Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 Dink explained about the orange peels they'd found on his uncle's balcony. Roger shook his head. "But how would a thief climb the building?" he asked. "Why don't we go outside and take a look?" Josh suggested. "Maybe we'll find a clue." "Kids, it's pretty late," Roger said. "Perhaps you should wait till tomorrow. …" "We'll only stay a minute," Dink said. "Well, okay." Roger directed them to a metal door around the corner from the elevator.

Dink slid back a long bolt and shoved the door open. They walked out into a narrow, well-lit space behind the building. It was completely enclosed except for an alley that led to the street. Next to the building, a Dumpster sat in the shadows. "I wonder," Ruth Rose said, staring at the Dumpster. "What if the thief climbed on top of that? Could he reach the first balcony?" Dink stared up. "The first two floors don't have balconies," he observed. "Even standing on the Dumpster, I don't see how the crook could have gotten up or down this way." "Then he had to go through the front door," Josh said. "But if Roger didn't see him …" Just then, an angry voice came out of the darkness. "What are you doing back here? This is private property!" "Who … who's there?" Dink asked. A figure walked out of the shadows. It was Miss Booker. She didn't look happy to see them. "It's just us," Dink said. "My uncle is Mr. Duncan. We met you at the block party earlier tonight."

The woman stopped a few feet from the kids. Her hands were jammed into her coat pockets. She wore a cap pulled down over her orange hair. "Why are you kids out here?" she asked. "There was a robbery in my uncle's apartment," Dink said. Miss Booker nodded. "I know. Roger just told me." "We thought the crook might have come this way," Ruth Rose said. "Yeah," Josh said, "except he'd have to have wings." Miss Booker looked up the side of the building. She touched the bricks with a long finger. "A few years ago, I could've climbed this no problem," she said. The kids stared at the woman. Miss Booker smiled. "When I was your age, my father and mother owned a carnival. My brothers did the high-wire act. They were known as the Flying Bookers. I was the girl on the trapeze." "Um, did you happen to see anyone in the alley?" Dink asked. Miss Booker shook her head. "The alley was blocked off," she said.

"Blocked off? How?" Ruth Rose asked. "I'll show you." The kids followed Miss Booker down the alley toward the front of the building. "Right here," Miss Booker said, stopping where the alley met the street. "There was a trailer parked here during the block party." "A trailer?" Dink asked, trying to remember. Just then, Roger opened the front door and leaned out. "Donald, your uncle wants you and your friends to come upstairs," he said. "Okay, we'll be right in," Dink said. "Good night, Miss Booker. Maybe we'll see you tomorrow." "Maybe you will," the woman said. Then she turned and walked back down the dark alley.