Thief!

V. Delashmit Margaret

Description

It is 1959 when thirteen-year-old Claire McGlaughlins parents leave for Kenya on a missionary trip. She is sent to live with her grandmother in boring old Holly Springs, Mississippiwhere nothing interesting ever happens. Soon, Claire finds she has a friend in local boy Ralphie. Even better, she discovers that the small town has a mystery, and then Holly Springs becomes anything but dull.A rash of burglaries and rumors of a cold case murder send this budding writer into investigative mode. The nice folk of Holly Springs would never admit to anything bad happening in their hometown, especially bad things perpetrated by one of their own. They go so far as to deny a murder ever occurred, but Claire is sure they must be hiding something.With the help of her new pal, Claire sets out to solve the mystery. Along the way, Claire and Ralphie make the acquaintance of vicious dogs, a shotgun-waving crazy lady, and an angry sheriff . Whats more, an unknown Mary Cassatt painting and a dog with mysterious powers may be the keys to unraveling a mystery that has haunted the town of Holly Springs for much too long.This inspiring novel of teenage angst set in a small Southern town captures the emotions of doubt, rejection, and love. It provides a convincing demonstration of the resilience of teenagers who are so often dismissed by adults who cannot see beyond their myopic preconceptions of adolescence (and have forgotten their own teenage years).B. C. Crawford, Educator, Oxford, Mississippi

Sujets

• Children's

Informations

• Publié par: Inspiring Voices
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781462403493
• Langue: English

Extrait

Thief!
Margaret V. Delashmit


 
Copyright © 2012 Margaret V. Delashmit
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
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ISBN: 978-1-4624-0348-6 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4624-0349-3 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012917910
Inspiring Voices rev. date:10/30/2012
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Chapter 1. — An Exciting Surprise?
Chapter 2. — A Fright, A New Friend, and A Mystery
Chapter 3. — Joe’s Bicycle Shop
Chapter 4. — A “Crazy Lady” with a Shotgun
Chapter 5. — News from Scotland
Chapter 6. — Thief!
Chapter 7. — Letter from Kenya
Chapter 8. — Malcolm the Brave
Chapter 9. — A Narrow Escape
Chapter 10. — Mom Writes with News
Chapter 11. — A Grim Suspicion
Chapter 12. — The Sheriff Visits Again
Chapter 13. — George and Wangara
Chapter 14. — Detective Work at the Bicycle Shop
Chapter 15. — Another Robbery!
Chapter 16. — Malcolm Again
Chapter 17. — Lucky’s Hardware Store
Chapter 18. — Mom and Dad Learn the Bad News
Chapter 19. — More Detective Work
Chapter 20. — Confession
Chapter 21. — A Rose for Emily?
Chapter 22. — A Visit to McQuistion Manor
Chapter 23. — They Took Her Shotgun Away!
Chapter 24. — A Theory and A Puzzle
Chapter 25. — Frightening Detective Work
Chapter 26. — Cholera Puzzle in Kenya Solved
Chapter 27. — Soda Jerks*
Chapter 28. — The Thief Strikes Again!
Chapter 29. — One Mystery Solved
Chapter 30. — Rescued by a Dog Named Fagin
Chapter 31. — Claire Surprises Herself
Glossary
 
This book is for my friend Muriel
 
The Eye of the Hawk
High in a straight pine The hawk lifts its head From under folded wing His keen eyes staring at the dawn
He sits in a transit state And waits— Then with an effortless thrust He begins his hunting flight
Riding high against a warm wind He never blinks as he watches The fields below for a moving shadow
The hours float With the sun across the dimming sky But he waits—
Scampering-gray in the path Of the eye of the hawk!
Folding his wings Eyes leveled at the running object below He drops
Wings unfold in a smooth glide As steel talons extend and contract Sinking deep towards the rapid-beating heart Then a silent snap of the spine
In the settling dust of day The ancient rite echoes In the raincrow’s call And the fireflies signal The battle’s end
--Muriel Hollingshead
       (1936-2007)
 
Acknowledgments
I THANK MY beloved husband, Charles Long, for believing in me and encouraging me. I am sorry he did not live to see the book published.
I also thank my good friends, Rebecca VanDyke and B.C. and Bonnie Crawford, for reading the manuscript and making constructive and valuable suggestions and comments—and for encouraging me to go forward.
My friend, Ann Harms, suggested I ask someone Claire’s age for her impressions of the story. I am grateful for special editorial assistance from my young niece, Racheal Dunlap.
I especially thank my sister, Joan Kilburn, for reading and re-reading the manuscript many times as she helped me edit it and get it ready for publication.
I am further indebted to one of my students from Kenya, George Ademba, for his observations about his country and to Jomo Kenyatta’s book Facing Mt. Kenya (Vintage Books, a division of Random House, 1965) for information about Kenya’s religious and marriage customs.
 
