It lingered on his mind all day.
While sitting on the bus with Shawn on the way to school, Andrew nearly brought up the issue several times, yet he could not figure out how to phrase the situation. His friend talked about many random things, and Andrew hoped that Shawn would ask him if something was on his mind, but he did not.
In homeroom, Andrew said good morning to Darren, and almost asked him about what he thought of it all. However, he knew there was not enough time to explain the whole thing, and decided to bottle it up inside.
During lunch in the cafeteria, all the boys were gathered together and chatted about all kinds of things. Andrew remained nearly silent for the majority of the time, eating bites of his bologna sandwich while building the courage to speak up.
Finally, Andrew just blurted out, “I think my uncle is a thief.”
“Uh,” Max said clearly taken off guard, “what?”
“For real?” Johnny asked with a raised eyebrow.
Andrew looked at the faces of his friends, debating whether or not it was a good idea to tell them anything. Their facial expressions were a mix of skepticism and curiosity. He then nodded and decided to lay it all out there. “I’m pretty sure something illegal is going on.”
“Did you find large bags of money lying around the house?” Johnny asked with a sly smile.
“Well,” Andrew admitted, beginning to doubt himself, “nothing that obvious, but—”
Carson leaned forward eagerly, “What about black gloves and a mask on the kitchen table?”
“No,” Andrew insisted angrily, realizing that the guys were giving him trouble.
“Enough, boys,” Darren said gazing around imperiously. “Let the man talk.”
Shawn turned toward Andrew and said, “What has been going on?”
Andrew waited until everyone was paying attention, then said, “when I first moved in with Uncle Billy, I knew he was working a job in the morning. He said he couldn’t drive me to school because he had to head off to work. I can’t remember what he did for a living, but he looked like he was just barely making it.”
“Where do you live?” Darren asked curiously.
“Bottom Grove,” Andrew replied trying to act indifferently.
“Ouch,” Johnny said with a grimace, “I’m sorry.”
Andrew continued, “Anyways, the house is rundown. Everything is retro, well, was retro. Suddenly, when I came home yesterday, I saw that my uncle had a new leather sofa, a high-definition television and a sound bar.”
“Nice,” Max said.
“So?” Darren asked with eyebrows raised. “Your uncle saved up and then splurged on some upgrades. People do that all the time. What’s the mystery?”
“For the past few weeks, I’m fairly positive my uncle has not been working at all.” Andrew continued, desperate to keep their attention while he had it. “As I leave the house each morning, he’s usually there passed out on the couch. When I come home, he is still there, and is wearing the exact same clothes as when I left. And on weekends, he just watches television all day long. Endless shows and movies. At night, he eats out at expensive restaurants. I’ve even seen the receipts lying around the place. He’s spending all kinds of money, but I never see him make any.”
“And you think he just stole the new stuff?” Doubt was evident in Shawn’s voice.
“From a store?” Max asked seriously. “You think he lifted all those things by himself?”
Andrew replied with feeling, “I don’t think he has any friends that could have helped him.”
“And you said you noticed the new things after you came home from school?” Darren asked. “Not before?”
“Definitely after,” Andrew said.
“So,” Johnny began as he exchanged looks with the other boys, “while you were at school, your uncle went to a store during business hours and stole those things in broad daylight? And, he carried it inside the house all by himself? Maybe he is related to Superman.”
Some of the guys snickered and grinned.
Andrew just gritted his teeth and shook his head. “I didn’t say any of that.”
“And there’s no chance he won the lottery?” Max joked.
“No,” Andrew said firmly. “He wouldn’t still live there if he had. I wouldn’t.”
“You have a strange uncle,” Darren admitted. “Did you ask him about the stuff?”
“Actually, yes, I did. I asked him if he got a nice raise or something at work, and he looked very uncomfortable. Then, before I knew it, he changed the subject by offering me a new thirty-two inch television for my room. He is definitely not a generous guy, so it was way out of the blue.”
“Lucky,” Carson said. He gazed at Andrew with envy in his eyes.
