The New Year Dragon Dilemma (4 page)

“Wasn’t he right behind us?” Josh asked.

“I thought he was,” Dink said. “But now he’s gone.”

The kids turned to check the people behind them.

There were several tall men with black hair, but none was Holden.

Suddenly the festivities were interrupted with more loud bangs.

“More fireworks!” Josh yelled. “Cool!”

Everyone looked at the sky, where thousands of tiny purple lights cascaded down toward the ground. A few more fireworks exploded, and then the spectacle stopped.

Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose looked back at the swan float as it slowly moved past them.

“Hey, where’s the candy lady?” one of the kids behind Dink called out.

“Where is she?” asked Ruth Rose. “Where’s Miss Chinatown?”

No one was standing behind the swan’s head tossing candy.

Miss Chinatown had disappeared.

“Where did she go?” Josh asked.

“Where did who go?” said a voice behind the kids.

It was Holden. He was out of breath, as if he’d been running.

“I had to make a porta-potty call,” he said. “Did Miss Chinatown take off her mask yet?”

“She’s not on the float!” Ruth Rose said. “She’s gone!”

Holden looked confused. “What?”

“Look,” Josh said. He tugged Holden’s arm to bring him closer to the fence.
“Miss Chinatown was there throwing candy, then after the fireworks, she was gone. Just like that!”

Holden stared at the swan float. Suddenly he vaulted over the fence and raced after the float.

Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose watched him run to the front of the truck cab and wave his arms. The truck stopped, and the driver’s door opened. A woman wearing denim coveralls stepped out and began yelling at Holden.

By now the crowd around the kids had noticed that something was wrong. Dink heard voices saying, “What’s going on?”

“Where’s Miss Chinatown?”

“What’s that guy doing in front of the float?”

There were dozens of other floats behind the swan float, all waiting for the parade to continue. Drivers were
stepping out of their trucks. Some were tooting their horns, as if this were an ordinary traffic jam.

People in the crowd began to get upset. Some guy yelled, “This is a bogus parade!”

A little kid asked, “Isn’t there any more candy?”

Another kid answered, “Duh, Billy, the candy lady took off!”

Dink suddenly remembered something Holden had told them earlier. He said he hadn’t heard from Lily in two days. No phone calls, no text messages. He had said he was worried about her. Now she was gone—or at least Miss Chinatown was gone.

“Come on, guys,” Ruth Rose said. She grabbed the top of the fence, wedged one sneaker toe against it, and threw her other leg over.

“What’re you doing?” Dink asked.

“We’re supposed to stay with Holden,” Ruth Rose said. “Besides, I’m not missing this!” She pulled her other leg over the top of the fence, then dropped to the ground on the other side.

“Me either!” Josh said. He followed Ruth Rose over the fence.

Dink watched his two friends run toward the swan float. Gulping a deep breath, he followed them.

When Dink reached the float, Holden and the truck driver had stopped yelling at each other. Dink joined Josh and Ruth Rose, who were standing behind Holden.

“I didn’t see Miss Chinatown at all,” the driver was telling Holden. “I was just watching the road in front of me. I don’t know anything about whatever happened behind me!”

Just then two police officers approached. “What’re you kids doing inside
the fence?” one of them asked. A name tag on his uniform jacket said
OFFICER GOODMAN
.

“We came to help our friend,” Dink said, pointing at Holden.

“They’re with me,” Holden said.

“Yeah? And who are you?” the other officer asked Holden. Her name tag read
OFFICER FEIST
. “And what’re you doing here? That fence is meant to keep folks out!”

“Um, I’m Holden Wong,” Holden said. “I’m looking for my girlfriend, Lily. She was—”

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!” an angry voice interrupted. “THIS PARADE MUST PROCEED! WHY HAVE YOU STOPPED THE FLOAT?”

Dink jumped at the loud voice. He turned to see a man storming up to the group. He wore a suit the color of vanilla ice cream. His white hair was
swept back off his forehead. He had a thin white mustache and a red face. His dark eyes flashed anger as he charged toward the float.

“Excuse me, sir,” Officer Goodman said. “Who are you?”

The man glared at Officer Goodman. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second. “Dr. Winston Worthington,” he said finally. “I am the parade manager. Now please answer my question! Under whose authority did you stop this float?”

Dink looked up at the angry man’s red face. A blood vessel in his forehead was bulging, like a small snake under the skin. Dr. Worthington’s eyes darted around the group, looking for someone to blame. His hands had formed into fists.

