The New Year Dragon Dilemma (6 page)

“Yes!” Josh said, grinning at the others. He threw himself on the sofa and picked up his sketchbook.

“I heard some of what you kids said in the cab,” Dink’s father said. “Do you really think Holden and his girlfriend stole the crown?”

“It would have been pretty easy,”
Josh said. “He and Lily could have cooked it all up together. There were so many people, and all those fireworks going off. Holden could have climbed into the float with Lily, and they could have faked the robbery.”

“But what if Lily hadn’t been chosen as Miss Chinatown?” Ruth Rose asked. “What if the other girl was chosen?”

“Then they could have robbed the crown off her head instead!” Josh said. “Only it
was
Lily, so their plan was perfect.”

“I don’t know,” Dink’s father said. “Holden seems like a decent kid.”

“I agree with you, Dad,” Dink said. “Plus, he was so surprised that she was under that box. How could he fake that?”

“Don’t forget he’s studying acting in college,” Ruth Rose reminded them. “Maybe he was only pretending to be surprised.”

“But what about that person I saw running away from the dragon?” Dink asked. “And heading right for the swan float?”

No one had an answer. The four sat and thought. Josh turned pages in his sketchbook and picked up his pencil.

“Dad, can we help Holden and Lily?” Dink asked his father after a moment. “I mean, is there anything we can do?”

Dink’s father stood up. “I don’t know, son,” he said. “But I’ll call the police station. Maybe I can help Holden and Lily get a lawyer. After all, I hired Holden to take you kids to the parade.”

Dink’s father walked to his bedroom.

Ruth Rose scooted over next to Josh. “What’re you drawing?” she asked.

“Just parade stuff,” Josh said.

“Can I look?” Ruth Rose asked.

“Sure, Nosy Rosy,” Josh teased. He tilted the sketchbook so she could see.

“Josh, these are so good!” Ruth Rose said. “Look, Dink!”

Dink stood behind the sofa and looked over Ruth Rose’s shoulder. Josh had made several small drawings on one of the pages. One was a man’s face that Dink thought was supposed to be Dr. Worthington. Josh had also made sketches of two sea lions, the dragon’s head, and Holden’s Green Machine. Dink smiled at the three small figures sitting in the passenger seat. It was Josh, Ruth Rose, and himself.

At the bottom of the page, Josh was drawing what looked like some kind of flying animal. It was a sort of furry box with wings.

“What’s that?” Dink asked.

“It’s supposed to be the swan float,” Josh said. “But it’s not finished.”

Ruth Rose giggled. “With curly hair?” she asked.

“Duh, that’s not hair,” Josh said. “Those are the flowers on the float!” He made a few marks with his pencil. “Here are the swan’s wings, and here’s Miss Chinatown throwing candy, and here’s—”

“Wait a minute!” Dink cried. He jumped over the back of the sofa, landing
next to Josh. He grabbed the sketchbook and pointed to the drawing. “This looks like the same picture that guy at the aquarium was drawing on his laptop!”

Dink plucked Josh’s pencil from his friend’s fingers. He made a few lines on the side of Josh’s rectangle. “See, that guy’s drawing had these lines, too. I think they were meant to be that little ladder on the side of the float.”

“Why would some stranger be drawing the swan float?” Ruth Rose asked.

Just then Dink’s father came into the room. “I have some bad news,” he said. “The police searched Holden’s apartment and his Green Machine bike. They found the crown. It was hidden inside a compartment under the passenger seat on Holden’s bike.”

The three kids sat with their mouths open. No one said a word. Traffic
hummed outside. The wall clock ticked. Dink felt his heart racing.

“Did they find the ruby?” Dink asked.

His father shook his head. “The ruby had been removed from the crown,” he said. “Both Lily and Holden have been arrested and charged with the theft.”

Dink felt sick to his stomach. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that someone else, not Holden and Lily, had stolen the ruby. And that someone was trying to make Holden and Lily look guilty.

Dink’s mind went back to the guy with the laptop inside the aquarium. Why had he been drawing a computer picture of the swan float? Unless he knew that Miss Chinatown would be wearing a priceless ruby in her crown
and he planned to steal it? Geez, had Dink been sitting right next to the thief?

Dink told the others what he was thinking. “I have a funny feeling about that guy,” he said.

“And I have a funny feeling about the person you saw running from the dragon,” Dink’s father said. “Maybe he’s our crook.”

“I just thought of something,” Ruth Rose said. “Remember what Lily said about the fireworks? She said she was surprised when the second fireworks went off. She told us that everyone looked up toward the sky, and that’s when the guy jumped into the float and sprayed something in her face.”

Ruth Rose sat up straight. “Do you think someone set off the second fireworks so people would take their eyes off Miss Chinatown?” she asked.

