Chapter 8

Chapter 8 The kids carried their skis across Bridge Lane and into the supermarket. The store was almost empty on this snowy Sunday afternoon. "Look," Dink said, pointing to a small sign taped to the lottery machine: CLOSED FOR THE STORM. SEE YOU TOMORROW. Just then a teenager walked by. He was carrying a broom and a dustpan. The name tag on his shirt said ERIC. "Cool pooch," he said, smiling at Pal. "Do you know if Dot is still here?" Ruth Rose asked.

"Nope," the kid said. "She left a while ago, all happy. She goes, like, 'Merry Christmas, Eric!' and slips me twenty bucks. I go, like, 'Wow, thanks, Dot!'" Eric walked behind the counter. "What a mess Dot left back here," he mumbled as he began sweeping. "Um, do you know if Dot's boss is around?" Dink said. "Can we talk to him?" Eric crouched down behind the counter. "It's a her, not a him," he said, standing up. "The boss is Mrs. Milk. She's, like, out sick, though. She's had the flu all week."

"The flu?" Dink said. "But Dot told me she'd talk to—" Suddenly, Pal let out a howl. He buried his nose in the pile of dust Eric had swept up. "What did you find?" Josh asked. "Let me have it, boy." Josh pried open Pal's mouth and pulled something out. "Look, guys!" Josh held out a small tinfoil bow tie.

Ruth Rose took it from Josh, then pulled the other two out of her pocket. The three were exactly the same. The kids leaned over the counter. The floor was littered with tiny tinfoil bow ties. Suddenly, it all made sense. Dink could tell by the looks on their faces that Josh and Ruth Rose had figured it out, too. "Come on," Dink muttered. He grabbed his skis and poles and hurried toward the exit. Josh and Ruth Rose followed with their skis and poles. "Let's go, Pal," Josh told his dog. "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Ruth Rose asked once they were outside. "Yeah," Dink muttered. "Boy, have we been dopes! Let's go back to Ellie's." They trudged through the snow and piled into the diner. Ellie looked up. "Twice in one day?" she said. "Three more hot chocolates?" "Thanks, Ellie," Dink said. The kids slid into a booth while Pal flopped down at their feet. "So Dot Calm is the crook, right?" Josh said. "Right," Dink said. "After Dot sold Hector his tickets, she must have kept the paper he wrote the

kids' birthdays on. That's how she knew Lucky's ticket was the winner." "But she didn't know where Lucky lived," Ruth Rose said, "so she had to go to the Atrium to find out. She wouldn't want to talk to Hector, so she probably asked someone else where his grandkids lived. She must've dropped a bow tie while she was snooping!" "Then she went to Lucky's house and stole the card…," Dink added. "…and dropped another bow tie in the snow," Josh said. "Then she made up that story about Joe to throw us off her trail," Ruth Rose said. Dink looked at Josh. "I bet she described your face because she was looking right at you when you were drawing him." "Yeah, and I was so dumb I didn't even notice it was me," Josh said. "Here we go, kids." Ellie brought their hot chocolates to the table. "These are on me, and a little treat for Pal." Ellie set a bowl of chopped-up hamburger in front of Pal's nose. Pal raised his head, blinked his

big brown eyes at Ellie, and stuck his nose in the bowl. "Thanks a lot, Ellie," Josh said. "Pal says thanks, too." Ruth Rose had been sipping her hot chocolate. "You know, guys," she said, "we can't prove Dot stole the tickets. We know she did it, but Officer Fallon will say, 'Where's the proof?'" Dink nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly what he'll say." "Well, unless we find the proof," Josh said, "this sure is going to be a lousy Christmas for Lucky's family. Seven million bucks down the drain." The kids drank their hot chocolate with glum expressions on their faces. From beneath the table came the sound of happy chomping.