Fairplay, Denver Cereal Volume 6 by Claudia Hall Christian Read Free Book Online

the parents could respond, the
second man picked up Paddie and started to carry him off.
    “ That’s my old Daddy’s
father,” Katy said. “Mommy thinks he can’t walk.”
    “ Don’t do anything,” Colin
said in her ear.
    Katy was too terrified to respond. They
watched the man carrying Paddie meet another man. They looked over
their shoulder and continued toward the Museum of Nature and
Science parking lot.
    “ They don’t want Paddie,”
Katy whispered. “They want me.”
    “ You and Paddie aren’t the
only ones who can make secret plans,” Colin said.
    “ But I can hurt them
really bad,” Katy looked into Colin’s face. Colin looked into
Katy’s worried dark eyes.
    “ I thought you could,”
Colin said. “I’ve seen your Daddy move all kinds of things when he
thinks no one is watching. Let’s watch together.”
    “ Colin?” Julie, Paddie’s
Mom, said. “They are getting pretty far.”
    “ Please wait. We’re going
to get all of them,” Colin said.
    “ Col? That’s my baby,” Julie said.
“If anything…”
    With one man ahead, and two men behind, the
man carrying Paddie moved up the grass hill toward the
sidewalk.
    “ Can you make them slip?”
Colin whispered in her ear.
    “ I need my hand,” Katy
said.
    Colin loosened the towel enough for Katy to
get her hand free. Her fingers imitated legs walking fast. She made
her finger legs slip and the man carrying Paddie fell. Sliding
backward down the hill, the man holding Paddie knocked over the men
following him. Floating on a cushion of air, Paddie giggled with
glee.
    “ I bet that hurt,” Colin
said.
    The man walking ahead tried to grab Paddie.
Katy made her finger legs fall over. The man fell on his face. He
slid down the hill into the other men.
    Paddie ran free. Paddie was running toward
Katy and his parents when a woman rushed down the steps toward
him.
    “ That’s my old Daddy’s
Mommy,” Katy said. “Can I?”
    “ I think Paddie’s got
this,” Colin said.
    With the woman on his tail, Paddie ran
straight into the splash fountain. The water cannons shot into the
air in a random fashion around him. The woman dodged and weaved
around the water.
    “ Go ahead,” Colin
whispered in Katy’s ear.
    The water cannons under the woman shot up at
the same time. Squealing with laughter, Paddie danced into his
mother Julie’s arms. She was so happy to have him back that she
didn’t care that he was dripping wet. When Katy looked up, there
were some familiar-looking men and women in dark blue suits and
dark sunglasses picking up the bad men. Katy turned off the water
at the splash fountain so that the really big man who was Teddy’s
friend could grab Trevor’s mother. Paddie’s mother kissed and
fussed over him. Paddie shot Katy a sly look. She smiled at
him.
    “ But why did they take
Paddie and not me?” Katy asked Colin. “They want me.”
    “ They can get money for
Paddie and come for you next weekend,” Colin said.
    “ Like a movie?”
    “ Like a kidnapping ring.
By taking Paddie, it wouldn’t be obvious they were trying to steal
you from your Mommy and Daddy.”
    “ How did you know they
wanted to steal me?” Katy asked.
    “ Your Daddy and Mommy said
something to me,” Colin said. “You’re not the only one who’s been
watching.”
    “ Oh.”
    Katy had worked really
hard to keep her Mommy and Daddy from knowing people wanted to
steal her. She knew it would really, really, really make her Mommy
sad. And that would make Katy really, really, really sad. It just
never occurred to Katy that any grown
up would deal with these awful
people.
    “ You’ve been thinking
about this for a long time,” Colin said.
    Katy nodded. Colin hugged her.
    “ You don’t have to worry
anymore,” Colin said. “They won’t bother you or your Mommy
anymore.”
    “ Can we go to the zoo
now?” Paddie said. Impatient, he squirmed from his mother’s tight
clench.
    “ Let’s go!” Colin
said.
    “ What about…?” Katy