Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit Read online

  “Good afternoon, everyone.” Randi found it hard to believe Cameron Landers was the mayor of Deer Creek. At least ten years younger than her father, he looked like a mannequin from a ritzy Manhattan department store. He usually dressed like one, too. But this afternoon he’d paired black combat boots with his beige linen suit. He must have been worried that his fancy dress shoes would get covered in dirt. “I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all the hard work you’ve done in preparation for Deer Creek’s two hundredth birthday celebration.”

  Shop owners whistled and applauded from their doorways.

  “In just a moment, you will witness history as Sheriff Ogle and I unveil the capsule that our honored guests have unearthed,” the mayor said proudly. “It will then be transferred to the county jail for safekeeping. Next Sunday at noon, our legendary time capsule will be opened by the . . .”

  Without warning, Angus McCarthy pushed a wheelbarrow across the sidewalk on the opposite side of the park and onto the grass. Toot McCarthy’s only son and the owner of the Bait ’n’ Tackle Shop, Angus was also known as the meanest man in town. The locals stepped aside when they saw him. They knew the old man wouldn’t hesitate to run down anyone in his path. However, it was probably his cargo that worried them most. Inside McCarthy’s wheelbarrow was a burlap sack. And inside that sack, something was wriggling.

  The Secret Service agents blocked the wheelbarrow before it reached the monument. But that didn’t stop Angus McCarthy. He simply untied his sack and let its contents take over. Out scuttled an agitated skunk. It slipped between two agents’ legs and made a beeline for the mayor.

  “This whole show stinks to high heaven!” McCarthy shouted. “What’s going on behind that fence? You hiding something from the rest of us? Go get ’im, Rosebud! Show that fancy-pants college boy how we deal with trespassin’ scoundrels!”

  The Secret Service agents scrambled at the sight of the skunk. Two of them knocked over the fence in their rush to escape, exposing the hole that had been hidden behind it. Meanwhile, Rosebud chased the mayor around the small park. Just as Cameron Landers reached the farmers’ market, he tripped over a clump of purple petunias and slid headfirst into the stand selling Sheriff Ogle’s honey. Glass shattered, honey oozed, and while the mayor struggled to free himself from the sticky spillage, Rosebud lifted her tail and sprayed.

  “Good girl!” Angus McCarthy cackled. “Now go get the rest of ’em!”

  For the next few minutes, chaos reigned. Kids and adults screeched and scattered. Randi and her dad ducked inside Prufrock’s for cover. The only one who seemed to have kept her cool was the sheriff. She grabbed an empty apple basket from the farmers’ market and went after the odiferous critter. Randi had to admit that the sheriff was remarkably fast for someone shaped like a jelly bean. And when the skunk scrambled over a park bench, the sheriff leaped over it too. She caught the skunk just as it tried to slink past the fallen fence that surrounded the monument and trapped it beneath the upside-down basket.

  Sheriff Ogle held the basket in place with one foot, and Randi saw her take a peek into the hole. When the sheriff finally sat down to catch her breath, a hundred people spilled out of the shops on the square. Most were applauding. One was shouting.

  “Arrest Angus McCarthy, Sheriff! Arrest him!” the mayor demanded, his suit and boots dripping with honey. Everyone gathered around the sheriff held their noses as he drew near.

  “Ain’t illegal to own a skunk, Cameron,” the sheriff panted. “Besides, I’m afraid we’ve got bigger problems than Angus’s pets. You know where the time capsule is?”

  “Of course I do!” the mayor exclaimed. “It’s still down there in that hole. We never even got a chance to pull it out.”

  “Then take a look and tell me if you see the same thing I do. ’Cause it looks to me like our time capsule is gone.”

  * * *

  Go to Appendix B to complete the Ninja Task!

  * * *

  CHAPTER FIVE

  * * *

  POI: PERSONS OF INTEREST

  A crowd gathered around the fence and peered down into empty hole behind it. It wasn’t very deep—or very wide for that matter—but it was definitely empty.

  “The capsule is gone!” Mayor Landers gasped in disbelief, swatting at the flies that swarmed his honey-coated suit. “What happened?”

