Don't Tell Anyone (10 page)

Maybe Mr. Colby had told other people about the cats and the note was from one of them. Perhaps someone she didn't even know wanted Megan to keep quiet about the cats until it was too late to save them. If so, had that person arranged for the field to be cleared as soon as possible?

She could not imagine what anyone would stand to gain from destroying the feral cats. Yet someone had left the anonymous message, and someone had ordered the bulldozer to clear the field. The question was who? And why?

Megan's head ached from trying to figure it out. She was determined to speak to Mr. Colby as soon as possible.

Mrs. Perk gave two dollars to the parking attendant and found a spot in the airport parking lot.

Megan pushed her concerns aside as they walked toward the colorful hot-air balloons.

“Let's buy our cotton candy first,” Kylie said.

“We came to see the balloons,” Mrs. Perk said.

Rows of balloons, each tethered to the ground with a rope, filled the airport's three runways. A thick wicker basket large enough to hold six to eight people rested on the ground beneath each balloon. Cords spaced about a foot apart around the bottom edge of the balloons were attached to the rims of the baskets.

A heavy metal frame went up from each corner of the square baskets, bending inward just beneath the center of the balloon's opening. Gas jets rested in the middle of the frame.

Megan, Mrs. Perk, and Kylie walked toward the first balloon in the row. The narrow open end, toward the basket, was dark pink; the fat part of the balloon was light pink.

“It looks like a giant cotton candy,” Kylie said.

The next balloon was purple and gold. Large letters around the center of the balloon spelled out the name of a computer store.

One balloon was silver, dotted with blue stars. Another looked like a checkerboard with every square a different color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and even black.

Each balloon was about thirty feet high and eighteen feet around at the largest point.

Four balloons in the first row rose upward. Each pilot released just enough gas to lift the balloon fifty feet into the air.

The balloons hovered over the airfield for five minutes and then descended.

“Wouldn't it be fun to ride in one?” Megan said.

“Fun but expensive,” Mrs. Perk replied. “The sunset rides from Balloon Adventures are seventy-five dollars per person.”

“Yikes,” Megan said.

“Cotton candy is only one dollar,” Kylie said. “A real bargain.”

“I give up,” Mrs. Perk said. “Where do we get it?”

Kylie pointed eagerly to a line of food booths along one side of the airport terminal. As they started toward the booths, Megan spotted Mr. Colby, partway across the festival grounds.

“There's Mr. Colby,” she said. “Let's go talk to him.”

“Where?” Mrs. Perk asked.

Megan pointed across the balloon exhibit to the next runway.

Mrs. Perk looked where Megan was pointing. “I don't see him,” she said.

“Over there. He's in the basket of that green-and-blue striped balloon. Come on.”

“That's the wrong way!” Kylie protested. “You said we could get cotton candy now!”

“I'll go with Kylie to buy her treat,” Mrs. Perk said. “If I don't find you and Brice, I'll meet you back here, by this checkered balloon.”

Megan made her way between two balloons to the next runway. When she reached the green-and-blue striped balloon, she saw that a large sign on the basket said
COLBY CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
. Mr. Colby was in the basket, releasing just enough gas to keep the balloon fully inflated.

“Hi, Mr. Colby,” Megan said.

He did not look at her.

Megan tapped him on the arm.

“Hello!” she said.

He seemed surprised to see her. “Oh, it's you,” he said.

“I'm so glad I found you,” Megan said. “There's been a terrible mix-up. On my way home from school, I went to the field where the cats live, and a bulldozer was beginning to clear away all the grass. If I hadn't stopped the driver, the whole field would have been cleared.”

Mr. Colby's face flushed with anger. “You stopped him?”

“Yes.”

“How much did he get done?”

“He didn't do any of it,” Megan said. “He quit when I told him about the cats. He tried to call you, but you had already left the office and you didn't answer your pager.”

“You told the driver about the cats?”

