The Big Dip Read Online Free PDF Page B

of the Old MacDonald variety. The occasional moo and baa floated out. They reminded me of Babs Beesley and the braying sound she’d made.
    And of her buddy, the guy with the baseball cap. I clenched my fists in my pockets.
    I’d told Amy about Babs. I’d told her about Ellie getting kidnapped and Baseball Cap demanding the Margaret rose as ransom.
    I hadn’t shared the where and when of the exchange though. I didn’t want Amy to turn noble and insist on coming along. I had to do this on my own.
    Across from Herbie’s was the Community Police Center, a small white clapboard building. I stopped. “Maybe I better leave you here,” I said.
    Amy nodded. Frowning, she fiddled with the strap of her purse. Then she blurted, “That old guy who was shot—Jake something…”
    â€œJake Grissom.”
    â€œYeah. Well, the other day I saw him with someone. A friend, I think, because they were talking really intently.”
    A policewoman came out of the Community Police Center and surveyed the fairgrounds. She was just catching a few rays, maybe…or maybe not.
    I took Amy’s elbow and guided her around another building, the Horror House of Mirrors. There was a long lineup. We swerved to the other side of the line, out of the policewoman’s view.
    â€œJake’s friend,” I said. “Was it a stocky woman? Or a guy wearing a baseball cap?”
    â€œNo,” said Amy, her dark eyes troubled. “Nobody like that. It was her .”
    And she pointed past the Horror House of Mirrors lineup—to the policewoman.
    The Horror House of Mirrors line shifted past us. To avoid standing out, Amy and I joined the end of the line. Screams, creepy organ music and villainous laughs blasted out at us.
    According to the Horror House sign, once you got inside, you’d be too confused to escape. You’d be creeped out and disoriented by the strobe lights, mirrors and sound effects. Not to mention the cold water and fake spiders that got tossed at you.
    The policewoman, still surveying the fairgrounds, pulled out a cell phone and started gabbing into it. Maybe someone had reported seeing me, and she was keeping a lookout. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
    I turned my back to her. I said to Amy, “If Jake was talking to the police, he could’ve been snitching on his buddies.”
    â€œHis buddies…Babs and the guy with the baseball cap,” Amy whispered back, nodding. “What you’re saying is, they killed Jake to silence him.”
    â€œAnd all over a plant.” I told her about the Margaret rose.
    â€œUnbelievable,” Amy commented. “I have a cousin who’s fanatical about stamps, but flowers …?”
    She checked her watch. “I gotta get to work, Joe.” Her eyes fixed on my face anxiously. “I don’t like to leave you.”
    I thought how nice she was. Skip was a fool not to call her. If a girl like that liked me…
    But she didn’t. “I’ll be okay,” I told her. “Thanks for your concern, but just forget about all this. It’s not your problem.”
    We’d reached the entrance to the Horror House of Mirrors. Amy hesitated, uncertain. Without saying any more, I paid the attendant and pushed through. Amy turned and walked slowly away.
    Good one, Joe. Trample on the girl’s feelings. I felt rotten. I was tempted to chase after Amy and apologize.
    There was a tap on my shoulder. “Amy,” I said in relief and spun round.
    But it wasn’t Amy.
    It was the guy in the baseball cap.

Chapter Seven
    Baseball Cap shot out a hand to clamp my wrist. A smile flickered over his lips. The smile scared me more than his lean mean expression had.
    But I had the advantage of knowing who he was. I dodged behind a tall statue of a screaming woman. I didn’t think Baseball Cap would want to attract attention by knocking the statue down to reach me.
    In a breath heavy with the stench of