The Fight for Kidsboro (28 page)

“The medical instruction sheet?”

“Right. From Dr. Yohman.”

“It looks real.”

“Sure it does. It's on letterhead, it has a lot of long, medical-sounding words on it, and it even has what looks like an adult's signature on it. But I know one of the secretaries at Dr. Yohman's office, so I called her. She told me that Jake is indeed a patient of theirs, but that he didn't come in at all on the day of the accident.”

“Really?”

“And he hasn't been in since that day, either. But listen to this. He was in the office the day
before
the accident.”

“For what?”

“She couldn't tell me that. But guess what he could've done while he was at the doctor's office?”

I was catching on. “Stolen some of their stationery.”

“Exactly. Then he forged the doctor's signature thinking that nobody would check into it.”

“Are you sure Jake never went into the doctor's office that day?”

“Positive.”

“All right. Tell you what,” I said. “I can't go with you, but go get Alice, then Jake. Then I think you should all pay a visit to Dr. Yohman.”

Later on, I heard about what happened, and I wished I had been there. Alice pulled Jake out of his clubhouse by his ear. Jill said he didn't seem to be having any trouble with his ankle, which was interesting. Alice suggested handcuffs, but Jill thought that was a little over the top. So she simply pulled him by his arm to Dr. Yohman's office, which was only a few blocks away. Jake protested, but a quick ear pull from Alice shut him up. He mumbled something about police brutality, and Jill whispered to her to take it easy on him. He was, after all, someone who liked to sue.

Jill said Jake's eyes got wide when he discovered that their destination was Dr. Yohman's office. He figured out pretty quickly what was going to happen next. Jill asked the secretary if they could see the doctor for a minute. Then they all sat down—one big, happy family—in the waiting room. Jake squirmed in his seat the entire time.

The doctor came out and asked what this was all about.

“Dr. Yohman,” Jill said.

“Yes?”

“Do you know Jake here?”

“Oh, yes. Hello, Jake. How are you doing?” Dr. Yohman said with a smile. Jake couldn't seem to return the smile.

“Jake had us believe that you diagnosed his condition as pulled ligaments in his ankle. In fact, he gave us this to prove it.”

“This is not my signature.”

“It's not?”

“That doesn't look anything like my signature. And what is this diagnosis? This doesn't make any sense. ‘A stretched cardiac ligament on the anterior side of the ulna bone.' Cardiac refers to the heart, and the ulna is a bone in your arm.”

“So, you didn't write this?”

“No. In fact, whoever
did
write it could be in a lot of trouble. Forging medical documents is against the law.”

“Really? Wow.”

Dr. Yohman got a call, and went back into his office. Jill looked at Jake. “So, Jake, do you have something to tell us?” Alice stepped forward and leaned down into his face, close enough to bite his nose if she'd wanted to.

Jake admitted to everything, except Max's involvement. I think he must have been scared of what Max might do to him if he ratted on him.

Alice and Jill interrogated Max anyway. Max told them he was just the lawyer, and lawyers have to defend innocent people, guilty people, and even sometimes people who fake injury to make money. He Was “shocked” that Jake had lied to him.

Jake's crime was bad enough to earn him immediate banishment from the city. Jake was gone, never again to be a citizen of Kidsboro, and he had no idea that I had helped do it to him. It was perfect.

However, we couldn't lay any blame on Max. At least we'd discovered that the lawsuit was a fraud. Nelson's money was immediately returned to him, and right away, he went to Max's house to pay back his loan. As he said, “I don't want to be in debt to that snake any longer than I have to be.” The next line of cars produced by Nelson Motors had four-wheel drive, air bags, antilock brakes, and even tiny little cup holders. They were the best cars yet.

I approached Jake cautiously as he was taking his stuff out of his clubhouse. He sneered at me. “I bet you're happy.” I didn't answer.

“You might actually get a decent night's rest for once, huh?” I kept my mouth shut, but he kept talking. “I wouldn't get too comfortable, though. You know what I found out? Your dad left California. About a month ago.”

What?
My dad loved California. His job was there.
Why would he leave?

“Nobody knows where he went,” he chuckled. “Hey! Maybe he's on his way to find
you
.” He turned away and chuckled again to himself. For a moment I had trouble breathing. What if he
was
trying to find us? And what if Jake had contacted him somehow?

Jake turned back around. “And don't worry, Jim. I'll be back.”

I decided this had gotten too serious to keep to myself anymore, so I told my mom about Jake and his news that Dad had moved from California. I was afraid she would make us pack up and leave right then, but she suggested something else instead.

We got down on our knees next to my bed and prayed together for a long time. We asked for God's protection. We cried a little bit, but afterward I think we both felt better. We felt assured that God would take care of us, and for the first time since I'd seen Jake again, I was able to sleep peacefully.

Two weeks later, Kidsboro was back. Loans had been paid off, and the bank had plenty of reserve cash. The city council voted to create our version of a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which is a government organization that makes sure that if a bank runs out of money, the people who have their money in it don't lose it all.

The first thing each business owner did, once the business had made enough money, was pay off Max. He now owned only his wood shop. The golf course was renamed “Golf-O-Rama.” Pete showed movies every night, and the theater flourished. But it never had a turnout like the night of nights …

I counted 55 people at the world premiere of
Rock Bockner and the Forest of Pain
. There were 29 citizens of Kidsboro, all except Max who was curiously absent, and 26 people from the outside. When Pete's parents walked between the hanging bed sheets and into the “theater,” I introduced myself. They seemed just as excited as everyone else.

Valerie wore what looked like a prom dress, catching the eye of every boy she walked past. She smiled and greeted everybody.

Eugene Meltsner arrived carrying a thermos, and Pete made him leave it outside. No one was allowed to bring in outside drinks.

Connie Kendall, a teenage employee at Whit's End, came in just after Eugene. She said hi to everyone and told Pete how excited she was to see the movie.

Mr. Whittaker hugged a few people on his way in, and then he bought a giant bucket of popcorn at the concession stand to share with anyone who was sitting around him.

I sat down on a stump in the back. It was a gorgeous night. Jill came in and saw me, waved, and joined me on the stump. “This is gonna be so cool,” she said.

“Yeah, it is,” I agreed.

She looked around at the stars and the trees, and then closed her eyes. Her black hair flowed in the breeze like It was floating on water. She opened her eyes and looked at me. “You're not going to tell me what's going on, are you?” I knew she was talking about my relationship with Jake.

“One day I will.”

“Do you need me to tell
you
something personal? Is that it? You want me to go first?”

“No, that's not it—”

“All right, I'll go first,” she interrupted. “I think you're perfect.”

“Perfect?”

“Pretty much. Except for all those nasty little secrets you keep. Other than that, you're flawless.”

“That's … quite a compliment.”

“It's not a compliment. Just an observation.” She shrugged it off.

Pete walked to the front of the crowd, and before he could even start talking, everyone clapped. He blushed. He was wearing a suit. He thanked everyone and began his prepared speech.