“Oh my gosh!” Dink said. “The
second fireworks! I’m so dumb! The guy in the aquarium was talking on his cell phone after we sat down. I thought I heard him say ‘the second tire works,’ but now I think what he really said was ‘the second fireworks’! It all makes sense. That guy was planning the robbery with whoever he had on the phone! And the drawing of the swan float on his laptop was part of the plan!”

Ruth Rose said, “So he was telling someone to snatch the crown off Lily during the second fireworks, when everyone was looking up at the sky, not at her! And that someone might have been the person we saw leaving the dragon and running toward the swan float!”

“But what about the cops finding the crown in Holden’s buggy?” Josh asked.

“It could have been put there by the real crooks,” Dink said. “To make it look like Holden had hidden it.”

“That would mean that the crooks knew Holden had such a buggy,” Dink’s father said. “And where to find it after they took the crown.”

“Right,” Dink said. “It would have been easy to find Holden. He drives that thing all over town! He even has a website with a picture of his bike!”

“And now Holden and Lily are in jail,” Josh said.

“Did you get them a lawyer?” Dink asked his father.

“I didn’t need to,” Mr. Duncan said. “Lily’s parents wanted to call their own attorney. He arrives tomorrow morning.”

“So they have to stay in jail?” Ruth Rose asked. “That’s not fair!”

Dink’s father sighed. “No, it doesn’t seem fair,” he said. “But don’t forget that a valuable ruby has been stolen. And even if we think Holden is innocent, the
crown was found in his bike. The police seem to think that’s enough to charge Holden with the crime.”

“But the police don’t know Holden,” Ruth Rose said. “We do, and we think he’s innocent!”

“Well, we might be able to prove that Holden is innocent,” Dink’s father went on, “if we can prove that someone else is guilty.” He looked at his watch. “But now it’s time for bed, kiddos. There’s nothing we can do tonight.”

A half hour later, Dink lay in his bed staring at the dark ceiling. Josh was across the room in the other bed, lightly snoring. Nothing could keep him awake!

“Prove that someone else is guilty,” Dink’s father had said.
Then that’s what we’ll do!
Dink decided.
But how? We need a plan!

Dink climbed out of bed and opened
the door. Across the hall, he saw a strip of light under Ruth Rose’s door.
She must be reading
, he thought.

Dink tapped lightly on her door. She opened it, wearing yellow pajamas with blue kangaroos jumping all over the flannel. “Are you awake?” Dink whispered.

Ruth Rose grinned. “No, I’m asleep,” she said. “What’s going on?”

“Can I come in?” Dink whispered. “I don’t want to wake my dad.”

“Sure.” Ruth Rose let Dink in. “Where’s Josh?”

“Right here!” Josh said, stumbling into the room. His hair was a mess and he was rubbing sleep out of his eyes. “What’s up?”

The kids grabbed pillows off the twin beds and sat on the rug.

“Do we agree that Holden and Lily didn’t steal that ruby?” Dink asked.

“I do!” Ruth Rose said.

They both looked at Josh. His mouth was open in a huge yawn.

Josh looked back at them, blinking. “Okay, I guess I go along with you,” he said. “But what about the crown the cops found in Holden’s buggy?”

“Josh,” Ruth Rose said, “if Holden stole the crown, why would he hide it in his own bike? That would be pretty dumb, and Holden isn’t dumb! Somebody else must have put it there, knowing the cops would search.”

“Okay, we agree,” Dink said. “Now we just have to find the real crook.”

“Except for one teeny-tiny thing,” Josh said. “We don’t know who it is.”

“I have one idea,” Dink said. “That guy with the laptop at the aquarium.”

“Yeah, you said he had a drawing of the swan float on his computer,” Ruth Rose said.

“Well, I think it was the swan float,” Dink said.

“So how do we find this guy?” Josh asked. “He could be anywhere.”

“I don’t know,” Dink said. “If you just stole a priceless ruby, what would you do?”

“Well, I wouldn’t try to sell it,” Ruth Rose said. “The theft will be all over the newspapers and TV by tomorrow morning. It’s probably on the Internet right now!”

“Know what I’d do?” asked Josh. “I’d hop a plane. No, I’d buy a boat and sail around the world!”

A picture of a sailboat flashed into Dink’s mind. Where had he seen a sailboat? Then he knew.

Dink threw a pillow at Josh. “You’re a genius!” he yelled.

“I am?” Josh asked. He blinked. “Cool!”

“Why is Josh a genius?” Ruth Rose asked.

“Because he made me remember something about that guy in the aquarium,” Dink said. “First, he had a dark tan. And he had this long knife, the kind guys who go fishing a lot carry on them. And when I saw him last, he was walking toward the docks at Fisherman’s Wharf.”

“I don’t get it,” Josh said.

“There are boats tied up to the docks,” Dink said. “And a picture of a sailboat was the screen saver on his laptop. Guys, I think this guy keeps a
boat at Fisherman’s Wharf!”