With the help of my fellow rangers, we have collected lots of treasure over the years.
Inside the safe are antique gold and silver coins that we found; mostly in the upholstery of old chairs or couches. There are dozens of wedding bands and engagement rings that I am always picking up. There is a sapphire broach I discovered in the lining of a ratty old fur coat we bought at Goodwill. And, there is a cashbox with lots and lots of greenbacks.
You would not believe all the places that I have found money stashed away for safe keeping and then forgotten! I have uncovered cash in the hollow legs of furniture. I located it inside vintage clothing. I have unearthed hordes inside fireplace hearths in abandoned buildings. Once, I even found a genuine legal tender $1000 bill folded up and hidden inside an old camera case at the flea market. (We like to take turns walking around town with that picture of Grover Cleveland in our wallets.)
In addition, we find valuable rocks in the abandoned gold and gemstone mines in the area, like rubies and emeralds. Once we dug all weekend down by the river. The final hole was ten feet wide and nine feet deep. But, at the bottom we found a 7 ½ lb solid gold nugget.
All in all, we probably have a half million dollars worth of goodies in our safe. That seems like a good reason to keep it out of sight.
When we recover jewelry around town, we put an ad in the lost and found section of the Granite Falls Gazette. If we find the original owner, this is likely to end up in a cash reward. And, you would not believe the goodwill it generates. Teachers, librarians, principals and even the Police Chief's wife all believe we are ‘such fine young men' because of the treasures we have returned. And, they have helped us on more than one occasion to resolve the ‘misunderstandings' that have resulted from some of our less successful adventures.
We E-bay some of the stuff to pay club bills and buy equipment. Of course we don't want to attract too much attention. If we got caught in the spotlight we would have to answer way too many questions that we don't want to bother with. We try and keep a low profile, and we don't sell much. Most of our goodies just get left in the old steel monster.
Besides all we really need is ten or twenty thousand dollars in our PayPal account, and we are pretty well set.
**************
Chapter 11 – Going Bump in the Night
It was a little past nine by the time we got changed into our black suits. We replaced the old batteries in our night vision gear and then we rolled out. Ten minutes later we were stashing our electric scooters in the bushes beside the GF mini golf course. We had covered all 18 holes and the outside clubhouse earlier. Tonight we were moving inside to the combined storehouse and apartment behind the course, where Mr. Shiner lived.
We moved as quietly as possible and communicated only throughout totally silent text messengers. Dogs barked in the distance as we scurried up to find the door to the apartment was unlocked. I guess no one thought to check it as they were taking Mr. Shiner away in the ambulance. Anyway, we hurried inside and only the creaking screen door gave us away.
It was a small apartment with a living room in front, a kitchen in the corner and a small bedroom coming off the back. A freshwater aquarium with a neon strip on top provided us with more than enough light to explore the front room and the kitchen.
The front room of the apartment looked like an aviation catalogue exploded. There was WWII airplane stuff everywhere. There were pictures and souvenirs and about a dozen model P-51 Mustangs on the walls, on the tables and even hanging down from the ceiling. But, none of them appeared magical.
Fighting a World War to save the planet from tyranny and oppression was a big part of Mr. Shiner life. I made a mental note to ask him about his wartime exploits the next time we met.
We continued to examine the place as quietly as possible until Shad banged his shin on a wooden rocking chair next to the television.
‘Youch,' he yelped, and was promptly inundated with ‘SHUT UP!' IM's from the entire group.
‘Find the magic,' my screen flashed an IM from Charlie which kind of annoyed me.
‘Feed the fish,' I sent back.
Moving slowly around the room, I scanned for anything unusual. But, as I said before, I was not really sure what I was looking for. Step by step, I moved through the room. There was a TV, a rocking chair, an old couch and a book shelf. There were the usual gold and silver background tones that you would expect in a house – probably a watch and some pocket change – but nothing stood out. Although, the red and blue Tetras in the fish tank flashed like neon bulbs in our night vision goggles.
