The Pea Soup Poisonings Read Online Free PDF Page A

won’t mind if we take one or two, will she? I mean, we’re risking our lives for her.”
    “I guess not.  But no more than two. Now let’s lock up and go.”
    Spence opened the front door – and then shut it again quickly.
    “It’s them!” he hissed. “It’s that blue car.”
    “That proves it,” said Zoe. “They didn’t find what they were looking for. Come on.” She ran back in the bedroom and pulled open the bureau drawers so the kidnappers wouldn’t suspect someone had been in there.
    “Let’s go,” Spence pleaded. “Out the back door.”
    “You crazy? This is our big chance to find out what they’re looking for. We’ll wait.”
    “And let them take us to Rockbury? Oh no.” Spence’s mouth was a round O.
    “Under the bed,” whispered Zoe as a key turned in the front door. “Quick! Get down!” She gave Spence a shove, and crawled under the bedskirts after him.
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
    A Close Encounter
     
    “Thelma wants her black sweater sent up,” the woman’s voice said.
    “Uh oh,” Spence breathed.
    The bag with the sweater and the cookies was stuffed under the bed beside Zoe. She could hear the bureau drawers opening and shutting.
    “The sweater’s not here anywhere,” said the woman. “Maybe she left it next door.”
    “Never mind the sweater,” the man called from another room. “We have other f-fish to fry.”
    “Fish?” Spence whispered, and Zoe shushed him.
    “S-start looking for it,” said the man – Cedric, Zoe assumed. She noticed that he had a slight stutter. She heard his footsteps thumping into the bedroom. “It has to be in the house,” he said. “And close those drawers. N-nothing we want in there.”
    Zoe heard a clunking and then a tinkling. They’re probably looking through the jewelry box, she thought.
    “There’s a pretty jade necklace in here,” the woman said. “It would go nice with my green silk blouse.”
    “Leave it, Chloe,” the man growled. “We’re not looking for any f-fool necklace.” His gruff voice reminded Zoe of a pit bull on the attack.
    Zoe felt Spence shiver beside her. The pupils of his eyes widened as he stared into hers. She was scared herself, but she wasn’t going to let Spence know.
    The two were standing by the bed; Zoe could see their feet under the cotton bedskirt. The woman’s swollen ankles were stuffed into shiny red pumps; the man was wearing enormous black shoes with scuffed toes. One kick and he could send her and Spence to the moon!
    It was dusty under the bed. Zoe’s allergies were acting up again. She was desperately trying not to sneeze. She saw that Spence had a sneeze coming on, too. She didn’t want to think what would happen if he let it out. He was going, “Ah-ah-ah,” and she held her breath. He pressed two fingers under his nose and finally the sneeze subsided. She let out her breath with relief.
    The feet moved away from the bed. For what seemed an hour the couple banged about the house, searching. And finally, finally, they opened the front door. The wind swept through the house and into the bedroom. It felt refreshingly cool, like rain after a dry spell.
    Cedric said, “It’s not here. Unless she buried it in the garden or something. We’ll have to go back to R-Rockbury. We’ll make her t-talk. T-tell us where it is.”
    “She won’t tell,” Chloe said. “She won’t even talk to us now.”
    “We’ll find a way to make her t-talk.”
    “After dinner,” said Chloe. “Not now. I’m starving.”
    “I could eat something myself,” said Cedric. “There’s a steak house in town. We’ll go up to R-Rockbury after.”
    “But what if those kids found it?” said Chloe. “If they’ve been in here? That girl who tried to stop us when we took Thelma? A little busybody if ever I saw one.”
    “Kids?” Cedric scoffed. “Don’t worry about k-kids. We can take care of them.”
    The door banged shut on their voices and Zoe felt her body slowly unthaw.
    “You got it?” Spence