Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 Half an hour later, Uncle Warren handed Ruth Rose the telephone. "Good luck," he said. "Don't worry," Josh said. "She's really good at tricking crooks!" Ruth Rose smiled into the phone. "Hello, is this Mr. Harvey Fowler? My name is Ruth Rose. My birthday is tomorrow, and my parents want to hire Ollie and Polly. My father is Forest Evans, and he's very rich!" Two minutes later, she hung up. "They're coming!" she said.

"Do you think Mr. Evans will mind if we use his property?" Dink asked. His uncle beamed. "He'd love it! I can't wait to tell him when he returns from Europe." "How will we get there?" Josh asked. "I've never even heard of Larchmont, New York." "It's not far, Josh. I'll rent us a car," Uncle Warren said. "Now I have to make a few phone calls. This is going to be such fun!" Early the next morning, Roger called to let them know the rental car was downstairs. Ruth Rose was in disguise. She was wearing Uncle Warren's beret and a pair of his glasses. "You look great!" Dink said. "Mr. Fowler will never remember you from the block party." Uncle Warren and the kids went downstairs and climbed into the rental car. Dink's uncle drove them out of the city. They saw plenty of traffic and crossed a couple of bridges. Finally Dink saw a sign that said: WELCOME TO LARCHMONT

"Almost there," Uncle Warren said. "Forest has a beautiful home and a lot of land." A few minutes later, he turned into a long driveway lined with trees. At the end of the driveway stood a large brick house. Behind it, Dink could see a pool and tennis courts. "Awesome," Josh said. "Yes, it's lovely out here," Uncle Warren said. "But I'd rather have people around me than trees." He parked the car, and everyone got out. Two men and a woman walked out of the garage.

Dink recognized Detective Costello but not the other two.

"This is Detective Rita Frost, my partner," Detective Costello said. "And I'm Dr. Ted Parker," the other man said. "Dr. Parker is the curator for primates at the Bronx Zoo," Detective Costello explained. "After the arrest, he'll take charge of the animals." Detective Frost wore a blue dress and heels. She smiled at Ruth Rose. "Are you ready to act like a rich kid?" she asked. "I'm a little nervous," Ruth Rose said. "What if the Fowlers recognize me?" "I wouldn't worry about that," the woman said. "If what you've told us is true, they won't even look at you. He'll be thinking about how to break into this beautiful house." "Okay, this is the plan," Detective Costello said. "Our backup car will let us know when the Fowlers drive in. Rita and I will pretend to be Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Ruth Rose is our daughter, the one who's having the birthday. Everyone else will stay in the garage until I give the word to come out. Any questions?" Just then, the cell phone on Detective Costello's belt rang. He answered it, listened, then hung up.

"The Fowlers' trailer just entered the property," he said. "Inside, please, and no talking." Dink, Josh, Uncle Warren, and Dr. Parker stepped into the garage. "Good luck," Dink whispered to Ruth Rose. Ruth Rose gave them a thumbs-up as the garage door came down in front of her. Two shiny black cars were parked inside the garage. Dink sat on the bumper of one of the cars. He could hear the trailer approaching. Then he heard car doors slamming and some muffled voices. Josh had his ear to the garage door. He started to giggle when he heard Ruth Rose beg "Daddy" for a pony of her own. "She gets to have all the fun," he whispered. Dink gave Josh a nudge. "No talking!" Dink whispered back. Josh lost his balance and backed into the wall, striking a button. Making a whirring sound, the garage door began to open.