WITH US TO THE BIKE Barn that night. Goodness and Greatness came, nosing and licking at our guests. Robert leaned down to pat them on the way. Macey too. With Runks chatting and doing his town-crier thing, I felt like I was in a play. I had the role of Dad, welcoming everyone into the bike shop.
    Runks paused and slapped a hand on the door to the shop. “Listen, you are locking up after dark, correct?” he asked. His face was unusually serious.
    “W-well, yeah,” I said. “Pretty much.” I shot a look at Vince as if to ask him, Have we been? It wasn’t something we’d worried about a lot.
    “They’re okay,” Macey said. “Who’s going tofind this place way back here?”
    “Oh, they find us,” Vince said. I rolled the door open and he pointed at the dozen or so bicycles packed against the south wall.
    “Oh.” Macey laughed. “I guess they do find you!”
    Vince crossed through the shop and pushed open the paddock door. “The overflow,” he said. Six or seven more bikes loosely chained up.
    Now Runks let out a long whistle. “Whew! Home alone and keeping shop, too. Good for you, men! But just a warning, bikes are a commodity these days. Worth more than cash in some ways. We’re seeing a lot of thefts,” he said.
    I nodded, his words settling into the back of my mind.
    “So it’s pretty much all repairs here?” Officer Macey asked. I think he was trying to lighten things up. He looked around, took our shop in with an approving sort of nod that gave me a huge sweep of pride.
    “We don’t carry much merch,” I said. “A few racks and tubes.” I headed up the loft stairs andeveryone followed. “We had to move the bikes we’ve built up here when the shop filled up with repair jobs.”
    Robert was the last one up the loft stairs, and he turned to look back at Goodie and Greatie. Both dogs had stopped at the bottom and stood wagging their tails.
    “They only climb carpeting,” Vince explained.
    We just had a few Marriss-built bikes to sell. Dad had sold some the week before the anniversary trip. It didn’t take Robert long to zero in on a hybrid.
    “It’s a good choice,” I said. “It’s no racer, but it’ll do you well for the kind of riding you’re doing.”
    “Nice components,” Officer Macey said, looking the bike over. “ Real nice.”
    “The Marrisses know how to put together a superior ride,” Runks announced, and I figured both he and Macey were good for business.
    While Robert and I talked, the officers milled around. They took a look at our little inventory together, then moved off into the loft. At some point, I heard Macey mutter, “Oh, this guy has got to learn some manners.”
    I looked up. Macey was at the open hay door looking down into Mr. Spivey’s yard. He was shaking his head.
    I crossed the loft and looked out. Below us, Lil spoke.
    “Mr. Spivey, I’m not coming back to shovel up manure and neither are my brothers. The next good rain will take care of it. Trust me.” She tugged Gloria Cloud’s tether and changed her tone. “Come on, sweet girl,” she said.
    “The job’s not done anyway,” Mr. Spivey said, his finger