Read Online The Adventures of Jack Lime by James Leck - Free Book Online Page A

I’ll line up someone to stake out Chew, and I’ll watch Hampton. I’ll let you know how it turns out tomorrow morning.”
    â€œThanks, Jack,” Tyrone said, and we went our separate ways.
    Wednesday, June 4, 7:02 a.m.
34 Kuiper Belt Crescent, The Hampton Place
    There I was, squatting behind the neighbor’s fence, waiting for the Hamptons to get their paper. This line of work isn’t all glitz and glamor, that’s for sure. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s dreary, dirty and dull. It’s about rooting around in dumpsters and eating a stale granola bar you found in your pocket for breakfast instead of your grandma’s buttermilk pancakes because you’re waiting for the morning paper to show up, and the kicker is, you’re not going to get to read it. But when the action happens, all that waiting pays off — big time. The newsie had just turned the corner on his bike, tossing papers onto lawns as he went, and he was heading my way.
    I hunkered down and waited for him to pass by, then I scurried across the street to see what the Hamptons liked to read with their morning coffee. Bingo! It was
The Daily Telegraph
. I was just about to drop the paper back onto their step when the front door flew open, and two people rushed out.
    â€œThanks, kid,” the first one said, grabbing the paper out of my hand. He was tall, thin as a rail, with wispy gray hair that poked out from under a black fedora, and had a nose that was as long and sharp as a hatchet. I figured that was Mr. Hampton. “Hurry up,” he said. “We’re going to be late for the train again.” Behind him, pulling on a long black trench coat, was a younger man with the same build and the same hatchet nose, but he had black hair instead of gray.
    â€œI forgot my bag,” the younger one said. He turned, started back, tripped on the top step and practically fell into the house.
    â€œGood grief,” the older Hampton said, getting into the car. The younger one came back out and dashed by me. This time, he missed the bottom step, tripped across the front walk and did a face plant on the lawn. The older Hampton couldn’t help but laugh. He was still laughing when they backed out of the driveway.
    I turned back to the house, having a little chuckle of my own. A kid who looked just like the first two Hamptons, but with blond hair, was standing in the door, staring out at me. I smiled and nodded, not wanting to blow my cover. He slammed the door shut. That must have been Walter. I started back to the street and pulled out the walkie-talkie I had in my jacket.
    â€œAny luck, Max?” I asked. Max Thorn was on the other end at Polly Chew’s house. I was running low on favors, so Max was the only person I could round up on short notice for early morning surveillance work. I could picture him hanging from a tree branch with a set of binoculars taped to his head. Max might be goofy, but he gets the job done, and he knows how to keep his mouth shut if I tell him it’s confidential.
    â€œThey get
The Telegraph
, Chief,” he said. “Over.”
    â€œ
The Daily Telegraph
?” I asked.
    â€œRoger that, Chief,” he said. “What’s our next move? Over.”
    â€œGo home,” I said. “The stakeout’s a bust.”
    â€œShouldn’t we stick around in case there’s some kind of cover-up?” he asked. “Over.”
    â€œCover-up?” I said. “Max, you’re nuttier then a carload of squirrels. Go home, and that’s an order.”
    â€œRoger Wilco, Chief. I’ll have my report on your desk by 0-nine hundred hours. Thorn out.”
    Thorn Out, Lime Out, the whole rotten case was out. This job was turning into a real brain twister, and I was getting nowhere fast.
    Wednesday, June 4, 8:17 a.m.
Iona High, The Science Hallway
    Things were getting desperate for yours truly. I hate to admit it, but on my way back to school, I