Pogo moved her mouth to answer, but then the stairwell door banged open, revealing Bud Wright and his brother.
Pogo set down her saw. She whispered:
"There's a big fat policeman
At my door, door, door.
He grabbed me by the collar,
He made me pay a dollar."
Bud and his brother advanced ominously. The sheriff held out a paper and attempted to read from it. "Miss Poga-Poga-zoo-ski. I've got a warrant here for your arrest."
Kate spoke for her. "Her arrest? That's ridiculous. What for?"
"For the attempted murder of Mrs. Mildred Hodges by sawing through a railing."
"Attempted murder?" Kate sputtered. "You mean, Mrs. Hodges is still alive?"
The sheriff looked at Bud, who answered, "Of course she's alive. She's fine. Doc Cavendar got her back on her feet in no time."
"But she fell eight stories to a marble floor!"
"She had a little fall. It just knocked the wind out of her, that's all."
"If she's fine, then where is she?"
Bud grimaced behind his cervical collar. "How am I supposed to know? Maybe she took a day off."
"She never takes a day off."
Bud indicated to his brother to get busy. "You'll have to take that up with Dr. Austin, kid."
The sheriff handcuffed Pogo and pulled her off the aluminum cap. He told her, "You have the right to remain silent..."
Kate watched the two men march Pogo away. Then, with her heart pounding and her mouth cottony dry, she bent back the cap and slipped down the ladder. She pushed through the door and returned Cornell Whittaker Number Two's diary to its shelf—its now-empty shelf.
At the start of fourth period, Science 8 read an announcement: "Dr. Austin has canceled school tomorrow. He wants all students to watch the news to learn about the First Lady's historic visit to the Whittaker Magnet School and to write a five-paragraph essay about it. He also wants you to point out to your friends and relatives that the Whittaker Magnet School is the only school in King's County ever to be visited by a First Lady of the United States."
Science 8 then walked back and handed Kate a separate printed announcement from Susan Singer-Wright. It read, "All involved in the performance for the First Lady must report to the County Commission Room immediately."
Kate got up to leave; Science 8 smiled.
Kate rode upstairs, entered the County Commission Room, and turned to walk toward the back. But she saw that the last row was occupied by three people and an assortment of medical equipment.
Heidi and Whit Austin were seated on a bench against the wall. Between them sat an elderly nurse dressed in white tights, a white uniform, and a white triangular hat. Heidi's eyes were two large black circles, like a raccoon's. She had an ice pack affixed to her jaw, held in place by a Velcro sash. Whit had an IV pole next to him, with a hanging bag, from which a clear liquid was dripping. He stared straight ahead, openmouthed.
Susan Singer-Wright began the meeting with a quick rap of the gavel. She led the group through a rereading of the timetable for the First Lady's visit. The only new business came when Cornelia entered the room with a shopping bag.
Cornelia took the microphone and announced, "Since certain students who are part of the patriotic tableau cannot afford the Whittaker Magnet School uniforms, I have designed a special costume for them for this performance. Would the students who cannot afford uniforms please come forward."
Kate caught George's eye across the room. He shrugged at her and started to the front, so Kate did the same.
Cornelia reached into a shopping bag and pulled out two sets of yellow silk pants followed by two sets of purple-and-yellow-striped shirts.
George whispered to Kate, "They look like the uniforms of the Swiss Guard."
"Who?"
"The guys who guard the pope?"
Kate disagreed. "No. They look like the uniforms of the guys who guard the Wicked Witch of the West. Remember? In The Wizard of Oz? They had those stripes?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Those, too."
Cornelia handed one uniform to Kate and one to George. She was about to speak to them, but Susan cut her off with a delighted squeal. "Ashley-Nicole!"
Kate and George turned to the door and saw a smiling young woman enter, followed by two somber Technon Industries engineers. The young woman's blond hair was tied back in a ponytail. She wore black shoes and tights, a red plaid skirt, and a white blouse buttoned to the top.
"Well, by golly, look who's here," Susan bubbled. "All the way from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And I thought you were decorating for some big homecoming mixer!"
