Read Online Double Fake by Rich Wallace - Free Book Online Page A

peeled off his T-shirt as his mom handed him a dry one. “No reason to celebrate yet,” he said. “How about tomorrow night?”
    “Win or lose?” said his mom.
    Calvin nodded. “Yeah, but we’re going to win.”
    “Be in by ten,” Mrs. Tait said. “Stay on the Boulevard.”
    “We will.”
    Zero and Calvin started walking across the field.
    “Where we going?” Zero asked.
    “I don’t know. Get some food. Whatever.”
    A car’s beep from the parking lot made them turn and look. The Rosados’ station wagon was pulling out. Jessie had the front window open and was pointing at them with a big grin. “You’re going down tomorrow night!” she shouted playfully.
    Calvin put up his hands and staggered backward. “I’m shaking!” he yelled back.
    Jessie just waved as the car pulled out of the lot. They walked up to the market and bought packages of Yodels.
    “You ain’t thirsty?” Zero asked.
    “Yeah, but I want one of them pineapple sodas. You up for walking?”
    “Sounds good.”
    The sun had gone down but the evening was still light. It wasn’t quite eight thirty, so they had plenty of time to kill.
    “Think we can beat them?” Zero asked.
    “Yeah. We can.”
    They walked past the bank and Izabella Bridal and the Habana restaurant, then took a seat on a bus-stop bench just outside Villa Roma to eat their Yodels. From there they could listen to the music coming from the pizza place, which had its doors wide open. The music was mostly from the 1970s and ’80s—the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Aerosmith.
    “Let’s get that soda,” Calvin said around nine, and they walked toward the south end of town. When they reached Fourth Street, Zero looked ahead a block and said, “There he is.”
    “Who?”
    “The Count.”
    Calvin stopped walking and thought for a second. “Let’s go slow,” he said. “Don’t startle him.”
    “Why not?”
    “Maybe we can get him to talk.”
    Zero let out a short laugh. “You mean more than what’s up and down?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I don’t think there’s much going on in his head besides that,” Zero said.
    “You never know.” Calvin started walking again.
    “But my dad says he’s never talked to nobody.”
    They walked up to the bench. “Hey,” Calvin said, as friendly as he could.
    The Count turned to the boys and caught Calvin’s eye. He didn’t smile but he didn’t sneer. He jerked his gaze back toward the street. “Three up, one down,” he said quickly. The German shepherd moved a little closer to him, looking up at the boys, but wagging his tail.
    “That’s a good score,” Calvin said, taking a seat on the edge of the bench. Zero stood behind him, on the side of the bench farthest from the Count.
    “Good score,” Calvin said again. “Mind if we watch for a while?”
    The Count glanced at Calvin, then turned the other way and looked down the Boulevard toward Jersey City. He turned slowly back and said, “Three... three ... three up. One down.”
    “I’ll remember that.”
    Zero squeezed onto the bench and Calvin slid over, a little closer to where the Count was standing. The dog whined but kept wagging its tail.
    “Nice night,” Calvin said. “Beautiful night to be counting buses.”
    The Count kept his eyes on the road, scanning up the street and down. They were all quiet for about five minutes. Then the dog stiffened and faced back in the direction the boys had come, letting out a soft woof.
    “Good dog,” Calvin said as a bus came down the Boulevard. “Three up, two down,” he said aloud. “Could be an unbelievable comeback for the downers.”
    The Count turned to Calvin and nodded quickly, but his facial expression remained the same. “Three up, two down,” he said, more to himself than to Calvin.
    Another bus came down the street just a few minutes later, tying the score. Calvin stood up. “Can we pet your dog?” he asked.
    The dog answered for him, pulling back his ears and growling. Calvin stepped away and said, “No