Chapter 5

Chapter 5 That evening, Dink ate dinner in front of the TV with his parents. His mother cut his meat for him and made his favorite cookies for dessert. His bandaged arm was resting on a pillow that he held on his lap. Dink's father winked at him. "Some kids will do anything to get out of their chores," he said.

"Look, there's Penelope Gwinn!" Dink's mother said. She turned up the volume on the TV. A reporter was interviewing the singer about the theft of her diamond pendant. Dink could see the white PENGUIN trailer behind them. "It was a gift from someone special," PENGUIN said. "I'm shocked and angry that anyone would steal it." "I'm sure you must feel terrible," the reporter said. "But your fans feel awful, too. Will you give another concert tomorrow?" "No, I'm too upset," Penelope said. "I can't think of singing right now, even for my loyal fans. I'll make sure everyone gets a refund." The camera left Penelope's face. "Well, that's the story" the reporter said into the camera. "Someone wearing a penguin mask stole

Penelope Gwinn's priceless necklace while asking her for an autograph!" The phone rang. Dink's mother answered it, then handed the portable phone to Dink. "Hello?" he said. "Did you see that?" Ruth Rose asked. "The thief was one of her fans!" "I know," Dink said. "Pretty rotten." Dink stared ahead. He was trying to remember something when Ruth Rose said, "Dink, are you there?" "Yeah," he said. "Listen, come over tomorrow after I get back from the doctor's, okay?" Just as Dink hung up, the phone rang again. "Hello?" "I think it was that hot-dog guy!" Josh exclaimed. "He had an autograph book, remember?" "Lots of people there had autograph books," Dink said. Then he remembered something. "Josh? After we came out of the first-aid tent, the hot-dog cart was gone." "See, I told you!" Josh said. "That guy with the hairy fingers is the thief!"

"Maybe," Dink said. "Can you come over tomorrow so we can talk about it with Ruth Rose?" he asked. "What time is lunch?" Josh asked. Dink laughed and hung up. Dink's father shut off the TV and picked up a book. Seeing the book made Dink remember the yellow-haired woman who had been sitting in front of him during the concert. She had been holding an autograph book. And she seemed pretty mad at that cop for not letting her leave the park right after the theft. At ten o'clock the next morning, Dink and his mom drove to the family medicine clinic on Main Street. The receptionist brought them to Dr. Bryte's office. Dr. Bryte snapped on a pair of rubber gloves.

Dink handed him the envelope containing the X-rays. "What's this?" Dr. Bryte asked, holding up the x'ed-out X-ray.

"The other doctor took that one while I had the bandage on," Dink explained. "He said it was too blurry, so he did another one with my bandage off." Dink pointed to the envelope. Dr. Bryte slid the X-ray back into the envelope and pulled out the other one. He attached it to a light board and examined Dink's arm bones. "I see nothing in this X-ray except healthy bones," Dr. Bryte said. "I think you just suffered a minor sprain, Dink." Dr. Bryte unwrapped Dink's bandage and examined his arm. He cleaned the scrape and put on a sterile Band-Aid. "No sports for a few days, kiddo," he said. "And stay off carousels!"