come any closer!”
“Closer?” he asked. He sounded confused … no, not confused,
amused
. “I’m only going closer to the
fridge
to get another soda. You don’t have any objections to me approaching the fridge, do you?” He walked to the fridge, opened the door and pulled out a Coke. “Do you want one?” He held the can out toward me.
“The only thing I want from you is to tell me where Mr. McCurdy is.” I took a few small steps backwards, just barely sliding my feet along the floor. I wanted to be close enough to the door to run outside and escape if he tried to get me. “What have you done with Mr. McCurdy?”
“Me?” he asked. “I’ve done nothing to Mr. McCurdy.” He started walking toward me.
I turned and banged into the wall, bounced off, then raced for the front door. I had to get out before the stranger could catch me. Hurling open the door, I bumped into Vladimir. I bounced back and then the swinging door shut and hit me. I was shocked by Vladimir’s sudden appearance, but relieved — he was here and could protect me!
“Big girl Sarah okay? I didn’t mean to hurt you!”
“He’s here! He’s here!” I practically screamed.
“Who? Where?” Vladimir sounded worried.
“That man … that man from yesterday!”
His worried expression dissolved into a smile. “You mean Anthony?”
“I don’t know what his name is … but you do … and you’re not worried, are you?”
“Not worried. Vladimir knows Anthony is here.”
“But why is he here?” I demanded. “He wanted to buy Kushna. He wanted to slaughter him!”
Vladimir laughed. “He did not really want to buy Kushna. Just pretend.”
“Pretend? Why would he pretend that?”
“Hard to explain. Come inside and meet Anthony.”
“I don’t want to meet him,” I said.
“Be nice, big girl Sarah. Anthony is a nice man.”
“How can he be nice?”
“He is nice. You see. Come, meet Anthony,” he said.
Before I could answer, Vladimir took me by the hand and led me inside. Trying to resist Vladimir would be basically impossible, but there was no reason he’d bring me back inside if there was any danger. We walked down the hall and into the kitchen. This man — this Anthony — was sitting at the table. Calvin was now sitting at the table, as well, right beside him. They were both drinking Cokes.
“Glad you decided to come back,” Anthony said.
“It wasn’t my idea,” I said.
“Anthony, tell Sarah why you asked about Kushna,” Vladimir said.
“Certainly. Please sit.” With his foot, he pushed out the chair directly across from him.
Reluctantly, against my better judgment, I sat down.
“I needed to ask about buying an animal and hint that I was going to do something bad with it to see if Angus and Vladimir would sell it to me,” Anthony said.
“Huh?”
“I was testing them,” he said.
“Testing them? What does that mean?”
“I’d heard they were good people who cared about their animals, but I had to be sure they weren’t into anything illegal with their animals.”
“If you knew them at all, you’d know they’d never do anything like that,” I said.
“That’s the thing. I didn’t know them. I had to find out for myself. I had to test them.”
“So you said all that stuff to test them?”
He nodded. “Exactly. Now do you understand?”
“I understand, but it’s still awful,” I said. “You can’t just go around playing tricks on people!”
“Tricks? You mean the way you came up and talked to me and tried to trick me into telling you who I was and what I was writing in my notebook?”
“That’s different,” I said.
“How?”
“Well … I wasn’t really trying to trick you or test you.”
“You’re right,” he agreed. “What you were doing was more like spying.”
“I was just trying to find out what you were up to, that’s all,” I said.
“The way I was trying to find out what Angus and Vladimir were up to. Were they caring people or were they
“Closer?” he asked. He sounded confused … no, not confused,
amused
. “I’m only going closer to the
fridge
to get another soda. You don’t have any objections to me approaching the fridge, do you?” He walked to the fridge, opened the door and pulled out a Coke. “Do you want one?” He held the can out toward me.
“The only thing I want from you is to tell me where Mr. McCurdy is.” I took a few small steps backwards, just barely sliding my feet along the floor. I wanted to be close enough to the door to run outside and escape if he tried to get me. “What have you done with Mr. McCurdy?”
“Me?” he asked. “I’ve done nothing to Mr. McCurdy.” He started walking toward me.
I turned and banged into the wall, bounced off, then raced for the front door. I had to get out before the stranger could catch me. Hurling open the door, I bumped into Vladimir. I bounced back and then the swinging door shut and hit me. I was shocked by Vladimir’s sudden appearance, but relieved — he was here and could protect me!
“Big girl Sarah okay? I didn’t mean to hurt you!”
“He’s here! He’s here!” I practically screamed.
“Who? Where?” Vladimir sounded worried.
“That man … that man from yesterday!”
His worried expression dissolved into a smile. “You mean Anthony?”
“I don’t know what his name is … but you do … and you’re not worried, are you?”
“Not worried. Vladimir knows Anthony is here.”
“But why is he here?” I demanded. “He wanted to buy Kushna. He wanted to slaughter him!”
Vladimir laughed. “He did not really want to buy Kushna. Just pretend.”
“Pretend? Why would he pretend that?”
“Hard to explain. Come inside and meet Anthony.”
“I don’t want to meet him,” I said.
“Be nice, big girl Sarah. Anthony is a nice man.”
“How can he be nice?”
“He is nice. You see. Come, meet Anthony,” he said.
Before I could answer, Vladimir took me by the hand and led me inside. Trying to resist Vladimir would be basically impossible, but there was no reason he’d bring me back inside if there was any danger. We walked down the hall and into the kitchen. This man — this Anthony — was sitting at the table. Calvin was now sitting at the table, as well, right beside him. They were both drinking Cokes.
“Glad you decided to come back,” Anthony said.
“It wasn’t my idea,” I said.
“Anthony, tell Sarah why you asked about Kushna,” Vladimir said.
“Certainly. Please sit.” With his foot, he pushed out the chair directly across from him.
Reluctantly, against my better judgment, I sat down.
“I needed to ask about buying an animal and hint that I was going to do something bad with it to see if Angus and Vladimir would sell it to me,” Anthony said.
“Huh?”
“I was testing them,” he said.
“Testing them? What does that mean?”
“I’d heard they were good people who cared about their animals, but I had to be sure they weren’t into anything illegal with their animals.”
“If you knew them at all, you’d know they’d never do anything like that,” I said.
“That’s the thing. I didn’t know them. I had to find out for myself. I had to test them.”
“So you said all that stuff to test them?”
He nodded. “Exactly. Now do you understand?”
“I understand, but it’s still awful,” I said. “You can’t just go around playing tricks on people!”
“Tricks? You mean the way you came up and talked to me and tried to trick me into telling you who I was and what I was writing in my notebook?”
“That’s different,” I said.
“How?”
“Well … I wasn’t really trying to trick you or test you.”
“You’re right,” he agreed. “What you were doing was more like spying.”
“I was just trying to find out what you were up to, that’s all,” I said.
“The way I was trying to find out what Angus and Vladimir were up to. Were they caring people or were they
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