“Yes. But he said he'd been instructed to clear that field, and he's going to start again at seven-thirty tomorrow morning unless he hears from you before then. His name is Dale Burrows.”

A muscle in Mr. Colby's cheek twitched; he clenched his fists.

“This could have been a disaster,” Megan said. “What if I hadn't gone to the field today? Or what if he had started earlier, while I was still in school?”

The friendly smile that the man had always worn when he sat in his blue truck did not appear. Instead he looked furious. Megan assumed he was angry because the field had almost been cleared without his knowledge.

“I'm so glad I found you,” Megan said. “I was going to call the television stations and the animal-welfare agencies, but it will be much easier for you to stop the clearing than for me to do it.”

He stared at her for a second.

“How would you like to ride in my hot-air balloon?”

The question was so unexpected that it took a moment for it to sink in. When it did, Megan said, “I'd love it!”

“Get in the basket.”

“You mean, now? You're going to give me a ride tonight?”

“This row of balloons is scheduled to go up next. If you want to ride with me, climb in.”

Megan hesitated. “I probably should ask my mom if it's okay,” she said.

“There isn't time. I just tested the wind, and it's perfect. If you want a ride, it's now or never.”

Megan was sure Mom would say yes. After all, she knew Mr. Colby, and she had said he was a dependable person.
The balloons didn't go far during these demonstrations; Megan would be back on the ground in only a few minutes. When would she ever get another chance like this?

Megan put her hands on the rim of the basket and climbed inside.

Mr. Colby untied the rope that tethered the balloon.

He opened a valve.
Whoosh!
Megan heard the gas leave the jets and enter the inside of the balloon.

He tossed a large bag of sand out of the basket. The balloon rose slowly.

Megan stood at the edge of the basket, looking toward the row of food booths. Wouldn't it be great if Mom and Kylie saw her up here? Maybe she could spot them down below and wave to them.

More gas whooshed into the balloon.

They were above the other balloons now. It was like looking down on a brightly colored fairyland.

“Hey!” someone yelled. “What are you doing?”

Megan looked toward the voice. The call came from a man who stood where the Colby Construction balloon had been tethered. He was looking up toward her and waving.

“Hey!” he shouted again. “You can't take a passenger up now. Bring her down!”

“That man is yelling at you,” Megan said. “He says we should go down.”

“He's not my boss,” Mr. Colby muttered. “Not anymore.”

Whoosh. Whoosh.
More gas entered the cavity; the balloon went higher.

Megan clung to the side of the basket.

“Shane!” the man on the ground shouted. “Come back right now, or you're fired!”

Shane? A quiver of apprehension ran down the back of Megan's neck. Why was the man calling Mr. Colby by the name Shane, when his name was Brice?

Megan saw that the other balloons in their row were still tethered. Two more people now stood where the Colby balloon had been; they pointed upward. One turned and ran toward the airport terminal.

Whoosh.
The balloon continued to rise. The balloons Megan had viewed earlier had not gone nearly this high during their demonstrations, and several had risen at the same time. The Colby Construction balloon was the only one in the air.

When the balloon got higher, it drifted east, toward Desolation Hill. Megan watched as they moved farther from the airport.

Soon the crowds of people at the balloon festival looked like small action figures. Even the giant balloons seemed like bright polka dots on a large quilt.

This is wrong, Megan thought. We should not be going so far from the festival.

“Don't you think we should go down now?” she said. “We're a long way from the airport.”

“We'll go down,” he replied, “but not at the airport.”

Megan watched the man. Was he Brice Colby, or was he someone named Shane?

He consulted a sheet of paper, looked at his watch again, then let more gas out of the jets.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“We're going on a little trip,” the man said.

A trip! In the dark? Megan wanted to shout, Are you out of your mind? You can't fly a hot-air balloon at night. They don't have lights or radar like airplanes have. You'll crash!

