Finders Keepers (17 page)

“Here?” Amelia said. “There's money
here
?”

We all heard it at once—the sound of a car coming up the driveway. Travis peeked through the blinds. “It's a police car!”

“Oh my God!” Amelia gasped. “What are we going to say?”

“Just stay quiet!” Matt said.

A car door opened and shut. I'd never noticed the sound of breathing until that moment. My breath seemed even louder than my heartbeat, and my heartbeat could've been a drum.

There was a knock at the door.

Matt held his finger against his lips.

Another knock—this one louder.

Alex mouthed a question to me: “Is the door locked?”

It wasn't.

“Anyone there?” Duncan called from outside.

I leaped toward the door, thinking I could quickly and quietly turn the lock, but I was too slow. Duncan opened the door. I froze, but so did he. The sheriff's eyes snapped back and forth from me to Alex.

“How'd you get here?” His voice rumbled.

In a blur, Matt jumped in front of me, slammed the door, and turned the lock. Duncan banged on the door. “Don't listen to those two. They're full of lies! Open up!”

“You're the liar,” Alex yelled. “Just wait 'til everyone finds out what you did!”

The sheriff's voice got fast and higher pitched. “Let's talk about this. Matt Miller, I know you're in there. Listen to me. Those kids are up to no good. Open the door and I'll explain everything.”

Lara whispered, “Let's call 9-1-1.”

“Are you kidding?” Travis said. “The call will go to him.”

Duncan pounded harder. “You want trouble? Because you'll get it!”

“What are we going to do?” Amelia asked.

“I will kick this door down!” Duncan yelled.

My brain kicked into gear. “We can crawl out the window in Mom and Dad's bedroom. It's the only way.”

Everyone followed me into my parents' room. Matt popped off the screen, and one by one he boosted us up and out. He jumped down to the ground and said, “Duncan's kicking at the door. Now what?”

Lara grabbed Matt's arm. “If the money is under the cabin, how's he going to get it?”

“We don't have time to think about that,” Travis said. “We've got to get out of here.”

Amelia patted her back pocket. “I've got my car keys and my phone.”

“We can't go to the driveway. He'll see us,” I said.

“Okay,” Amelia said. “So we'll make a run for the woods. There might be a boat docked at the landing. If not, we'll run to the cabins toward the east side of the lake.”

From inside the cabin it sounded like the door was breaking open. Matt looked in the window. “He's inside. Run!”

We ran across the yard and into the waist-high weeds leading to the woods. The weeds scratched our legs and tangled around our feet, but we moved quickly into the cover of trees. We stopped and huddled together.

Duncan's voice cut through the night. “If you come out now, I won't even give you a ticket.”

“Don't answer,” Amelia whispered. “He might give up and go away.”

“Those little kids are confused. Whatever they told you, they got it wrong.” I couldn't hear his movement over the song of crickets and frogs, but his voice sounded closer. Amelia squeezed my shoulder. I leaned into her and inhaled. Her weird body spray filled me up, and I felt calm for a few seconds.

Then his words came faster. “You want to end up in juvenile court? Your parents will be madder than hell. You'll ruin your chance for college. You'll … have a record … and you won't be able to get jobs. You'll be poor. And jail! You'll go to jail! I can make that happen. I can. You don't want that.”

“He's not making any sense,” Matt said.

“He knows he's been caught, and he's not backing down,” Amelia said. “Come on, let's go. There's almost always a boat at the landing. If there aren't keys, we'll use the emergency oars. Once we're on the lake he won't be able to get us.”

We started running again. The weeds rustled as creatures scattered and ran from us. My heart pounded faster than my footsteps. What if there wasn't a boat at the landing? What if there was a boat, but it was just a two-person canoe?

“Stop! I mean it!” Duncan's voice was getting closer.

The night grew darker as the trees thickened. Branches slapped against my face, and my ankles burned from thistle. I heard an “oomph!” from Lara as she slammed into a tree.

“I think my nose is bleeding,” she cried.

“Get behind me in a line,” Amelia said. She held out her arms, feeling in front of her, and guided us carefully but quickly through brush and branches. “Hurry!”

