Read Online A Recipe for Robbery by Marybeth Kelsey - Free Book Online

boy—what’s his name?”
    â€œYou mean G-Gus?” I said through chattering teeth.
    â€œThat’s it—Gus. He tells me you kids like sardines.”
    â€œHe said what?”
    â€œSaid you all liked sardines. Kind of surprised me; I never cared a hoot for them as a kid. Anyway, I’m going to scoot back in here and rip into a can.” She held the door open while I trudged up the steps, my heart still pounding. One thing for certain, if we made it out of this house without dying of food poisoning, the first thing I’d do was wring Gus Kinnard’s neck.
    I was making my way through the cluttered utility room, thinking how I could get Gus and Margaretoutside when Margaret yelled at me from the kitchen. I poked my head through the doorway. Gus was fiddling with something on the counter and had his back to me. Margaret was sitting on the floor. When she saw me, she held a speckled brown diapered duck over her head. “Look. Isn’t this the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen? A duck wearing a diaper . Mrs. Unger showed me how to put it on her. And she says if Doris ever has ducklings, we can each have one. Wouldn’t you just love that?”
    â€œUh, yeah, that’d be great.” I waved frantically at her behind Granny Goose’s back, pointing to the door and mouthing, “Outside. I’ve…got…something…to…show…you.”
    Margaret cracked up laughing. She must’ve thought I was pointing at Pickles, who’d just popped her head through a hinged flap on the door. “Oh, look. Pickles got in the house all by herself. Isn’t that cute? Did you put that little door in for her, Mrs. Unger?”
    â€œYep,” Granny Goose said, her head buried inthe refrigerator. “It works like a doggie door. She’s in and out of here all the time. Gotta watch her, though. The little bugger’s not house-trained. If she runs loose without a diaper, I’ll likely have a mess on my hands.”
    â€œI’ll put one on her.” Margaret jumped up from the floor and practically skipped to the pantry. “I’ll get the halter.” She was back in a flash, sitting on the kitchen floor again, before I had a chance to get her alone.
    Gus set his cheese cutter down, popped a chunk of something in his mouth, then wiped his hands on his shirt. He wriggled his eyebrows at Margaret and me before turning to Granny Goose. “Mrs. Unger,” he said, “so what about this Leonard guy, anyway? When he was here this morning, did he get belligerent? I mean, did he actually follow you inside? Stomp around your, uh, kitchen , yelling about Pickles?”
    â€œHe was in here, all right, honey. But he didn’tget too mouthy with me. He knows I’ll give it right back.”
    â€œGolly. You must’ve been really busy this morning, Mrs. Unger,” Margaret said, taking the lead from Gus. “Did you have lots of company, or was it just Leonard and François?”
    Granny Goose rustled around her silverware drawer, answering Margaret as if nothing were unusual about all the questions. “Nope. They were the only two here, thank the stars. I was swamped.”
    Gus grinned at Margaret, giving her the thumbs-up.
    Since they were having such good luck getting information, I tried my hand. “Were Leonard or François out on your deck this morning?” I asked casually.
    That got raised eyebrows and a “Why, yes, they were. Why do you ask, honey?” from Granny Goose, followed by a rapid head shake and a finger to the mouth from Gus.
    Ignoring him, I said, “Oh, no reason, really. I justwondered if either of them wanted to look at your animals, maybe help you feed Hogjaw.”
    â€œNope. No one gets in those pens but me, period. For safety reasons.” She jiggled the keys hanging from her belt loop. “I keep them all locked up.”
    I didn’t get a chance to go into more details