  One of the Secret Service agents stepped forward to offer an official report. “The monument was moved at precisely twelve hundred hours. My fellow agents and I were preparing to relocate the time capsule to the Deer Creek jail when a man released a skunk. The animal appeared to respond to the name Rosebud. Its owner was Caucasian, approximately sixty to sixty-five years of age. Six feet tall with graying—”

  “I know what he looks like! He’s standing right there!” The mayor pointed at Angus McCarthy. “What did you and your men do when he set the skunk loose?”

  “We took cover, sir,” the agent responded.

  “And you?” The mayor wheeled around to face the sheriff.

  “I apprehended the skunk,” Sheriff Ogle answered. “That would be SOP, your honor.”

  “SOP?”

  “Standard operating procedure, sir.”

  “Why wasn’t anyone watching the capsule?” the mayor stormed.

  “I suppose we never thought anyone would make off with it,” the sheriff said.

  Mrs. Prufrock shook her head as if she couldn’t believe what had happened. “It can’t be gone! The president is coming next week to open it!”

  Randi glanced around at the crowd. Judging by their horrified expressions, they’d been counting on the president’s visit and the attention it would bring to the town. Randi knew none of them could have been responsible. They all had too much to lose.

  “Can we still have the time capsule opening ceremony?” someone asked.

  “Without a time capsule? Looks like y’all are just gonna have to cancel Founders’ Day,” Angus McCarthy said, sounding anything but heartbroken. “I knew he was gonna find a way to call it off somehow. Y’all should have known better than to trust a fancy-pants college boy like Landers.”

  The crowd turned on him in an instant.

  “This is your fault, you miserable old coot,” Mrs. Prufrock snapped. “That capsule would still be here if it wasn’t for you and your skunk. In fact, now that I think of it, I bet you were the one who took it. I bet you planned all of this so the rest of us would go broke and lose our property the way you lost yours!”

  “You saw what happened just now, and you think I was the one who took the durn capsule?” McCarthy countered.

  An idea popped into Randi’s head. She grabbed a pad and a pen from her backpack and quickly sketched out a diagram of the crime scene.

  As she drew, she could sense the rage spreading through the crowd. And by her estimation, Angus had gotten close enough to steal the capsule during the confusion. Randi stopped and looked over at her dad. She could tell from the way he stood with his arms crossed that he didn’t like where things were headed.

  “Did anyone actually see Angus take the capsule?” he asked the angry mob. No one answered. “Well then, let’s not convict him just yet. Sheriff Ogle hasn’t even had a chance to investigate. And Angus might have a point. Perhaps we should consider postponing—”

  “We’re not all rich writers like you, Herb Rhodes,” someone broke in. “Deer Creek needs visitors here spending money as quickly as possible! If you postpone the festival, you might as well foreclose on the whole town. And that’s exactly what Angus McCarthy wants.”

  Mayor Landers raised his hands to quiet the crowd. “Folks, we’re getting way ahead of ourselves. Rest assured, the Founders’ Day Festival will take place as scheduled. I have the utmost faith in Sheriff Ogle, and there’s no doubt in my mind that the time capsule will be recovered in the next seventy-two hours.”

  With that, he switched off the microphone and beckoned Sheriff Ogle over. A couple of Secret Service agents hovered
nearby. Randi inched closer.

  “That’s all I can give you,” she heard the mayor tell the sheriff. “Three days.”

  “I’ll find it,” Sheriff Ogle assured him, though she didn’t sound confident.

  “I hope so. Because otherwise, I’ll have to convene an emergency town council meeting to consider postponing the festival. For goodness’ sake, Mildred, how could you let this happen?”

  “I’m sorry, Cam,” the sheriff replied. “I . . .”

  But the mayor had already turned to leave. A halo of flies were still flitting above him.

  While Sheriff Ogle watched the mayor stomp off, Randi edged closer to the fence to get a better look at the empty hole.

  Her father peered over her shoulder. “Well, what do you think?”

  “It was there, all right.” Randi pointed into the hole. It was a few feet deep and a couple of feet wide, and the bottom was lined with a sheet of black slate. On the surface of the slate was a clean, black square surrounded by two hundred years’ worth of dust. “Looks like the capsule was just a small box. I’d say six by six inches.”