On the table next to Mr. Shiners rocker was a sterling silver picture frame. I picked it up and tried to make out the images in green glow of the NVG's. It was a photograph of a group of men in coveralls standing beside a WWII fighter plane. The caption said: Ground Crew for the Double M. I tried to figure out which one of the smiling faces belonged to a much younger Brock Shiner, but it was impossible to make out the details without turning on the lights. And, that was not going to happen.
Finally, I put down the picture frame and moved onto the small but well kept kitchen. All the dishes were cleaned and put away – but there was still a half a plate of homemade cookies on the counter.
I browsed through some cabinets, but there was nothing there. I opened the pantry door and saw cereal boxes, canned food and the usual stuff you find in a pantry.
At the other side of the tiny kitchen was another door, probably to the basement. I tried the knob and found it was locked tight. I put my ear to the door but did not get anything recognizable.
As I started out of the kitchen, Freddie walked over.
‘HERE,' my screen flashed.
I took something from his outstretched hand. Examining it closely in the light of the aquarium, I saw it was a 2 inch plastic figure of a wizard.
‘IT’S MAGIC,' my screen flashed.
I was shaking my head back and forth indicating I though the wizard was a really stupid idea.
‘JUST TRY,’ he messaged.
So, since I could not think of anything better to do, I held the little wizard up to me ear, closed my eyes and concentrated. I tuned into the tiny little tone that came off the tiny little figure.
You could have knocked me over with a feather when I picked up a similar tone coming from the back room!
‘I’M GETTING SOMETHING' I sent out. And, I moved into the unlighted bedroom.
My night vision goggles helped me navigate around the room, though it was much darker in here where the light from the fish tank did not travel. It was a small room with a dresser, a bed and a bedside table.
The tone seemed to be getting stronger as I approached the table. I reached down and opened up the table drawer and the sound got noticeably louder. I reached inside and pulled out a leather bound book. I held it up in the darkness. I had no idea what it was. But, there was no question it was the source of the magic.
I squinted, trying to make out the title when my screen flashed again, ‘SOMEONE'S HERE!'
I jammed the book inside my shirt and quickly closed the drawer. Then, I moved to the entrance to the main room.
Now, I could hear someone trying to get in. They were messing with the front door knob. I realized they must have tried to unlock the door – but since it was already unlocked – they had actually locked it.
The door rattled again and a familiar voice outside said, ‘this stupid thing is stuck.'
‘HIDE!' came across all our screens.
We scattered. I ran back into the bedroom. A couple of figures beat me to the closet, so I dived under the bed – just as the front door opened.
I could hear Lyndsey’s voice. And, although she was talking, no one was answering back. Then, I heard a quiet woof come from the entrance to the bedroom. Suddenly, a face poked under the bed. With my night vision, I saw a weird shaped nose and blazing demon bright eyes!
I did not know whether I was going to scream or wet my pants when sud
denly the thing stretched out and licked me on the face.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to regain my composure. The long furry nosed creature was Lyndsey’s dog, Blazedale. He and I were old friends. I did not have anything to be scared of – except him ratting me out.
“These fish don't seem very hungry,” I heard Lyndsey say from the other room. “Well Blaze, I guess they'll eat when they are good and ready.”
From the sounds she made, I could tell she moved into the kitchen and opened the pantry door.
“I’ll just borrow some of Granddad's spices, so I can make him another batch of cookies. Then we can scoot.”
Blazedale withdrew his head from under the bed, and I heard him leave the bedroom.
“Good boy, Blaze,” Lyndsey addressed the dog. “I sure feel a lot safer with you along.”
The pantry door shut.
“Okay, boy. Let's head out.”
The front door opened again. There was a brief pause. Then I heard a small sad say, “I sure hope that Grandpa is going to be okay.”
Then, another long pause and the door finally shut.
‘LET’S GET OUT OF HERE!' flashed across my screen. And, we did not waste any time making our getaway.
