Boiling Point (17 page)

The twins gasped.

“Mr. McElroy asked my grandparents lots of questions,” Peichi went on. “And showed them photos of people whom the police are looking for. Those people stole lots of valuable old stuff from museums in China. They’re using my grandparents’ store to hide some of the stuff so they don’t have to hide it in their own homes. Then they try to sell it on the black market.”

“What’s the black market?” asked Amanda.

“Um, it’s when you sell stuff that’s illegal to sell,” explained Peichi. “I just learned that yesterday. Anyway, my grandparents will keep an eye out for the bad guys. And there will be undercover cops in the store, too.”

“Cool!” cried the twins.

“That museum’s gonna be really glad to get the pendant back,” Peichi said.

“Did you get in trouble for not showing it to anyone ?” asked Molly.

“Well, I didn’t get in trouble, but I sure got a
lecture
,” replied Peichi. “From my parents and my grandma. Luckily, my grandpa didn’t say anything to me. By then I think he felt sorry for me! But I guess they thought I’d been punished enough when I thought my grandparents were going to jail, so I’m not gonna be grounded.” She giggled. “Again.”

“Peichi, you weren’t going to hide the pendant forever, were you?” Molly asked anxiously.

“No, I really wasn’t,” replied Peichi. Her expression was serious. “I had a big idea. I really was going to show it to my whole family, once everyone had gotten to the party.” She sighed. “Lately, all my big ideas have been big mistakes!”

The girls laughed.

“We have something to tell you, too,” said Amanda. “Brenda Barlow finally paid us.” She reached into the pocket of her orange camouflage cargo shorts. “Here’s some money for you.”

“Thanks!” said Peichi. “But I only made a salad.”

“You have
got
to hear what Natasha did! It’s so funny!” exclaimed Amanda. “Her dad’s a lawyer, and he wrote this
really
scary letter to Brenda Barlow, telling her that Dish would sue her if she didn’t pay up! And guess what? She paid us the very next morning, before we even woke up! She slipped the money right under the front door!”

Peichi cracked up. “Natasha did that for Dish? That is so great! Wow, so Dish has a lawyer now? This business is really taking off!”

“Seriously, though, that was really nice of Natasha. She really helped us out. We should think about asking her to be a permanent Chef Girl again,” Molly said.

Amanda nodded. “I think you’re right. But we should talk to Shawn first, when she gets back. We don’t want her to feel left out of Dish just because she’s away right now.

“Yeah ... Shawn got pretty upset with me for not e-mailing her! I felt really bad but at least she knows now that I was grounded from the computer. I still have to e-mail her and tell her the whole story about the pendant and Mr. McElroy and everything,” Peichi said.

Just then, the phone rang. As usual, Amanda was quick to answer it.

“Hello?...Oh, hi, Justin!”

“Justin!” cried Peichi and Molly. They began to giggle. Amanda waved at them as if to say,
Be quiet! He’ll hear you!

“I’m okay” said Amanda into the receiver, as her face turned bright red. “Did you get my e-mail? Good! Well, we finally got paid, so we have some money for you...
Peichi?
Yeah, she’s here. How did you know? Oh, you called her house first...Uh, sure. Here she is—”

With a little pout, Amanda handed Peichi the phone. The twins stared at her as she spoke to Justin, and she made funny little faces back at the twins.

“Hel-
l
o, Justin! What’s up?” said Peichi. “...Yeah, everything’s okay...No, why would I be mad at you?...No, I’m not mad at your dad! He’s really nice! He was really nice to my grandparents. He has such an exciting job!...Okay we’ll call you if we ever need another cook. And we’ll drop off your money ... Bye!” She hung up.

“What did he say?” asked Amanda.

“He was worried that I’d be mad at him because of his dad,” said Peichi.

“Aw!
That’s so cute,” said Molly.

“And he wants to cook with us again if we need him.”

“Wow!” said Amanda.

“Oh, really,” said Molly. She didn’t sound too thrilled.

Amanda snatched the phone.

“Hello?” she said, secretly hoping it would be Justin again. But it wasn’t. It was a voice Amanda had never heard before. She made a face at the others that said,
Oh,
no!

“Yes, this is the number for Dish,” Amanda replied. “Oh, you heard about us from Ms. Barlow?... That’s nice...” Molly and Peichi began to look anxiously at each other.

“Excuse me? I have to put you on hold for a minute,” said Amanda. “Okay.” She covered the mouthpiece tightly with her hand. “It’s another new client!” she said.

Suddenly, the three girls began to giggle. And they couldn’t stop!

“We need a break!” whispered Amanda. “Right? I know I do! Please?”

“Right!” said Molly.

“It’s
unanimous!”
said Peichi, and the girls started snickering again.

Amanda removed her hand from the receiver. “Hello?” she said. “I’m sorry, we’re all booked up for now!... Right. Um, thank you for calling, though! Bye-bye.”

“Whew
,
”
said Molly and Peichi.

As Peichi and Molly watched in disbelief, Amanda leaned back in the chaise lounge.

She slowly sipped her soda.

And let the phone ring until it stopped.

The Chef Girls are looking out for you! Here are some things you should know if you want to cook. (Remember to ask your parents if you can use knives and the stove!)

1. Tie back long hair so that it won’t get into the food or in the way as you work.

2. Don’t wear loose-fitting clothing that could drag in the food or on the stove burners.

3. Never cook in bare feet or open-toed shoes. Something sharp or hot could drop on your feet.

4. Always wash your hands with soap before you handle food.

5. Read through the recipe before you start. Gather your ingredients together and measure them before you begin.

6. Turn pot handles so that they won’t get knocked off the stove.

7. Use wooden spoons to stir hot liquids. Metal spoons can become very hot.

8. When cutting or peeling food, cut away from your hands.

9. Cut food on a cutting board, not the countertop.

10. Hand someone a knife with the knifepoint pointing to the floor.

11. Clean up as you go. It’s safer and neater.

12. Always use a dry pot holder to remove something hot from the oven. You could get burned with a wet one, since wet ones retain heat.

13. Make sure that any spills on the floor are cleaned up right away, so that you don’t slip and fall.

14. Don’t put knives in clean-up water. You could reach into the water and cut yourself.

15. Use a wire rack to cool hot baking dishes to avoid scorch marks on the countertop.