The Bell Bandit Read Online Free PDF Page A

rack and umbrella stand. Her winter parka was draped over her shoulders as if it were a cape, and Evan could see that her arm was in a cast, cradled in a sling around her neck. She fumbled one-handed with the coat until Evan's mother took it from her and hung it up on the rack.
    Evan watched as Jessie tried to grab hold of Grandma's hand, but Grandma pulled her hand in, hunching forward protectively, and covered the sling with her good arm, as if she were afraid someone might try to steal something away from her. She began to walk toward the middle of the room, taking small steps, which was not at all the way his grandmother usually walked. Then she stopped and looked at the stairs that led to the second floor and then back at the front door.
    It was her face that surprised Evan the most. It looked pale, and she had bags under her eyes, which Evan had never noticed before. Most of all, she couldn't seem to settle her gaze on anything. Her eyes kept flitting around the room, like a bird that won't perch on any one thing.
    Jessie was hopping around like a bird, too, chattering nonstop about the bell. Maxwell was walking behind them, carrying on his own conversation and making a strange puffing noise that sounded like he was trying to blow feathers out of his mouth. Evan's mother had an arm around his grandma's shoulder, guiding her slowly toward the couch, and when Evan caught sight of his mother's face, he knew right away that something was very wrong.
    "Hi, Grandma," said Evan cheerfully, from across the room. But Grandma didn't look at him.
    "She's tired," said his mom. "Jessie, would you please stop asking so many questions. Grandma needs a couple of minutes to get used to being home."
    "Why?" asked Jessie. "Why do you need to get used to being home, Grandma? That doesn't make any sense."
    "Jessie, shut it," said Evan, feeling a little panicked. What he really wanted to do was run up to his mother and get a hug from her, but with Maxwell standing right there, there was no way he was going to do that.
    "Come see the kitchen, Grandma," said Jessie. "See how good it looks."
    "Jessie," warned her mother, "you need to slow down."
    "A cup of tea," said Grandma. "That's what I need. A good strong cup of green tea."
    She started to walk toward the kitchen. Evan hurried ahead of her, scooping up two last stray nails that were on the Formica counter. Then he stood beside the patched hole. His mother and grandmother walked into the kitchen, trailed by Jessie and Maxwell, who had finally stopped talking. Everyone looked at Evan and the repair work that he and Pete had done that day. It was his grandmother who spoke first.
    "What is this? What has happened here?"
    "Mom," said Mrs. Treski. "There was a fire. Do you remember the fire?"
    "Where's my stove? How am I going to make my tea without a stove?"
    "The stove was ruined, Grandma," said Jessie. "They had to take it out because it was no good anymore."
    "What do you mean, Jessie?" asked Grandma. "Who did this? Where was I?" She looked at Mrs. Treski. "Susan, what has been going on here?"
    "Mom—"
    "You don't see that every day!" said Maxwell, rocking back and forth nervously. His right hand snapped in the air like he was cracking the whip on an imaginary horse.
    "No, you certainly don't, Maxwell," said Evan's grandma. "You certainly don't."
    "Grandma," said Evan. "It's going to be okay. Me and Pete are fixing the whole thing. We're going to work some more tomorrow. We'll get it just the way it used to be." Evan could feel that bad feeling rising up in him. The feeling he got just before taking a test. The feeling he sometimes got late at night when the house was too quiet and too dark and he wished his dad had never left.
    For the first time that afternoon, Evan's grandmother looked right at him. She peered sharply at his face and then looked him over once, from top to bottom. She turned to Evan's mom.
    "Who is that boy?" she asked angrily. "Did he do this to my kitchen?"
    "Mom,"