***************
Chapter 12 – Bird Clue
It had been a close call, and we were still pretty shaky as we scootered back to the Tree House. Of course, we were still trying to sneak and keep a low profile. But, I think there our quiet demeanor was from the residual shock of being interrupted.
When we arrived at the tree house, we scurried up the ladder and began pulling off our night vision gear. Then we removed the batteries and placed it in the old army footlocker against the wall. It took a few seconds for our eyes to adjust to natural light again.
Finally, Thor asked, “So Jeep, did you find anything?”
I pulled out the 2 inch wizard and plopped him down on top of the footlocker.
“Freddie brought this along,” I replied. “And, I have to admit it did the trick. It led me to something.”
I lifted up my black shirt and pulled out the book I had stuck in front of my pants. I laid it down beside the wizard.
“I don't know what it is. But, it sure was singing to me.”
Toby reached across and picked up the book. He opened the worn leather cover and began thumbing through it. He stopped at the title page.
“Is it... Is it really Magic?” Thor asked.
Toby did not answer right away. But he smiled a knowing smile and shook his head yes.
“Oh, yeah. It's magic alright. Sorcery, spells, dragons, elves and the eternal struggle between good and evil… all for the control of middle earth.”
He dropped it next to the wizard on the footlocker.
“It's The Lord of the Rings.”
It took a minute to sink in. Of course the wizard looked familiar. It was Gandalf! And, he had used me to summon up his fictional home world. (It was kind of neat when you think about it, but it sure did not help our investigation.)
“Oh Snap!” I barked with disappointment.
After all this time and effort we were still nowhere. We still had no idea what the magic was, who was drugging Mr. Shiner or how to save the golf course.
I took a deep breath and blew it out. Well, at least I knew I could count on the support of my fellow Rangers.
“Smooth move, Muldoon,” Shad snickered. “You're a regular hobbit tracking bloodhound.”
“Yeah. Way to go, magic sniffer,” Freddie added.
Magic Sniffer? So much for solidarity! I was about to tell Freddie he could sniff my fist, when I was interrupted by a sing songy voice from outside the window.
“Board of the Rings!” the voice shouted. “Board of the Rings!”
For a parrot, Rottweiler really loves to make a grand entrance. With one last big squawk - he flew in the window and landed atop the novel.
“Hello Frodo,” he said, to no one in particular.
Then Rott opened his wings, spread out his tail and raised his crown feathers. He stopped for a second, then reared back like he was about to crow.
‘Nilla!' he screeched. ‘Nilla, Round Boy. Nilla!'
‘Gee, I'm all out of Vanilla wafers, Rott”, Shad responded. But, then he remembered something. “Hey, wait a minute. I have some cookies I picked up at Mr. Shiner's place”
Shad reached into his pocket and pulled out one of Lyndsey’s creations and handed it to the bird. Then he turned to the rest of us and explained sheepishly.
“Hey, I was afraid my blood sugar was getting low.”
“Well at least we didn't come back empty handed,” Charlie added sarcastically.
“Hhm,” said the bird as he examined the cookie.
Lifting it up with his claw, he eyed the confection closely. Finally, he used his powerful black beak to crunch off a chunk. It must have been pretty stale because it did not crumble without an effort. For a second he ground the cookie up in his beak and then the parrot swallowed.
“HOLY TOLEDO!!!” the bird exploded. “YUCK! YUCK! YUCK! YUUCCKKK!!”
Rottweiler started dancing around. But, this time he wasn't talking. He was spitting. And, if you think a 12 inch African Gray can't spit – you have obviously never seen one motivated.
We covered our faces with our arms as the bird began circling the table shooting saliva like a deranged lawn sprinkler. It seemed like forever before the bird calmed down.
“Water. Water. Water. Water,” Rott squawked as he shot over to his water dish on the window sill.
