When the show ended, Carter felt relief wash over him. He and his friends were unharmed and intact.
Throngs of people walked along the main road back to the warm lights of their homes. It seemed half of Mineral Wells had attended tonight’s show. But Carter was only concerned with three of them. Oblivious to his anxieties, Leila told jokes to Carter. He almost interrupted her several times to ask about her life in the orphanage. He wanted to tell her the truth about his own history. Instead he laughed. Ridley and Theo trailed behind, discussing the likely mechanisms behind Bosso’s show.
They were almost back to the magic shop when Theo turned pale. He stopped walking. “My bow is gone.”
He patted his pant leg again and again. Then he checked his jacket, as though it might have ended up in there. It was nowhere to be found.
“My lucky lockpicks!” Leila said, her face dropping. “I always have them in my front pocket. But they’ve vanished!”
Ridley checked a hidden compartment in the arm of her wheelchair. “Leila, please tell me this is a joke. I need my notebook. My whole life is in there.”
“I’m sorry.” Leila’s voice cracked. “I’d never make a joke like this.”
Carter’s heart raced. He had only one thing of true value. He opened his satchel and dug deep. The small wooden box was gone. In its place was a torn piece of paper.
When Carter looked up, Theo, Leila, and Ridley also had torn pieces of paper in their hands. They put the four pieces together to form a note. It read:
“What do they mean by ‘joined Bosso’?” Ridley asked, her eyes stabbing at Carter.
Carter felt like someone had just pushed him off a cliff. “Last night… he asked me to join his gang,” he admitted quickly and quietly.
“Did you?” Theo asked.
“Of course not!”
“How can we trust a word he says?” Ridley growled.
“Now, hold on,” Leila said. “If Carter was with them, he wouldn’t have been robbed too.”
“For all we know, this is part of his shtick,” Ridley said. “He gets all friendly, robs us blind, and then pretends he got robbed too.”
“I don’t steal!” Carter shouted.
“Yeah, right!” Ridley yelled back. “And I just ride around in this chair for the fun of it!”
Leila and Theo stepped in between Carter and Ridley. “That’s enough,” the violinist said calmly.
“Remember what the psychic lady said? We all have to work together,” Leila added.
“That was a bunch of hooey,” Ridley spat. “And it was Carter’s idea to see the old lady. Maybe that’s part of the whole deal.”
“What whole deal?” Carter defended himself. “I’m… I’m not lying.” Not at the moment, he thought, cringing at what he’d told them about staying at the resort on the hill. He found that he could barely look at Leila.
“That’s probably a lie too,” Ridley went on. “I’m going back for my journal.”
“That’s a terrible idea,” Carter said. “Bosso has a whole army of goons. You don’t stand a chance by yourself.”
“Then we’ll all go,” Leila said.
“Four against an entire carnival?” Theo said. “I think perhaps we need to contact the police and explain our situation.”
“NO!” Carter yelped. “Please, no cops.”
“See?” Ridley said. “He is a thief!”
“I am not! I’m… I’m a runaway.”
The night became suddenly quiet. Leila, Theo, and Ridley stared at Carter. Despite the darkness, he felt like a giant spotlight was on him.
“You don’t have a home?” Leila asked softly.
“No,” Carter admitted. “I have an uncle, but he isn’t a good person. He wanted me to steal from people, but I wouldn’t. So I ran away. I hopped a train and ended up here. I’m not a thief. But if you call the cops, I’ll go away to foster care or worse.” He checked Leila’s face for reassurance. But her eyes were blank. She looked like she was lost in memory. “They’ll take me away from Mineral Wells, and I’ll never see any of you again. And I would hate that, more than anything. I would never steal from any of you. I would never hurt you. You’re… you’re the first friends I’ve ever had. You have to believe me.”
There was a long period of silence. Carter felt his heart sink further and further. His three new friends were going to walk away, and he would be alone again.
Then something unexpected happened.
“I believe you,” said Leila. She hugged Carter.
“So do I,” said Theo. He patted Carter on the back.
“Well, I don’t.…” Ridley said, her arms crossed. “But I’m willing to think about it.”
“No one should be in foster care, or live in an orphanage. Everyone desrves a home,” Leila said sadly. She took a deep breath, then added, “But you hopped a train? So neato!”
“I cannot imagine what you’ve been through,” Theo said. “My condolences. I’m sorry you didn’t tell us sooner. But I understand why you hesitated.”
“I’m not sorry,” Ridley said, arms still crossed. “But it sounds like your life sucks. I can relate.” She knocked her fist on the arm of her wheelchair. “Truce?”
“Truce.” Carter beamed. He’d never felt such relief. He took a deep breath, his whole body shuddering—it felt like the first oxygen he’d ever inhaled. “But what do we do now? We have to get our stuff back.”
“We do,” Theo said. “But it’s late, we’re tired, and we’re four kids against an entire carnival of crooks. Cooler heads will prevail in the morning. I find one always works best after a good night’s sleep, a shower, and a well-rounded breakfast.”
“That’s not how I would have put it, but fine,” Ridley said. “First thing in the morning.”
“Agreed,” Leila chirped. “Since tomorrow’s Saturday, let’s meet at ten at the magic shop?”
Everyone nodded.
Ridley and Leila said good night, then went on their way. Carter was about to head back to the park when Theo asked, “Do you have a place to sleep?”
“I can take care of myself,” Carter said. He sounded tougher than he felt.
“Unacceptable.” Theo shook his head. “You are staying with me.”
TWELVE
Carter woke to the sound of music. A violin, he guessed, once he remembered where he was. He was stretched out in a bed with a real mattress, cotton sheets, a knitted blanket, and two pillows. His feet didn’t even stick out at the end of the covers, like they did with the newspapers that he and Uncle Sly had sometimes used for bedding.
Sunlight glowed through the gauzy curtain. A gentle breeze fluttered in.
This must be what heaven is like, Carter thought. A brief image flickered in his mind: a tiny bedroom in that red cottage with the white trim, morning sunlight streaming in, the sound of his parents’ voices rising from the kitchen below. There was more… so much more… he wished he could remember.