Fearing that he was, indeed, out of his mind, she struggled to keep her voice calm. “Where are you going?” she asked. “Why are you taking me along?”

He did not look at her when he replied, but his voice was sharp with rage. “You were warned not to tell anyone about those cats,” he said.

Megan tried not to panic. “Warned?” she said. “What do you mean?”

“If you had done what I told you and kept quiet about the cats, I wouldn't have to take you with me.”

“Did
you
leave that note?” Megan asked.

“My plan was working perfectly until you came along. I don't intend to let some kid and a bunch of wild cats foul up my life.”

“What plan?” she said. “Where are you taking me?”

He ignored the questions and released more gas from the jets. The bright balloons at the airport were now only a glow in the distance. The last pink light of the sunset faded to darkness. How could he see where the balloon was going?

“You aren't Brice Colby, are you?” Megan asked.

“I never said I was.”

“You gave me his business card when you told me to call you.”

He shrugged, as if to say, so what?

She could see the top of Desolation Hill, a faint outline against the shadowy horizon. The balloon was headed directly toward the peak.

“Who are you?” Megan asked.

Instead of answering, he adjusted the gas again.

“Your name is Shane, isn't it?” Megan said.

“Shut up. I need to fly this balloon.”

Fly it where? Megan wondered. Dozens of other questions crowded into her mind, but she didn't ask them. She was afraid if she distracted him too much, the balloon would crash into Desolation Hill.

It was totally quiet up high. Except for the occasional
whoosh
of gas leaving the jets, Megan was surrounded by silence. If I can't hear people, she thought, they can't hear me. Even if I scream, no one will know.

Darkness enveloped the balloon; Megan saw nothing now in any direction. She felt as if she had left the Earth behind and was drifting in a black universe.

The only light was the balloon itself, glowing blue and green against the night sky.

The man, Shane, seemed unconcerned. He acted as if he had flown this route before in total darkness and knew from his written notes exactly how much gas the balloon needed.

He's the one who ordered the field to be cleared, Megan realized. He pretended to help me so I wouldn't get Feline Friends involved in the cat rescue until it was too late. He left the threatening note, too, although she couldn't figure out his motive. Now he was taking her with him on some wild scheme in order to keep her from stopping the bulldozer tomorrow morning.

She watched him carefully. Every few minutes, he put one hand on his jacket pocket, as if checking to be sure that whatever he had inside was still there. The movement seemed spontaneous, a gesture he made without thinking about it.

She saw a cellular phone in the bottom of the basket. I can call for help, she thought, and then realized that no one could help her. Not until she was safely back on the ground.

Something brushed the bottom of the basket. Megan gasped.

Shane released more gas. The balloon rose a few feet.

Megan looked over the edge of the basket and saw leafy branches. The balloon was skimming along, just above some treetops. We must be going over the hill, she thought. The balloon had continued to drift away from town as it rose; these trees must be on the top of Desolation Hill.

She could not guess their final destination. Desolation Hill was the first in a series of foothills leading toward the Cascade Mountains. Dense forests covered the hills. Why would he fly into such a wilderness? If they crashed now, they might never be found.

A few minutes later Shane turned the gas jets down. The balloon began to sink. Gradually, he let less and less gas into the opening, and the balloon descended. The hill now cut off the wind that had pushed them eastward, so the balloon dropped without drifting.

He's going to land, Megan realized. What if they ran into power lines or crashed into some big trees? What if
she was thrown out? She wondered how high up the balloon was.

It was completely dark below them—no town, no lights from a highway. She gripped the edge of the basket and hoped they came down in a clearing.

What will happen next? Megan wondered. He had said he had a plan, but what about me? If we land safely, then what?

“Sit down,” he said.

Megan sat.

Shane crouched beside her. Sweat trickled down the sides of his face, and his breathing was rapid. He's nervous, Megan realized, and her own throat felt tight with fear.

Shane turned the gas off. The flame flickered out. With the gas off, darkness filled the basket.