Crunch by Leslie Connor Read Free Book Online Page A

jabbing at the ground. “The grass is still tall in the back! I’m gonna need—”
    “Hey! Enough!” Macey boomed like thunder. “You hear me? You asked someone to come get the animal and she’s done that,” he said. “Don’t let me hear you say another thing—unless it’s thank you.”
    Fat chance. We didn’t get thank-yous out of the Spive. Ever.
    “Are we clear?” Macey called down.
    Our neighbor retreated to his back porch without answering. We heard the door slam.
    I knew I was clear—clear that being friends with two cops was going to be even better than being friends with one. Maybe he was a little gruff. But I liked Officer Macey.
    We took a short ride out to the highway. It was a great way for Robert to get a feel for his new bike. I got my chance to chase Macey—just a little. He set a good pace. Just when I thought I might pass him, the siren on his copsicle sounded a sharp Whoop! Whoop!
    “Busted!” he called. “Speeding!” I dropped back behind him, laughing.
    Meanwhile, Robert pedaled up beside me and said, “Oh yeah! It’s a deal, Dewey! I have found my ride!”
    A net of darkness began to fall. Runks and Macey lit our way. Their bike lights were as bright as a car’s headlights.
    When we stopped back in our yard, the copsicle lights shone on the Bike Barn door. Angus and Eva ran through the beams. Their shadows shrank and grew against the old boards.
    “See my wings!” cried Eva. “I’m a bird!”
    “I’m a dino!” Angus shouted. Then Goodness’s shaggy dog shadow loped in from the side, followed by Greatness’s sleek one. Angus’s shadow ran away then came back again carrying a branch. “A tree! A tree for your bird, Eva!” He put the branch over his head.
    “Do that again, Angus!” Lil called. “That’s beautiful!” She put her curled hands up to her eyes like a pair of binoculars. I’d seen her do it before. I knew she was seeing something for her art.
    Since Runks and Macey were heading back toward town they agreed to escort Pop and Mattie home.
    “See you at camp tomorrow morning,” Mattie said to the twins.
    “Just like…yesterday!” Angus said.
    “And like today,” Eva added.
    Meanwhile, Robert Deal paid me in cash and I added the money to our fancy cash register. I duct-taped a flashlight to his handlebars and Vince clipped a reflector onto the back of his shirt.
    “We can’t have you getting hit by another biker,” I said, and I forced a chuckle. I wasn’t sureit was funny, but Robert gave me a grin.
    “Boy, am I glad I stopped you on that tandem today,” he said. He swung up onto his new bike and began to roll.
    “Come back anytime!” I called after him as he rode away. “And get a helmet! Tomorrow! ”
    He waved and I heard him call, “Thanks, Dewey!”
    Robert was just down the driveway and out of sight when I heard the telephone ringing inside our house. I pushed the barn door closed and squeezed the padlock until it clicked. Then I ran for the phone.
    “Is everyone staying healthy? Are you eating all right?” Dad asked. Together he and Mom asked a thousand questions about us kids, especially the twins. “We’re fine!” Lil said. “Today wasn’t any different than yesterday.” That part was sad when it came to Lil personally. Mom and Dad were sorry to learn that her class in Elm City was off.
    “It’s just unlucky,” Lil said, but again, I knew she was toughing it out. She covered by launching into the news that she was starting the new mural, andI heard her ask Mom about some paint, and Dad something about using the compressor to spray-paint.
    I could only assume she meant the same compressor that we used in the bike shop every day to pump flats and blow gunk out of bearing sets. The only compressor. I scrunched my brow at Vince. He let a puff of air through his lips and whispered, “Kiss that baby good-bye.”
    But soon Lil was asking about Mom and Dad. “We want to know how you are,” Lil told them. We all crowded up to