  “Too tiny for a treasure chest,” Herb noted.

  “That depends on the treasure.”

  “Excellent point,” her father said, and Randi thought she detected a hint of pride in his voice. “Hey! Be careful!”

  Randi ignored him while she scampered past the fallen fence. She squatted down to inspect the monument and the hole that had once held the capsule. The grass around the boulder had been flattened by the backhoe and at least three sets of shoes. There were three faint marks on one side of the rock. They appeared to match the crowbars that the agents had dropped. There was no evidence that anyone had ever tried to move the monument before.

  Randi shrugged off her backpack and took out her camera. She moved quickly, expecting her dad to order her to stop, but he didn’t say a word. She snapped pictures of the hole, the boulder, and the surrounding area.

  “Where’d you learn how to investigate a crime scene?” Herb asked from above.

  “From you,” Randi replied.

  “You’re doing pretty well for a detective on her very first case.”

  “Who said it was my first?” Randi grumbled, but her dad didn’t seem to hear.

  “Find any clues yet?” he joked.

  “Miranda Rhodes, you step away from that crime scene! You want to get me in hot water with the mayor?” It was Sheriff Ogle. She leaned in close as she helped Randi over the fence. “Well, did you?” she whispered conspiratorially.

  “What?”

  “Find any clues!”

  “Nope,” Randi said. “Though it looks to me like it was a crime of opportunity. Someone took advantage of the commotion to make off with the capsule. Judging by the size of the outline it left in the dust, the box might have been small enough to fit under a jacket.”

  “But who on earth would have taken it?” the sheriff moaned. “There hasn’t been a single theft in Deer Creek since 2002! People round here don’t even lock their doors.”

  “Then maybe you should start looking for people who aren’t from around here,” Randi said, scanning the crowd for suspicious-looking characters. Glenn Street always did the same thing, she remembered. Criminals were often drawn back to the scene of their crime.

  Randi’s eyes landed on a tall, skinny black boy. He was staring right back at her.

  City boy, she thought. No doubt about it. The latest sneakers and not a spot of dirt on them. A style of jeans that they sold at only the priciest stores in Brooklyn. A Red Sox cap with the brim bent just so. He must be from Boston. And judging by that scowl on his face, he’d love to still be there. So what’s he doing down here?

  They held each other’s gaze for a moment. Then the boy waded into what was left of the dispersing crowd and disappeared into the farmers’ market on the other side of the square.

  Randi started to hurry after him when her dad caught her by the arm.

  “Where are you rushing off to?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye. “Following a lead?”

  As usual, it was all a big joke to him. “I’m just going to hang out here a bit longer.”

  “Not too long,” Herb Rhodes said. “Be home before dark. And stay out of trouble.”

  “Stay out of trouble? I wouldn’t even know where to find it in this boring old town,” Randi replied.

  But as Randi made her way toward the farmers’ market she could feel her heart pounding fast, like it did whenever she took on a new case. Along the way, she passed Angus McCarthy loading the skunk-filled apple basket into the back of his truck.

  “I didn’t take nothing!” the old man was grumbling.

  We’ll see about that, Randi thought as Angus got in his truck and drove off. You’re number one on my list of suspects. Expect a visit from me soon.

  When she reached the market, Randi stopped to survey the scene. The boy from Boston was long gone. Everyone else was a local, except for a woman working at the Guyton Orchards stand and an unfamiliar kid selling caramel-covered apples.

  He was short and olive-toned, with unruly dark hair held back by a yellow martial arts belt that he was using as a headband. The kid’s a white belt if anything, she thought. Only a beginner would disrespect a belt that way. Then the kid reached up to adjust the belt. Before he covered his ear, Randi noticed a piece of plastic tucked inside. A hearing aid. That’s why he wears his hair long. He’s trying to hide it.

  The woman came over to deliver a bowlful of apples, all freshly washed and ready for dipping. She had black hair cut pixie short and a pretty face. Randi had assumed the woman was wearing long sleeves, but now she could see that both the lady’s arms were covered in elaborate tattoos. The boy’s mom, Randi quickly deduced. And one thing’s for sure. She didn’t get those tattoos around here. Two more suspects for the list. Let’s see what they have to say.