Ashley-Nicole answered in a high voice. "I am, Mommy. I have to be back by tomorrow night."
"Tomorrow night!"
"Yes! I'm in charge of the balloons."
Bud Wright and Dr. Austin hurried over to greet her. Bud hollered, "Hi, honeybun."
"Hi, Daddy. What happened to your neck?"
"This? Aw, it's nothing. Thank you for getting here so fast."
"Anything to help, Daddy. You know that."
Dr. Austin took her hand and pumped it. "This school will always be indebted to you for coming, Ashley-Nicole." His eyes darted around the room. He lowered his voice. "How about if you and your father and I adjourn to my office."
Kate and George exchanged a knowing look and prepared to move out.
One of the Technon Industries engineers spoke up. "We will need to accompany Miss Singer-Wright to any meeting regarding Technon Industries products."
Dr. Austin looked at Bud. "You will? Well, all right. Let's all go, then."
Kate and George hopped up.
Kate announced, to no one in particular, "We'd better go try on these uniforms."
George said, "Yeah. I can't wait to see what mine looks like."
They exited casually, walking through the door clutching their new uniforms like prizes. At the foot of the stairwell, they turned to check behind them; then they took off running up the steps. They were crouching in place behind the low bookcase in time to see Dr. Austin lead his group of five inside.
Ashley-Nicole passed through the rotating door tentatively, but then she squealed with delight to see her old Laser Cannon again. The silver-and-black weapon now stood between the tall bookcase and the desk. The Technon engineers produced two legal pads and waited.
Dr. Austin got right to the point. "Ashley-Nicole, we want to use your Laser Cannon to solve a very specific problem."
"What's that, Dr. Austin?"
"We want to destroy a book and its contents."
Ashley-Nicole scrunched up her nose. "A book?"
"Yes. We want to destroy a book. One book in particular. A children's book."
"Can't you just shred it? Or burn it?"
"No. I mean, yes, we could just burn the book. But, you see, the contents of this book must be destroyed, too. I've given this a lot of thought, Ashley-Nicole. Surprise is the key element. The contents must be taken by surprise by the remote tracking feature of the Laser Cannon."
Ashley-Nicole adjusted a dial on the Laser Cannon. She asked flatly, "How far away will the target be?"
"It will be right here. In this room. On top of a cart."
"You said that the target is a book. Do you know the dimensions of the book?"
"It's a large children's book An antique. Maybe nine inches by twelve inches by an inch thick."
Kate poked George in the ribs. She whispered what he already knew. "Perrault's Mother Goose."
Ashley-Nicole thought for a moment. "These 'contents' that you're concerned about, would they be vulnerable to the heat ray of a laser?"
"Yes, I believe they would."
Ashley-Nicole looked at the Technon engineers and winked. "Dr. Austin, I've done enough top-secret work to know that I shouldn't ask too many questions. So I will ask only one: Are you sure you need the Laser Cannon for this job? It's designed for use across a fifty-mile battlefield, you know."
"
Yes, of course I'm sure. Absolutely. It's the perfect weapon for the job."
Ashley-Nicole winked at the Technon men again. "Okeydokey. I'll calibrate it for the job that you described. We'll need to make a few modifications, but I am sure we can destroy one children's book on top of one cart."
Dr. Austin was jubilant. "Excellent, Ashley-Nicole! I knew we could count on you."
Bud added, "That's my honeybun!"
Ashley-Nicole pointed out to them both, "Of course, collateral damage could be a significant factor."
Bud adjusted his neck brace. "How's that, honeybun?"
"Innocent bystanders could get killed."
Dr. Austin and Bud looked at each other. "That's not good," Bud commented.
"No," Dr. Austin agreed. "Ashley-Nicole, what can we do to protect, say, three people here in the room when the Laser Cannon does its job?"
Ashley-Nicole tapped her two pointer fingers together. "Hmm." She looked at the Technon men. "Here's what I think we could do."
