Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Dink answered the phone. "Is this D. Duncan?" a woman's voice asked. "I'm Donald Duncan," Dink said. "But my friends call me Dink." "Well, Dink," the voice said, "I'm Doris Duncan from Colorado. I think you may have some letters that belong to me." Dink covered the phone and turned to Josh and Ruth Rose. "It's some woman from Colorado asking for the letters!" he whispered excitedly. "Hello? Are you still there?" the woman asked. "Don't hang up!"

Dink spoke into the phone again. "Um…I got five blue envelopes this week." "Well, those letters are mine. They're very important," Doris Duncan said. "When can I get them back?" Dink glanced across the kitchen. "They're right here on the table," he told Doris Duncan. "Do you want me to send them to you?" "No!" the woman snapped. "Don't send them anywhere! I'm at the Shangri-la Hotel right now. How do I find you?" "Well, I guess you could come to my house," Dink said. He gave her directions to 22 Woody Street and hung up. "What was that all about?" Ruth Rose asked. Dink sat at the table again. "That was Doris Duncan. The letters are hers, and she's coming right over to get them." "From Colorado?" Josh said. "No, she's at the Shangri-la. She should be here in a few minutes." "She's in Connecticut?" Ruth Rose said. "That's weird." Dink nodded. "Yeah, and another thing. She sounded mad, like I took the letters on purpose."

"This is so lame," Josh said, yawning. "You got the letters by mistake, and some woman is coming over to get them." He stood up and stretched. "Let's go finish the game." Dink slipped the notes back inside their envelopes, then stood them between the salt and pepper shakers. Ruth Rose poked the envelopes. "Don't you guys think it's weird that she came all the way to Connecticut just for some notes from her mom?" "Maybe Dink can ask her when she gets here," Josh said. "Now can we please play volleyball?" Ruth Rose stood up. "What could be so important about these letters?" she wondered out loud. Ten minutes later, Dink heard someone calling, "You there, young man!" Dink ran to the side yard and saw a tall woman walking up his sidewalk. He jogged out front to meet her. "Hi. Are you Mrs. Duncan?" The woman towered over Dink. "I'm Ms. Duncan. Are you Dink?"

Dink had to bend his head backward to see the tall woman's face. She had black hair and dark, squinty eyes. She was clutching a purse in her large, strong-looking hand. "Well, are you the boy I talked to or not?" the woman demanded.

Dink gulped. "Yes, ma'am. I'll get the letters," he said. "Thank you," the woman said. Suddenly she sounded almost nice. "They're from my mother, Bessie Duncan. She died last month. These were her last letters to me." Dink went inside to the kitchen. He walked over to the table to get the letters. But they were gone! Dink looked around the kitchen. The letters weren't on the counter, the fridge, or the stove. Dink looked on the floor under the table. He saw a few crumbs from lunch, but no blue envelopes. "What's the matter?" Ruth Rose said. She and Josh were peering through the back screen door. "I can't find the letters!" Dink told his friends. "Didn't I leave them on the table after we ate lunch?" Ruth Rose pushed open the door and came in. "I think so." She looked behind the toaster, the coffee maker, and the microwave. "Help us look, Josh," Dink said. "That lady is waiting! The letters are from her mom, and she died last month!"

Josh stepped inside, and the kids searched the kitchen. The letters had vanished. "Guess I'd better go tell her," Dink muttered, shaking his head. "I know I left them on the table!" He walked through the living room and opened the front door. Doris Duncan was standing where he'd left her. Dink swallowed. "I…um, I'm real sorry, but I can't find the letters." The woman glared down at him. "What do you mean?" she said. "When I called, you said you had them. Where are they?" Dink felt his face turn red. "I don't know," he mumbled. "They were on the kitchen table, and now they're not. My friends even helped me look." The woman stared over Dink's shoulder. She looked as if she wanted to barge past him and search the house herself. "I'll ask my mom to help when she gets home," Dink said. "Can you come back later?" Doris Duncan tapped her fingers on her purse. "I'll be back at six o'clock sharp," she said. "I'll expect my letters then, young man!"