Duncan yelled, “I've got a Taser and I'll use it!”

I wondered how close he'd have to be for a Taser to shock us. He was catching up while we seemed to be slowing down. The ground was clogged with brush. The weeds scratched my legs from my ankles to the bottom of my shorts.

Finally the trees spread apart and became open ground. We reached the blacktop driveway where people put boats into the lake. Westman's boat landing.

The dock was empty. No boat. No canoe. Not even an inner tube.

“Now what?” Alex asked.

The trees rustled behind us.

“Now what?” Alex repeated.

There were two places to go: the road, where we'd be in the open, or the water, which was cloaked in darkness. Duncan didn't give us a choice. He popped out of the trees and stood between us and the road.

Amelia yelled, “Get in the lake! We'll … we'll swim somewhere.”

We plunged into the water. I'd never been in the lake at night. The water was dark and terrible, as dark and terrible as the tunnel, nothing like its gentle ripple on a hot afternoon. Cold shot from my ankles to my waist to my chest.

“Swim out 'til he can't see us,” Amelia said.

Duncan called to us, “Don't be stupid! It doesn't have to be like this.”

“Alex can't swim!” I splashed until I had Alex's arm.

Matt glided between us. “Kick off your shoes. They'll weigh you down.”

Alex gasped. “I can't go any deeper. I can't reach.”

“We've got to get farther away.” Matt tugged at Alex. “I don't know what will happen if he shocks us with that Taser while we're in the water.”

Travis asked, “How far out?”

“I don't know,” Matt said. “He's got a gun, too. Just keep going.”

Duncan waved his flashlight at us. “Fine, fine. What happens now is
your
fault. There's nowhere for you to go. You can't make it across the lake, and you can't tread water for long. You might as well come back. I've got all the time in the world.”

Alex yelled, “You could've killed us in that freezer! We could have suffocated!”

“You should've stayed out of the way! I've been after that money since I was a kid. You think you can just wander into my town and look for my money?”

“You're going to jail!” Alex's head bobbed, making him swallow and spit up water. Matt tried to calm him while Duncan laughed and said, “Sorry, kid. You're wrong.”

Alex's head bobbed again. I started to tread water because I could no longer touch bottom. “I'll help you, Alex. Hang on to my shoulders.” My voice shook because I didn't really know how to help him. I didn't know if I could swim for both of us. My parents never let me swim in the lake without a life jacket.

“No, Christa. He'll drag you underwater,” Matt said. “Alex, hold my shoulders. Not so tight! Better. Okay, kick with me.”

My body was heavy. I put my right foot against the shoe on my left heel and pushed the shoe off. I did the same to my right shoe. Matt was right. I felt lighter.

We swam into deeper water.

“I can keep you pinned down until you can't swim anymore,” Duncan called from behind the beam of his flashlight.

“And how are you going to explain that?” Matt said. “You can't. You're not thinking straight! Get out of here while you can, Duncan!”

“Get out of that water while
you
can!”

Travis's voice came from yards away. I couldn't even see him. “There's six of us and one of you. Who do you think people will believe?”

“It's easy to explain. A group of careless teenagers leave on the gas oven and take off for a joyride. They steal a boat and speed around the lake at night. No light on the boat. No life jackets. No common sense. The cabin burns down, and the kids have a boating accident and drown. A tragedy.”

Lara shouted, “That's insane! Nobody will believe you.”

“You mean the police won't believe me?” Duncan yelled back. “Kids, I am the police!”

My arms and legs felt heavy. Alex gulped and coughed water. Matt grunted as he tried to swim with Alex clinging to his back.

“Is Alex okay?” I swam closer to Matt and Alex.

Alex said, “I can float. I don't need to swim.”

“Good idea, buddy.” Matt's words came between strained breaths. “Get on your back and let go of me. I'll stay right here.”

“You okay, Matt?” Travis yelled.

“Nothing like a refreshing nighttime swim!” Matt's voice was not as lighthearted as his words.