  Randi got in line for one of the caramel-covered apples. Just as she reached the table, she was shoved to one side. Amber-Grace Sutton, the town’s spoiled-rotten Catfish Queen, had appeared out of nowhere with Stevie Rogers and his dim-witted posse.

  “Nice manners, Sutton,” Randi growled. “Now get to the back of the line.”

  “Did you just hear someone say something?” Amber-Grace asked Stevie.

  Randi remembered the story about Stevie’s ghostly encounter at Rock Hollow. Sure enough, his left arm was black-and-blue above the elbow.

  “Four caramel apples. Three with nuts, one without,” Stevie demanded.

  The kid behind the table didn’t budge. “You’ll have to wait your turn.”

  Stevie wriggled his fingers as if using sign language. “Didn’t you hear me, deaf boy? I told you to give me four of those apples.”

  “And I said you’ll have to wait your turn.”

  “Never mind, Stevie,” Amber-Grace chimed in sweetly. “Is that your mama with all the tattoos?” she asked the boy.

  The kid narrowed his eyes and nodded.

  “Then I think I just lost my appetite. I wouldn’t eat anything that’s been touched by that freak.”

  Randi couldn’t let the insult pass. “Who are you calling a freak, Amber-Grace? You know why they make you Queen of the Catfish every year? ’Cause you look just like one.”

  Amber-Grace whipped around, tossing her long blond hair. “You’re just jealous, Randi Rhodes, ’cause you’re a redheaded Yankee scarecrow who’ll never be pretty enough to be named queen of anything.”

  Randi sucked in her cheeks and made a fish face. The boy behind the counter chuckled. Even Stevie looked away to hide the involuntary grin that had spread across his face. Round one went to Randi.

  “Don’t just stand there, you idiot!” Amber-Grace swatted Stevie on his injured arm, and the bully took a menacing step toward Randi.

  “You want a little more of what I gave you two years ago?” Randi asked as her hands formed two solid fists.

  “Now, kids,” said a deep voice behind them. “Can’t we try to get a
long?”

  Randi spun around to see a silver-haired gentleman in a pin-striped suit. It was Dean Sutton, Amber-Grace’s father and owner of the Deer Creek Bank. “Amber-Grace, I thought you were supposed to be practicing for the pageant. How are you going to fit into that dress we bought you if you keep eating all those candied apples? Now run along, princess. I’ve got business here.”

  Amber-Grace and Randi held each other’s gaze like sworn enemies. The Queen of the Catfish was the first to blink.

  “Let’s go,” she snarled, and the bullies obediently followed behind her.

  “Your mama around?” Mr. Sutton asked the kid behind the table. “Much obliged,” he said when the boy mutely pointed to the spot where his mother stood frozen, staring at Mr. Sutton like she’d just seen a ghost.

  “I hate Amber-Grace!” Randi stormed once the man was gone. “She thinks she runs this town just because her dad owns the bank! Ooh, and don’t get me started on that oaf Stevie Rogers!” She stopped and took a breath. “Anyway, who are you?” It sounded tougher than she’d intended.

  “Um, I’m . . . uh . . . Dario, Dario Cruz,” the boy stammered. “But most people call me D.C.”

  “I’m Randi.”

  “I know,” D.C. mumbled.

  “How?” Randi asked suspiciously.

  “That girl said it.”

  “Oh yeah.” Randi let down her guard a little. “You from around here?”

  “Nuh-uh, Nashville.”

  “And where were you ten minutes ago when the time capsule disappeared?”

  “Right here dipping apples. My mom wouldn’t let me leave work to watch. This is our stand. We bought the Guyton Orchard last fall.”

  “Then I live just down the road from you. We have the blue cottage at the end of Poplar Lane,” Randi said. Now that the kid was no longer a suspect, she felt free to give him a grin. But he didn’t even seem to notice. His attention was focused on something behind her. Randi glanced over her shoulder and saw D.C.’s mom talking to Mr. Sutton. The woman was clearly upset.