The Trimoni Twins and the Shrunken Treasure (9 page)

“What did he say?” Mimi asked Hector.

“I'm not sure,” Hector said to the twins. “But I think he said that Wiliken should live the rest of his years as a donkey.” He shrugged. “Either that or he said he looked like a baboon. I'm still a little slow on the translating.”

“It was the baboon, nephew,” Uncle Hoogaboom confirmed.

Wiliken snorted. “This is from a guy who spills his guts to Slear about our family?” He eyed the doorway to the hall. “And he calls
me
a baboon?”

Uncle Hoogaboom had grown quiet. “I've never liked that man,” he said. “And there are very few people I can say that about.” He took a deep breath and glanced at his watch. Then it was as if he had forgotten all about Edwin
and
telling them about the treasure.

“Look at the time! It's almost nine. Well, now, I think I'm going to call it a day.” He tapped his watch with one finger. “I am an old man, after all, and need my rest.”

He waved a finger in the air. “I have an excellent idea. Hector, after you and the girls have been to the flea market tomorrow, come by the house. Wiliken will join us, and we'll have dinner and finish talking.” He smiled mischievously. “Besides, I have a surprise to show you!”

“Surprise?” Hector started, but Uncle Hoogaboom was already headed for the door.

He nodded firmly to Hector as he rushed by him.
“So, it's decided then. I will see you all sometime in the afternoon.”

They stood staring at one another, speechless. Then Uncle Hoogaboom popped his head back inside the doorway. “And don't worry about Mr. Slear—he has no proof of anything. I've seen his kind come and go before. Just ignore him. Sleep well.”

That night as Beezel lay in bed at the Merlin Hotel, she went over everything Wiliken and Uncle Hoogaboom had told them about the Shrinking Coin and their families' unusual friendship. She tried to fall asleep, but one person's face kept sneaking back into her mind. It was Edwin. As she finally nodded off, she dreamed he was a giant rat nibbling at Wiliken's front door.

“Just
what
do you think you are doing?” she demanded of the Edwin in her dream.

“I'm going to find the treasure,” he said as he bit off a chunk of the door and proceeded to eat it.

“What about this one?” Mimi said as she held up a shirt in front of her sister.

“It doesn't really matter, does it?” Beezel said. It was late Monday morning and they were going to go to the Noordermarkt flea market with Hector. Beezel felt like she had been ready for days.

She and Mimi had already taken Gumdrop the dog for an early walk. They had played catch with her back in the room, although Gumdrop refused to release the ball of socks they tossed her. She just kept squeezing it in her jaws.

“Of course it matters,” Mimi said as she threw the shirt down on the floor and pulled another one off a hanger in the closet. “We're going to see Wil later.”

“Wiliken,” Beezel corrected.

“
Wil
,” Mimi insisted. “When we go over to Uncle
Hoogaboom's house after the flea market, I want to look nice.” She eyed her sister. “And you should, too, Beezel. Get up and brush your hair. You look like you were dropped in a blender.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Mimi giggled. “Well, don't get grumpy about it.”

Beezel combed out her hair, rebraided it and slipped on her sneakers. Mimi was still standing in the center of a mound of clothes.

“I can't make up my mind,” Mimi said.

“Just put something on.” Beezel plucked a blue shirt from off the floor. “Here, this looks good on you.”

Mimi's face lit up. “It does?” She slipped on the shirt and her jeans. “Thanks, Beez.”

Beezel smiled at her sister. “No problem.”

Hector and the girls caught a tram that took them near Uncle Hoogaboom's house and walked the rest of the way to the Noordermarkt.

The flea market was bustling with activity. Beezel couldn't believe all the different things that were for sale: fabric, clothes, jewelry, furniture and knickknacks. The threesome spent the rest of the afternoon buying souvenirs for their family and friends in the Trimoni Circus. Beezel even found a
sequined headdress for Meredith the clairvoyant to wear while she told fortunes.

Before they headed back down the Prinsengracht to Uncle Hoogaboom's house, they wandered around inside a bookstore they discovered on the corner. Mimi went directly to the art book section. Hector found an English newspaper and a chair to read it in, and Beezel got lost in a book of photographs of the Dutch countryside.