Dink knew he’d never seen this man before, but somehow he looked familiar.

“Um, I stopped the float,” Holden said. “My girl—”

“And you are?” Dr. Worthington asked.

Officer Feist stepped forward. “Sir, Miss Chinatown has disappeared off the float,” she said. “This young man thinks it was his girlfriend.” She looked at Holden. “What’s her name?”

“Lily Chen,” Holden said. “She—”

“Miss Chinatown disappeared?” Dr. Worthington interrupted. His red face turned pale. “But that’s impossible!” He turned to the float driver. “How do we get up on this thing?”

“Easy peasy,” the driver said. “There’s a ladder.” She walked to the opposite side of the float. A small ladder was attached to the truck. It was partly hidden in blue flowers, and so narrow only a small person could climb its rungs.

“I’m not climbing that silly thing!” Dr. Worthington said. “There must be
another way. How do the workers get up and down?”

“There’s a ramp in the back,” the driver said. “This truck hauls freight when it’s not used for parades. Come on, I’ll show you.”

The woman hurried to the back of the float and unhooked a rear section of the truck’s bed. It made a ramp, which the driver lowered to the road.

Dr. Worthington marched up the ramp, quickly followed by the two police officers and Holden.

“Come on, guys!” Ruth Rose whispered. Following her lead, Dink and Josh clambered up the ramp. They all stood in the middle of the huge swan. Its wings spread above them, completely covered in white flower blossoms. The thousands of blossoms gave off a thick, sweet smell.

“She was right here!” Holden said.
He took a step forward. “Lily’s not very tall. She must have stood on that box so we could see her.”

Something crackled under Holden’s foot. Dink looked down and saw wrapped candies scattered on the floor. Just behind the swan’s neck stood a wooden box the size of a large toy chest.

“Well, I can see that she’s not here, but how did she get off the float?” Officer
Goodman asked. “I mean, nobody saw her climb down that ladder, right?”

“She wouldn’t just leave,” Holden said. “Someone must have taken her!”

“But who? She was alone on the float, right?” Officer Feist asked.

“Enough talking!” Dr. Worthington spluttered. “Can we just get my parade moving again?”

“Sir, we have a situation here,”
Officer Goodman said. “Once we figure out what’s going on, the parade will continue.”

Dink felt Ruth Rose nudge his arm.

“Look,” she murmured in his ear, and pointed toward the floor.

Dink looked. He saw only the box and a bunch of wrapped candies.

Then he noticed something else. A piece of black silk was sticking out from under the box. Dink recognized the sash. The last time he’d seen it, the sash had been tied around Miss Chinatown’s waist.

Dink and Ruth Rose moved at the same time. They grabbed the edges of the box and lifted it aside. A small figure wearing a golden robe lay on the floor. The candy purse had been pulled over her head. The black sash was tied around her wrists.

“Lily!” Holden yelled. He leaped forward, but the two police officers grabbed his arms and stopped him.

“Let us, Mr. Wong!” Officer Feist said.

The two officers knelt next to the
girl. One of them removed the bag from her head. Her eyes were closed. Shiny black hair had fallen over her face. They untied her hands.

“Is this Miss Chen?” Officer Feist asked Holden.

Holden stood with Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose. His arm touched Dink’s shoulder, and Dink could feel him trembling under his white sweater. “Yes,” he said. “Is she okay?”

Lily opened her eyes. She looked around at the group. Dink could tell she was frightened.

The officers helped her sit up. She looked at Holden and smiled.

“Miss Chen, are you all right?” Officer Feist asked.

Lily nodded. “I’m okay,” she said.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Officer Goodman asked.

“The crown is gone!” Dr. Worthington shouted. “Where is the ruby? I am responsible—”

“Please, sir,” Officer Feist said, looking up at Dr. Worthington over her shoulder. “We’ll handle this.”

Suddenly Dr. Worthington stopped yelling. He brushed past Dink to the edge of the float. Dink watched him stare into the night, as if his mind was a thousand miles away. His face was no longer angry. It was blank.

“He took the crown,” Lily said. “The man who grabbed me.”

Everyone except Dr. Worthington was watching Lily. She pushed her hair out of her face and sat up straighter.

“I was standing on the box, throwing candy,” she said. “Then I heard fireworks, and I was confused. We already had the fireworks before the dragon started
walking. So I just looked up at them like everyone else. Suddenly someone climbed over the side of the float.”