The Ice-cold Case (14 page)

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A few days later the Kwans threw a celebration party.

Once again Frank and Joe drove a vanload of their friends around the last bend in the road and saw the postcard panorama of the frozen lake, but the ice-fishing shantytown at the one end showed no signs of fishermen, and there were no hockey players at the other end. They had been the first guests to arrive at the party, though they stayed on opposite ends of the living room.

“Hey, it's hot back here. Can you open a window?” Callie called from the backseat.

“Complain to Phil. He's the one who fixed the heat,” Frank called back.

“There's no pleasing some people,” Joe said with a laugh.

Even Ray's dad had decided to come to the party, since he was sure Ernie wouldn't show up.

Frank and Joe were standing by the fireplace when Chief Collig arrived.

“I have to thank you boys for cracking the case,” Collig said. The rest of the guests applauded.

“Thanks,” Frank said. “But we couldn't have done it without the help of most of you in this room.”

“Especially the medical care provided by our hostess,” Joe said, waving to Mrs. Kwan.

Just as the fishermen were beginning to talk to Ray and his friends, Ernie Tuttle came in the front door.

“Excuse me,” Ernie said awkwardly. “I don't mean to barge in. I just wanted to say I'm sorry about all the trouble my grandsons caused. I feel terrible about what's been going on. If I'd had any idea, I would have straightened those boys out.”

“They'll get their due in jail,” Chief Collig said.

Ernie looked around the room and saw Ray and his dad.

“I've also got to say a special apology to Ray Nelson,” Ernie said. There was a general gasp among the crowd. “Ray, I'm sorry I blamed you. I know you're a wiseguy, but it was wrong of me to accuse you of anything worse.”

Ray came across the room and, much to Ernie's
surprise, reached out to shake his hand. “It's okay, Ernie.”

The awkward silence that followed was broken as Ray's father made his way through the crowd. “Excuse me . . . excuse me.”

Ray's dad walked up to Ernie with his hand outstretched. “Ernie, we can go on hating each other if you want, but let's not drag everyone else into our troubles,” Mr. Nelson said. The guests clearly could not believe what was happening.

The two men shook hands and the whole room erupted into cheers and applause.

“The truth is,” Ernie said, “I think maybe the reason the fishing is so good at my end of the lake is all the noise you boys cause at the other end with your hockey games. You scare all the fish right to my front door,” Ernie said as the fishermen started laughing.

“Maybe you should pay us to play hockey,” Ray said.

Chief Collig put his arm around Ray's shoulder. “I don't know about paying you, but there is the matter of your breaking into one of those houses. I know how much you like working on cars, so I'll expect you to spend every Saturday for the next two months down at the police station tuning up police cruisers.”

Ray looked as though he'd just won the lottery. “Really? That's great.”

Everyone relaxed and returned to their conversations and hot cider and chocolate.

“Hey, Hardys, who's up for a game of hockey?” Ray cried.

“You boys serious about learning to ice-fish?” Ernie asked Frank and Joe.

“What about that speed race the two of you were going to have?” Callie asked.

Frank and Joe just waved the lot of them off and sat by the fire until it was time to go home.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

ALADDIN

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