Deadliest of Sins by Sallie Bissell Page A

to get back to work.” Gudger tossed him an apple and a can of Coke. “I’ve got to go to the hardware store. When I get back, I’d better see a lot more fence cleared than I’m seeing now.”
    â€œYes sir.” Chase lowered his head, trying to hide his excitement. The hardware store was ten minutes away! Gudger would be gone long enough for him to get that backpack!
    He gulped the Coke, watching as Gudger walked down to the car. Suzie Q’s motor roared to life as her brake lights came on. A moment later, she and Gudger rolled down the driveway. Chase waited until they turned down Kedron Road, then leapt to his feet. Ten minutes to the hardware store, ten minutes in there, then ten minutes back. He’d have half an hour to find the backpack, get the card, and call Mary Crow.
    He raced along the fence line, ignoring the branches of poison ivy that slapped against his bare chest. The back of Gudger’s house came into view, then the stacked up remnants of the swimming pool. Finally, he reached the toolshed. The clothes he’d taken off the night before still lay in a pile. For an instant his cheeks flamed as he wondered if Gudger had truly posted those pictures of him on YouTube. Then he shrugged it off; nobody would laugh at him until school started in August. Right now all he wanted was to find that backpack.
    He slowed, retracing his steps, searching the deep green underbrush that crowded up from Mrs. Carver’s back yard. He remembered dropping the backpack close to the fence, near a fallen tree, but he couldn’t remember exactly where. Walking slowly, he searched the thicket all the way to the end of the fence without seeing a thing. A moment of panic gripped him—had Gudger found his backpack? Did he now have his EVEDINSE files? Please no , he prayed. Please anything but that.
    He took a deep breath and turned to retrace his steps again. Now he was going in the same direction as he had yesterday—maybe that would make it easier to find. Inching along the fence line, he peered into the underbrush. He saw a squirrel dart through the leaves, a mottled rock that could have been a snapping turtle, then he saw something shining through the branches of a bush. He hurried toward it. It was his backpack! His dad’s old blue carabiner clip glinted in the dappled sunlight.
    He leaned over the fence, pulled the thing to him. Cradling it like a football, he raced for the house. It had taken him far longer to find the backpack than he could have imagined. Gudger would be coming home any minute. He ran past the toolshed, over the ground still wet from the slaughtered swimming pool, across the patio, and into the house. He headed straight for his room, throwing his backpack on the floor. He held his breath as he unzipped it. To his great relief, his EVEDINSE file lay undisturbed, along with Mary Crow’s business card. He grabbed the card, stashed the backpack on the floor of his closet, and raced for the den. He had only moments now to reach Mary Crow before Gudger got home.
    He glanced out the window, to make sure no black car was rumbling up the driveway. All he saw was the white fence that surrounded Gudger’s front yard, and two small goldfinches pecking at the bird feeder his mother had put out. He hurried to the phone, dialed the number, awkward with the process of sticking his finger in seven different little holes and letting them spin. The phone seemed to work okay, though. After a few clicks, Mary Crow’s number began to ring. He turned toward the window to watch for Gudger when his heart sank. Suzie Q’s chrome grille glittered like a menacing smile as the car slowly rolled up the driveway.
    â€œAnswer,” he whispered, his legs beginning to tremble. “Answer now!”
    The phone rang again. He ducked to the floor as Gudger drove past the house and pulled the car into the garage. In just a minute he would be inside the