My arms moved in the shape of an eight, treading water to keep me afloat. I felt cold from my neck to my toes, and I was getting tired. I wondered what my parents would think if Duncan's plan worked. Would they believe him because I was immature? Would they think I'm the type of kid who'd forget a hot oven and let a cabin catch fire? They'd never believe Amelia could be so careless.

Then my heart about stopped. “Where's Amelia? Amelia? Where is she?”

I was close enough to see Matt's eyes go wide. Matt, Travis, and Lara started to call for her. Amelia hadn't been swimming in the lake for two years. She wasn't strong anymore. She wasn't used to the cold gripping her muscles. Whitefish Lake was deep—more than one hundred feet in some spots. The lake warmed slightly in the summer heat, but the deep spots were cold. Already my hands were numb.

Matt grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him and Alex. “Okay, Alex, you're floating. Don't stop floating. I've got to find her.”

Matt swam toward Lara and Travis. Their voices seemed to float into the sky and fade in the darkness.

Alex's teeth chattered.

“You'll stay warmer if you move instead of float,” I gasped.

“I'm okay. I have to be okay because Grandpa will want to see me later. Just like Amelia will want to see you later.”

“Amelia should be answering them by now!”

Duncan's voice broke through the calls for Amelia. “One kid down, five to go!”

“I hate you! I—” My screams stopped with a mouthful of water.

“Pretend Duncan isn't here,” Alex said. “I'm not letting myself hear him. I'm not letting myself think about the water.” I felt his hand on mine. “Christa, look at the stars.”

“I'm so cold.”

“It's not c-c-c-cold at all!” Alex shivered. “It's like the sun is pounding on us.”

“I'm so tired.”

“Float with me and look at the stars.” Alex pulled on my arm. “Don't listen to anything. Just look at the s-s-s-stars. Look straight up. The stars make the shape of a Christmas tree. See it?”

I gulped water and coughed.

“Christa, float. Just lean back and look up.”

I pressed back into the water and floated, squeezing Alex's hand. I could hear Lara, Travis, and Matt splashing around, yelling Amelia's name, but they seemed far away.

“Do you see it, Christa? Do you s-s-s-see the Christmas tree?”

I whispered, “I don't see a tree. I see a bow and arrow.”

“I see a cat's face and whiskers.”

“I see a birthday cake.”

“I'm not c-c-cold,” he said through shivers. “Not at all.”

“Me neither.”

“Do you see the hand and the flame from the Statue of Liberty?”

“Where's my s-s-s-sister, Alex?”

“Just keep looking,” he said. “I see … lights. I see lights.”

“I see—”

“No, I mean I see lights!” His hand jerked away from me, and he pointed to the boat landing. A beam of light turned from the road onto Westman's landing. A car. Duncan's shape turned into a silhouette in the headlights.

The engine roared. Tires squealed. The car lurched forward. In a blink, the car smashed into the sheriff and sent him airborne. He rolled over the windshield and landed in a heap in the weeds. The car stopped with the front wheels just short of the lake.

The door opened, and Amelia stepped out. Amelia My Sister.

 

FANTASTIC AND JUST LIKE THAT

After Amelia knocked out Sheriff Duncan, Matt ran through the trees to the Clarks' house and called his grandfather, Mr. Walt Miller, who sent police officers from the next town. They carted Duncan away in an ambulance.

Amelia told us how she'd swum toward the cabin, crawled to the shore when she was out of sight, and ran like a bullet to get the car. Her phone was dead, but the keys were still tucked in her back pocket.

Mom and Dad drove back from Duluth while Neil and Sally got on a plane in Arizona.

After Mr. Walt Miller called the cops from the next town, he raced to Hayward and broke into the library with an ax to save Grumpa. The ambulance took Grumpa to the emergency room, and doctors there transferred him to the big hospital in Duluth.

Alex and his parents got to see Grumpa the next day. Alex told me Neil patted Grumpa on the shoulder and said he was a heck of a fighter, and Grumpa actually laughed and fake-boxed with Alex.

So everything turned out. We did not suffocate in a freezer or get buried in a tunnel. We didn't crash the ATV on the highway or drown in the lake. Grumpa did not die in the library basement. The fact that we knew where Al Capone's long-lost loot was buried was like having dessert after dessert.