“Ask him if he’d steal us some TVs too,” Johnny said grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“Knock it off,” Darren said. He stared off to space deep in thought. A glint came into his eyes and he continued, “Andrew, it sounds like you may be on to something. If your uncle was just wasting money on good food, that’s one thing. But, a new sofa and TV? That’s worth investigating.”
Andrew was relieved Darren was taking him seriously. He was anxious for his direction and approval. “I thought so. What should I do?”
“I’d check out your house after school,” Darren said, “but Carson and I have football practice.”
Johnny didn’t bother looking up from doodling a drawing of a curvaceous woman. “Sorry, I wouldn’t be seen in Bottom Grove.”
“Me neither,” Max agreed looking over Johnny’s shoulder.
“Thanks guys,” Andrew said sarcastically as disappointment washed over him.
Shawn stared at Darren for several moments and then made a decision. “Hey, I’ll go with you. I ride the bus by there anyways. You can show me the stuff, and I’ll just walk home afterwards. No big deal.”
“Thank you,” Andrew said with relief, “that would be great.”
Darren pointedly looked at Shawn. “Let me know how this turns out.”
“No problem,” Shawn replied.
After the bell rang and they went to their last set of classes for the day, Andrew felt a mixture of excitement for the investigation and fear of how it would end.
When school was over, Andrew headed to his locker and then met Shawn at the bus. During the ride to Bottom Grove, they chatted about various things, but did not bring up the investigation. Andrew began to get nervous as the bus went down the street towards his house. He was not sure if Uncle Billy would still be home or not, but to his surprise, the car was gone.
As the bus stopped, Andrew stood up and started walking down the aisle. A few paces later, he glanced back to see if Shawn was following. His friend was right behind him, which gave him a boost of confidence. They stepped off the bus and headed towards the front porch.
“I always wondered what the inside of your place looked like,” Shawn admitted curiously.
“Don’t be too disappointed,” Andrew warned him.
He unlocked the front door and led his friend to the living room. Shawn’s eyes lit up at the sight of the new leather sofa. He headed straight over and plopped himself right on it. “Oh, now I could get used to this.” He kicked his feet up and put his arms behind his head.
“Yeah,” Andrew said nervously. ”It’s very nice.” He kept worrying that Billy would suddenly come home. He didn’t want to imagine what his uncle would do if he saw Shawn on his couch…or even in his home for that matter.
“Your uncle has good taste,” Shawn began. He then looked at the outdated striped wallpaper and said, “Well, at least for the couch.”
Andrew pointed to the flat screen television with the remote and pressed the power button. Moments later, it came to life with a clear picture. When Andrew activated the sound bar, the action on the screen was then complimented by the high quality audio.
“Oh yeah,” Shawn said excitedly, “We need to watch s
ome movies on this thing sometime. It is so life-like. This thing is way better than Darren’s. He is going to be so jealous when he finds out!”
Andrew abruptly turned it all off and said, “I’m not sure where Uncle Billy is right now, but he may come home at any moment.”
“Right,” Shawn agreed as he tore his eyes from the TV. “Down to business. Where’s his bedroom?”
“At the end of the hallway,” Andrew pointed out.
“I’ll check it out for any clues,” Shawn said. “You can search around the living room and kitchen for any receipts he might have misplaced.”
“Okay,” Andrew agreed.
Shawn hurried down the dark hall and disappeared into Billy’s bedroom. Andrew quickly checked around the living room for anything that might hint towards where the stuff came from, or how his uncle could afford it all.
Suddenly, a startled voice echoed down the corridor.
“Hey,” Shawn shouted, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were home.”
Andrew froze as his heart thudded in his chest.
“No, I’m not,” Shawn continued, “I’m a friend of Andrew’s. Seriously, I’m telling you the truth. You can put that thing down now.”
Andrew turned towards the hallway and tried to listen to everything that was being said. The floorboards creaked in the distance and sent chills through him.
“Please don’t,” Shawn said in panic. “I’ll leave right now. I promise. Just, set the weapon down and you’ll never see me again.”
Despite his fear, Andrew took off down the hallway and ran for his uncle’s bedroom. Right as he reached the darkened doorway, he heard a loud thud and Shawn fell to the ground at his feet.
12