Finding Elmo by Monique Polak Read Free Book Online

“Not until we can afford it.”
    It was only when I was biking along the lakeshore that I realized Mom and Dad hadn’t even mentioned Elmo, or asked how the search was going.
    I’d expected Sapna, but not Rodney. They were sitting on a bench outside the mall. I’d phoned Sapna when I got home thenight before to tell her I needed her help again.
    â€œI like feeling useful,” she’d told me. “That’s how I feel when I help my great-uncle. That poor man works too hard. Especially for someone his age.”
    â€œHey, Phantom, whatcha doing here so early?” I asked Rodney. “Don’t tell me your mom’s already out of groceries.”
    â€œShe had an er-pointment,” Rodney said.
    â€œA-ppointment,” Sapna corrected him.
    â€œWhatever,” I told them. “Look, I need to fill you two in on the plan. I’m headed up there,” I said, raising my eyes to the second floor of the office building.
    Sapna frowned. “The building’s not complete. There’ll be no one there but construction workers. Why would they have your bird?”
    â€œRodney noticed lights up there last night.”
    Rodney’s chest puffed up like a sparrow’s. “What do you want us to do?” he asked.
    â€œJust keep an eye out. In case.”
    â€œIn case what?” Rodney wanted to know.
    â€œIn case, you know, something happens... or I take too long.”
    Rodney’s eyes had turned big. “You’re not going to disappear, are you?”
    â€œOf course not,” Sapna said, patting him on the shoulder.
    As I walked toward the office building, I turned to look back at the mall. Sapna got up from the bench. “I’m going to check on things at Tandoori Palace,” I heard her tell Rodney. “You keep watch until I’m back. Is that clear, superhero?”
    There weren’t any workers on the scaffolding, but once I got inside the building, I heard hammering coming from upstairs. The air smelled like white glue.
    The ground floor had walls, but there was a gaping hole where the elevator was going to be. I looked around—past piles of two by fours, and bags of cement—until I spotted a stairwell. I stood still when the hammering stopped; when it started up again, I made a run for the stairwell.
    I’d come up with a story in case someone found me. It wasn’t very good, but hey, I was under pressure. I’d say I’d had a fight with my dad and that I’d run away. In a weird way, my story felt true. My dad and I might have had a fight if I’d told him all the stuff that was bothering me. That he didn’t seem to care about Elmo or about how I was doing. That he was distracted all the time. That he wasn’t the dad he used to be—the one who’d opened the first Four Feet and Feathers.
    The stairs were made of black metal, and I could imagine the racket I’d make if I ran up them. So I walked super slowly, taking one at a time. I was headed to the corner of the building overlooking the parking lot.
    Light streamed in onto the stairwell, but when I got to the second floor hallway, it was almost completely dark. I let my eyes adjust. A row of doors lined both sides of the hallway. The only light came from the cracks under the doors.
    Now that I was upstairs, I realized I hadn’t thought any further ahead than this.Then I remembered Mr. Singh’s advice: one ingredient at a time. Careful to make as little noise as possible, I started down the hallway. Then I heard voices.
    Men’s voices.
    I ducked back into the stairwell.
    â€œI don’t like the idea of staying too long in this place,” a gruff voice said.
    â€œNone of us do, Lyle,” a second voice answered. You could tell he was trying to calm Lyle down.
    â€œWe should have left town after the heist like we planned.” Then I heard a loud bash. Had Lyle punched a wall? I took another step back into the