Both engineers started writing. "We will have Technon install a safety barrier of a periplastic that is very hard, has opaque properties, and is reflective on its energized side only."
Dr. Austin and Bud both nodded appreciatively. Then Dr. Austin asked Bud, "What did she say?"
Bud turned to Ashley-Nicole. "Honeybun, what'd you just say?"
"Oh, Daddy! Technon will install a protective wall for us. It will be like a two-way mirror. That way we'll be able to see what happens when the Laser Cannon hits the target."
Dr. Austin clapped his hands together. "Oh! Good. That's good." He pushed on the rotating door and gestured them all out. "In fact, it's perfect. The perfect plan!"
Kate and George waited for thirty seconds. Then they grabbed their striped uniforms and retraced their steps, up to the roof and down to the County Commission Room.
They had hoped to slip back in quietly, but Cornelia spotted them from the dais. She interrupted Susan Singer-Wright by calling out, "You two! How did my new uniforms fit?"
Kate and George froze; then they turned toward Cornelia. George started to shake, but Kate steadied him with her left hand. With her right hand, she answered for them both by sticking up her thumb and smiling hugely, like she had just pulled out a plum.
37. Library Forgiveness Day
That evening Kate was very surprised to hear that June had called Mrs. Brennan and had invited her and Molly to dinner. She was annoyed, though, when the doorbell rang and June came out of the bathroom with her hair still wrapped up in a towel.
Kate snapped, "You're the one who invited them, June. Didn't you know what time they would be here?"
June ignored Kate's comments and, to Kate's further mortification, answered the door as she was. She shook hands with Mrs. Brennan and told her, "I'm June Melvil, Kate's mother. I should have invited you here over a year ago. Please forgive me."
"Don't be silly," Mrs. Brennan answered. "We're all busy people. It's nice to finally get together."
As they walked into the parlor, June confessed, "I haven't been that busy I haven't even had a job until recently. Now I'm working at the library to help pay for Kate's fees."
Mrs. Brennan replied, "Perhaps Kate has told you: I worked there for years. I was the director of Library Services."
"Yes, I know. I'm also embarrassed to say that I still have an overdue library book."
Mrs. Brennan laughed. "Don't worry about that. Just wait for a Library Forgiveness Day."
June, Molly, and Kate all looked puzzled. Mrs. Brennan asked, "Have none of you ever heard of a Library Forgiveness Day?"
Kate answered for the group, "No. Never. What is it?"
"It's an idea to get books back. A good idea, I think. Libraries set aside a day when they are willing to forgive all the fines that are owed to them."
June was surprised. "No matter how much?"
"No matter how much."
"But then the libraries don't get their money," Kate said.
"No, they don't. But they get something that is more important to them. After all, libraries aren't about fines; they're about books."
Kate commented, "That's pretty cool."
George came in through the back door and joined them in the parlor. June took the opportunity to stand up and excuse herself, saying, "I'll be back in two minutes."
Mrs. Brennan smiled a welcome to George. Then she fished a large white envelope out of her bag. "It's funny, Kate. Until our conversation the other day, I hadn't thought about Pogo in years. And now, this very morning, I received this."
She turned around the envelope to show that it was a FedEx overnight package.
Kate leaned forward. "What's in it?"
By way of answering, Mrs. Brennan dumped out the contents. Kate, Molly, and George beheld a flood of pages from children's books. The pages were isolated, unrelated, and from dozens of different books. They tumbled out in all sizes, conditions, and colors.
Mrs. Brennan explained. "It's Mrs. Hodges's secret collection. She razor-bladed every one of these pages out of a children's book"
Molly sputtered. "Why?"
"If she were here, she would say it was to protect you children."
"From what? What's on them? Anything good?"
Kate, Molly, and George rifled through the pile. But all they saw were witches, Halloween pumpkins, and friendly ghosts.
Mrs. Brennan grinned. "I thought you children might like to see everything that you missed growing up."
Kate asked her, "So how did you get this again?"
"It came from the library shipping room. From Pogo."
"How do you know it was from Pogo?"