Foreword
THIS IS THE story of Claire McGlaughlin, a precocious thirteen-year-old girl who loves words and writing. When she is sent to live with her grandmother in a small southern town while her medical missionary parents are in Kenya fighting a cholera epidemic, she is both angry and sad. Things look up for her, though, when she hears a rumor that a “crazy lady” in the town killed a man and buried him in her backyard. Most people in the town do not believe the story, but Claire decides to turn detective and learn the truth. She plans to write a book about the mystery. As other events develop and the mystery deepens, Claire is forced to examine her attitudes. By the end of the book, she has learned some valuable lessons about herself.
Because this book is set during the late 1950s, references are made to events and people in the news during that time, as well as references to authors and works that may not be familiar to every reader. The book also contains some words that will not be in every young reader’s vocabulary. For this reason, I have provided a glossary arranged in alphabetical order for items that might need explanation. An asterisk appears after words included in the glossary the first time they appear in the text. For example, the “crazy lady” names her dogs for literary characters, and Claire remembers characters from Alice in Wonderland . Also, an unknown painting by a celebrated woman artist, Mary Cassatt, figures largely in the story. My hope is that readers will seek out the books I mention and read them if they have not already done so. They will also enjoy looking up and listening to the music of Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, two musicians of the period who are mentioned in this story.
Margaret Delashmit
Holly Springs, Mississippi
August 31, 2012
 
Chapter 1 An Exciting Surprise?
“ M OM, I’M HOME!” Claire yelled as she ran into the house and threw her book satchel onto the sofa. The door banged shut behind her. Claire stood listening. It was too quiet. She hurried into the kitchen where her mother always had something laid out for her snack. Nothing. Maybe Mom had to work overtime , she thought. But there was no note either. Mom always left a note when the hospital called her in to work overtime.
Puzzled at the change in routine, Claire began rummaging through the refrigerator looking for something to eat. There’s not much here , she thought. The phone rang just as she pulled out milk and a carrot. “Claire, I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you got home.” Mom’s voice sounded excited. “There’s chocolate cake in the pantry, but don’t eat much. Your father and I are taking you out to eat tonight. We have a big surprise.”
A big surprise? Claire’s antennae had picked up excitement, but something else, too, in Mom’s voice. Nervousness? Mom was never nervous. She was a pediatric nurse. She couldn’t be nervous. What then? Now Claire felt herself getting both nervous and excited. She skipped the cake and drank a glass of milk slowly, trying to remember if she had heard her parents say anything that would give her a clue. Nothing came to mind. She would just have to wait to learn the surprise.
An hour later the three of them walked into the Rendezvous*, Claire’s favorite place to eat. She looked around at the large room filled with tables covered in red-checkered oilcloth. Waiters in white shirts and black bow ties moved among the diners. The air was filled with rich, smoky, spicy smells that always made Claire’s mouth water.
Claire looked from one parent to the other. Something was definitely up. She saw it in the way they looked at each other and didn’t look at her. She was not yet included in their secret.
No one said anything while the waiter took their orders—barbecued pork ribs with the famous Rendezvous dry rub seasoning. While they were waiting to be served, Claire could stand the suspense no longer. “Mom, are you going to have a baby?” Claire blurted out.
Mom looked startled. “A baby? No! Why do you ask that?”
“What’s the big surprise then?”
Mom and Dad looked at each other. “Do we tell her now?” Dad asked. Mom nodded. Claire sat forward in her chair, blue eyes shining and mouth forming an expectant half smile. Dad’s surprises were always such—well, surprises, and fun.
Dad cleared his throat and began, “Sometime ago, Claire, when you were in the first grade, the missions board asked us to consider going to Kenya* as medical missionaries. We thought about it and attended several training sessions, but you were so young, we decided not to go. Then a few days ago, I received an emergency call—a plea really. Cholera* has reached epidemic proportions in that area. The hospital in Kenya is understaffed and cannot meet the needs of so many sick people. Unless outside help reaches them immediately, many will die for lack of medical aid. Your mom and I have been in meetings with the mission’s board all day.”
Dad stopped and took a deep breath. A look of uneasiness replaced Claire’s smile as she sat back in her chair. Dad continued, “Claire, honey, we’ve decided to go to Kenya after all, as soon as I can turn my medical practice over to my partners.”
Claire was stunned. She could not speak for a moment. Finally, she wailed, “But, Da