After some time, Beezel looked out the store window and realized that the afternoon had slipped by. The flea market had packed up and gone home, and the sunlight had begun to turn the rosy shade of early evening.

She pulled Mimi away from the art books and woke Hector from where he had fallen asleep with a newspaper over his face. After buying some postcards to take home, they left to walk to Uncle Hoogaboom's house.

“I can't wait until I'm a famous artist and get to live in a place like Amsterdam!” Mimi said.

‘It's a big world with lots to see,” Hector said as he smiled at the twins. “Whichever direction you each decide to take, I hope you get to see it all.”

Beezel almost stopped walking when she heard
that, but caught herself in time. Mimi had talked about being an artist ever since she could remember. And Beezel wanted to travel and see the world. But she had never really thought about what it meant before now. When she and Mimi grew up, they wouldn't still be the Trimoni Twins, performing magic in their little circus. She walked quietly, chewing on this thought, and didn't say a word the rest of the way to Uncle Hoogaboom's shop.

Mimi opened the red door and waved hello to Gaidic, who was busy helping a customer.

“I think Wiliken is upstairs,” she called to the girls with a smile.

“Let's go get him,” Mimi said to Beezel. The twins left Hector in the detail room while they went up the stairs to Wiliken's apartment.

“Wil!” Mimi called as she knocked on the door. “It's us!”

Wiliken opened the door and smiled at them. Beezel felt her heart flutter and quickly glanced down at her shoes.

“Well, hello, you two,” he said.

“Are you coming to Uncle Hoogaboom's for dinner?” Mimi asked him.

“You bet,” Wiliken said.

“Are we too early?” Beezel asked him.

“Nah,” he said. “Hoogaboom wouldn't mind us helping him cook. Just let me find my shoes.”

The phone in the sitting room rang and Wiliken answered it. “Hallo?” he said. “Oh, hi, Stephen!” He covered the mouthpiece and said, “I'm going to take this in the den. It's my agent. Can you hang up when I get in there?” He started for the hall and stopped. “Make yourselves at home. Or you can go on down to Hoogaboom's. I won't be too long. He probably just wants to nag me about something I haven't done.” He grinned. “Maybe you guys could turn him into something for me?”

Beezel held the phone and hung up when she heard Wiliken pick up. “What should we do?” she asked her sister. “Do you want to go downstairs?”

“Not right now.” Mimi reached inside her back-pack and took out Gumdrop's plastic container.

“Oh, no, no, no,” Beezel said. “Please tell me that isn't Gumdrop.”

“Of course it is. I went back down and got her before we left. After all, I didn't see her
all day
yesterday while we were sightseeing,” Mimi said. “I couldn't leave her alone today, too.”

“Mimi,” Beezel said as she watched her sister
open the container and pour Gumdrop the ladybug onto her lap. “Don't do it … You know what Hector said.”

Ka-poof. Gumdrop was a small golden hamster. She nibbled at Mimi's fingertips.

“There,” said Mimi. “She can run around on my lap until Wiliken gets back. Then I'll ka-poof her back into a ladybug.”

Beezel marveled at Mimi's devotion to her pet. Anyone else would have left the snake at home and brought it back a souvenir at best. “Just keep an eye on her.”

Mimi let Gumdrop run up and down her sleeve. “What do you think Uncle Hoogaboom's surprise is tonight?” she asked Beezel.

“I don't know,” Beezel said. “He's acting very mysterious about it, isn't he?” She thought for a minute. “But I hope it's that we get to help search for the treasure, don't you?”

“Yes!” Mimi said as she scratched the hamster's ears. “Oh, I know! We could form two teams. You, Uncle Hoogaboom and Hector could be on one team. Wil and I could be on the other.” She nodded happily. “We'd find the treasure faster that way.”

“Why should
you
get to have Wiliken on
your
team?” Beezel asked. She felt her cheeks getting hot. “I'd like to have him on my team, too.”

“Oh.” Mimi narrowed her eyes at Beezel. “So you
like
Wil, do you? Well, I like him, too.” She nodded, sending her hair bouncing. “Besides, I saw him
first.”

“You did not!”

“Well, I
recognized
him first!” Mimi said.

“What?” Beezel couldn't believe her ears. “Just because you
recognize
someone first doesn't mean you
own
them!”