"She included this note." Mrs. Brennan pulled out an index card. On it was written, in Pogo's neat hand:
See-saw, Marjorie Daw.
Jimmy shall have a new master.
Molly twisted her mouth. "What on earth does that mean?"
"I don't know," Mrs. Brennan admitted.
Kate thought for a moment, then she interpreted for them. "She's talking about what happened to you, Mrs. Brennan. She's saying she's sorry that you got driven out by the Austins."
Molly sounded doubtful. "Where do you see that?"
"You don't. You just have to know Pogo." Kate then looked at George, wondering how much she should reveal to the guests. She limited the news to "Pogo is gone now, too."
Mrs. Brennan raised her eyebrows. "No!"
"Yes. Pogo and Mrs. Hodges and Walter Barnes. Your entire staff is gone now, Mrs. Brennan, except for little Jimmy Austin."
"Why?" Mrs. Brennan shook her head, unable to comprehend. "What is going on in that place?"
Kate lowered her voice. "Mrs. Brennan, please. What do you know about Ashley-Nicole Singer-Wright? Who is she?"
A chill rippled across Mrs. Brennan's shoulders. "She ... she's a genius. A genius in applied science. She's the girl who put the Whittaker Magnet School on the map, I'll tell you that. She owned fifteen patents by the time she entered high school. Where, by the way, she only remained for two years. Every major university was after her. She chose MIT, I believe."
"She didn't look like a genius. She looked really ... normal."
"I suppose she is as normal as she could be, for a girl whose science fair projects are the deadliest weapons ever invented. The last thing old Mr. Whittaker did before he died was give Ashley-Nicole the school science fair ribbon. It was the third straight time she had won.
"He was very proud of her. He said in his speech that he could now die in peace because he had seen the second coming of his father, Cornell Whittaker Number One. Of course, that didn't sit too well with Cornelia. That's why she's been pushing that Whit creature so hard to be the new heir to the throne. But from what I've heard, he's an empty suit. The only things he invents are his accomplishments."
Kate laughed ruefully. "No argument there."
Mrs. Brennan looked up. Her mouth and her eyes both widened.
June had reentered the room.
Kate,
George, and Molly soon all wore the same look of total surprise.
Kate spoke for them all. "What did you do to your hair?"
June's hair was no longer dyed blond. It had suddenly reverted to its natural brown. Nor was it combed to hide her face. It was brushed back behind her ears, just as it had been ten years before.
June explained. "Nothing. For a change. This is my hair."
"I think it looks good," Molly told her.
Mrs. Brennan added, "So do I."
"You may have seen me like this before, Mrs. Brennan." June turned to Kate. "And this may explain why it was so difficult for me to go back into that building, Kate. I used to bring you there every week. I was one of the founding parents of Toddler Time, now known as Story Time. It was something we loved to do together, my little girl and me."
"Good heavens!" Mrs. Brennan blurted out. "It was you!"
June turned back to Mrs. Brennan. "That's right. I was the grown-up who went crazy that day. They tell me I was swinging by one arm from a chandelier."
Kate and George leaned forward until they were nearly falling out of their seats.
June looked right at Kate. "We were sitting in a circle for Toddler Time. You and me and all of the other parents and their children.
"The book was Peter Pan! Walt Disney's Peter Pan. The Little Golden Book version. And it was your turn to hold the book and show the pictures. For some reason, you were too shy that day. You handed the book to me and said, 'You read it, Mommy.'
"That's all I remember. Until the fireman pried my hand loose from the chandelier and carried me down the extension ladder. Then I remember grabbing you and all our things and running from the library."
Kate was speechless.
June looked down. "Our world fell apart after that. Your father got called in at Technon. He lost his security clearance. He lost his job.
"Your father was very particular about things—his clothes, his cars, his wines. He was very particular about his wife, too. She couldn't be a raving lunatic who made a public spectacle of herself."
Kate was trying not to cry. She choked out, "Did you explain what happened?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I did. I told him the whole truth. I probably should have made up a story. I should have said that I had suffered a nervous breakdown or something. I think he could have handled that."