The rest of us were left scraping off bird spit and cookie crumbs while we listened to Rott at the water dish. He sounded like he was drinking, gargling, showering and bathing all at the same time. Every once in a while he punctuated his little parrot fit with more exaggerated expectoration.
We made our way through half a roll of paper towels wiping off parrot saliva. (Always keep paper towels handy if you have a bird!)
Finally, Rottweiler came marching in on the big oak limb. Those of us, who had not changed out of our black shirts, pulled our hands inside of the long sleeves. We certainly did not want to leave any fingers exposed. After his explosion we weren't sure what kind of retaliation the crazy parrot had in mind. But, none of us was prepared for what happened next.
Rottweiler marched to the center of the room. Then he hopped to the middle of the footlocker. (I say he hopped, but it was more like he flopped in mid air).
And then Rottweiler began to sway….
Like he was moving to music that we could not hear, Rott rocked back and forth probably half a dozen times. Then, he opened his mouth and he began to sing.
I'm no expert on musical theatre, but I am pretty sure it was Maria's Song from West Side Story.
“I feel pretty. Oh so pretty. I feel pretty and witty and bright! I feel pretty, and I pity any girl who isn't me tonight!”
Then Rott began to waltz around on top of the footlocker like it was a stage. He danced to one side and sang, “See the pretty girl in the mirror there.”
And he continued waltzing and singing around and around the footlocker. Finally, after about a minute of performing, he reached his finale:
“For I'm loved by a pretty wonderful boy!”
For a second Rottweiler was quiet. And then he took a bow. That crazy bird actually bent over with one wing stretched in front and took a bow!
Rott straightened up and waved to his audience saying, “Thank you, and Good Night.”
Then, Rottweiler fainted dead away.
When Rott passed out, we didn't waste any time. After all, we had gone through the exact same emergency with Mr. Shiner.
But, rather than call 911 with a sick parrot, we grabbed Rott up and rushed him to the Veterinary hospital. We called Dr. Cayer along the way, and she was unlocking the front door as we scooted up.
The Doctor gave Rott a quick examination as we stood beside her in exam room A. The good news was that Rott was breat
hing strong, although his heart rate was elevated. We explained to the Doctor that he had passed out after putting on a stage show. Dr. Cayer said she wished she had been there to see it – and that she had never seen a parrot take a bow before.
Dr Cayer took her time and gave Rott a thorough going over. Finally, she flashed us a ‘thumbs up'. Then, she took out a pill and broke it into part. And, she pushed a piece of it between the bird's beak.
“Birdie aspirin,” the veterinarian explained.
Dr. Cayer went ahead and moved Rottweiler to an unoccupied cage in the back. She said he would probably just sleep it off – but she wanted to observe him for a couple of days.
*********
It was getting awful late by the time we left the Vet hospital. We called our parents to explain the emergency – but they were not happy about us still being out, even if it was summer vacation. So, we hurried home to bed, agreeing to meet at the PC bright and early the next morning.
***************
Chapter 13 – Recipe for Disaster
It was almost noon before we all dragged ourselves up to the Tree House the next day. The first item on the agenda: poisoned cookies.
Charlie held what was left of the cookie up to the light. He studied it intently, and then he brought it to his nose and gingerly sniffed it. “Licorice,” he said. “It smells like licorice to me. What about it? Does anyone know if there are any poisons that smell like licorice?”
Toby flipped open his laptop and went online with our WI-FI connection. But, before he could Google Licorice + Poison, Shad answered.
“It's Anise. Or, more specifically, Chinese Star Anise. This cookie is loaded with it.”
Before I go any further, I guess I should tell you about Shad.
Shad has a televistic memory. Not a photographic memory. He doesn't remember everything he reads. He remembers everything he sees and hears on TV. He can remember word for word, exactly what is said and by whom.
Usually, he just repeats old jokes or even commercials over and over again. But, since he loves to watch the Discovery channel – he is able to share a wide stream of scientific knowledge. It may be obscure, but sometimes this information can come in real handy. Like Today.