“Well, I like him
more
than you do,” Mimi said as she stood up. “Why do you always have to like the same things I do anyway?”

“
What?
” Beezel said again, standing in front of Mimi. “I don't like
any
of the same things you do. You like art, and … and …
reptiles
! I just
happen
to like Wiliken, too!” She gasped and covered her mouth. She had actually said it out loud.

Mimi's mouth dropped open. “Beezel Marie Trimoni! You have a crush on a boy!” she said disbelievingly. “You've
never
had a crush on a boy before!”

“Well,” Beezel said, blushing, “I've never met a boy like Wiliken before.”

“Well …” Mimi crossed her arms. “He's much too old for you.”

“Well, then,” Beezel said, putting her hands on her hips, “he's too old for you, too!”

The twins stood quietly facing each other. Beezel coughed and cleared her throat. She guessed this was what was meant by “an awkward moment.”

“Listen,” Beezel finally said. “I don't think he'd be interested in either one of us. We're only eleven, and he's seventeen.”

Mimi nodded at her sadly.

“Let's go down to Uncle Hoogaboom's shop and wait,” Beezel said. “I want to see his details again now that I know he shrank them.” She was trying hard not to let the anger she felt toward Mimi a moment ago creep back into her voice.

“Okay,” Mimi said. “Just let me put Gumdrop …” Her eyes widened. Mimi patted her sleeves and checked her pants legs. “Oh, no! Gumdrop fell off my lap when I stood up to yell at you!”

The girls crawled on the carpet and called for the little snake-turned-hamster. Beezel saw something golden brown scoot along the wall and behind a piano.

“Over here, Mimi!” Beezel said. She grabbed the side of the piano and pulled it away from the wall a few inches.

“There you are!” Mimi said to Gumdrop the hamster. “Come out of there, sweetie!”

But Gumdrop wasn't interested in coming out from behind the piano. She had found a hole in the wall. Gumdrop gave two quick sniffs at the entrance and then quickly disappeared inside it.

“Oh, no! We'll never get her out of there!” Mimi burst into tears. “She's gone forever this time, Beezel!”

Beezel stared at her twin. “I've got an idea.”

Mimi wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “What?” she sobbed.

“Ka-poof me and I'll go after her. But do it right now—she could get lost inside the walls.”

“But what will I change you into?” Mimi asked.

Beezel examined the hole in the wall. “A ferret,” she said. “I'll be big enough to carry Gumdrop back out once I find her and still fit through the hole. Hurry up!”

Ka-poof. Beezel was a gray ferret. She squeezed through the hole and found herself sitting on top of a large drainpipe. She sniffed the air, and for some
reason, known only to the small part of her brain that temporarily functioned in a ferretlike manner, turned left and began to run along its length.

Beezel kept a sharp eye out for the brown hamster. As she scurried along inside the wall, she passed a few dead beetles, a mouse nest and a broken glass bottle. She stopped and sniffed again. There was fresh air ahead. Her ears twitched and Beezel heard something. Something alive.

She looked down the pipe. An intersecting wall created a dead end ahead. Cut into the wall a few inches above the pipe was an air vent. Daylight streamed in through its horizontal slats, creating stripes of light. Next to the air vent, in the middle of one stripe, Beezel saw Gumdrop.

Gumdrop, standing on her hind legs, seemed completely preoccupied by a spider that had built a web from a wooden beam down to the top of the air vent.

Beezel hurried next to Gumdrop and was contemplating the best approach to grabbing her when she heard voices outside. She peered out the air vent through the spiderwebs and into the small rear garden of Wiliken's house.

Below her, she saw Edwin and Slear talking.
Beezel forgot all about her mission to save Gumdrop and listened carefully.

“You're sure they're not going to come out here?” Slear asked Edwin.

“I assure you, they are far too obsessed with their little treasure hunt indoors to even peek out the windows,” Edwin said. “Look at the state of things out here. Does it look like anyone comes outside?”

Slear glanced around the overgrown garden. “I see your point.” He put his hand on Edwin's shoulder. “Listen, I believe you now about this Shrinking Coin stuff. When you first tried to sell me that story, I thought you were nuts. You know, like you wanted to sell me an ‘Elvis is an alien' kinda thing.