Chapter 4

Chapter 4 The next morning, Dink's hair was stiff with black shoe polish. He shampooed three times before he got out of the shower. The bathroom mirror was fogged up when he tried to see his reflection. He wiped the mirror, looked at himself, and gasped. His hair wasn't its usual blond and it wasn't vampire black. It was a muddy brown color, like the rusty parts on his bike. "Mom! Help!" His mother peeked into the bathroom. "What's the…oh, I see." She giggled.

"It's not funny, Mom. How am I supposed to go outside like this? My hair looks like it rusted!" "Honey, lots of kids will have traces of makeup on their faces or color in their hair today. It's the day after Halloween." Dink rubbed a towel over his hair as hard as he could. He looked in the mirror. Now he had frizzy rust-colored hair. "Be thankful it's Saturday," his mother said, smiling. "At least you don't have to go to school today." After breakfast, Dink jammed his baseball cap over his hair and headed for Josh's house. When Dink got there, Josh was already shooting hoops in front of his barn. He grinned at Dink. "What's wrong with your hair?" he asked. Dink yanked his hat off. "Take a look. The stupid shoe polish from last night won't wash out. I had to be a vampire, right? I couldn't just be a cowboy or an astronaut." Josh dribbled and took a shot. He missed the hoop. "So have you thought of a plan for finding that kid with the video?" Josh asked.

"No," said Dink, jamming his hat back over his hair. "Well, what do we do now?" said Josh. "Ask at more houses?" "I don't know," Dink said. "Now that Halloween is over, we'd look pretty suspicious. Besides, Green Lawn has hundreds of houses. We'd be knocking on doors for a month." Josh made a perfect shot. "Two points!" "We have to use our heads instead of our feet," Dink said, grabbing the ball after Josh's basket. A door slammed behind them. "Uh-oh," Josh mumbled. "Josh, it's time to go," his mother called. "Come in and brush your teeth, please." "I have a dentist appointment," Josh said. "Call me later, okay?" "Okay." Dink tossed Josh's ball into the barn and started walking away. "Hey!" Josh yelled behind him. "I think your new hair color looks just adorable!" "Very funny," Dink muttered, tugging his hat down even tighter. Maybe I'll cut my hair off, he thought. Go to school bald on Monday.

Suddenly, he stopped walking. Thinking about cutting his hair off gave him an idea. He ran toward Main Street. At Howard's Barbershop, he peered through the glass. Howard was watching an I Love Lucy rerun on a small TV set. Dink walked in, setting off the sleigh bells hanging over the door. Whenever he came to Howard's for a haircut, Dink thought about Christmas. "What'll it be today, Dink?" Howard asked. "Want a flattop? How about one of them Mohawk jobbies, with the stripe down the middle?" "I don't want a haircut," Dink said. "I need to ask you something." Howard squinted one blue eye. He lifted Dink's baseball cap. "What happened to your hair?" Dink blushed. "I was a vampire last night. I used black shoe polish in my hair and it won't come out. I tried."

Howard grinned. "Hop up in the chair, me lad. I'll dose you with me special shampoo. You can ask your question while I perform a little magic." Dink hung his hat on a peg and climbed into the barber chair. Howard pulled a bottle and some white towels out of a cupboard. "I was wondering if you know any kids with red hair," Dink said. "Besides Josh." Howard draped a towel around Dink's shoulders and pinned it in back. He misted Dink's hair with a spray bottle of water. "I might," he answered. "Why do you want me to dye your hair red?" Dink laughed. "No, I'm looking for a certain kid who has red hair. I think he's a teenager."

"I know one teenager who had red hair," Howard said, pouring green shampoo onto Dink's hair. "But I shaved it all off last week. Came running in here all excited, out of breath. 'Shave my head!' he tells me. So I did." The smell of the shampoo made Dink's eyes water. He felt his heart start to tap-dance. "Was he carrying a video camera?" Dink asked. Howard rubbed the shampoo into Dink's hair. "Why all the questions about this redheaded boy?" he asked. Dink thought for a few seconds, then decided to spill the beans. He told Howard about the bank robber, about the kid with the video camera, and about the three hundred dollars the detective had promised. Howard chuckled. "Oh, now I see why the boy ran in here yelling for me to cut off all his hair. He didn't want the bank bandit to recognize him. So if I tell you this lad's name, you're going to persuade him to give you the videotape?" "Yes, if I can," Dink said. "What about the money?" said Howard. Dink looked at Howard in the mirror. "What about it?"