Free The Goose's Gold by Ron Roy

“Hi, Mom, I’m in Florida!” Dink said into the phone. He glanced out the airport’s large windows. “I can see palm trees! And it’s about 80 degrees!”
    Donald David Duncan, known as Dink to his friends, was on winter vacation from school. He, Josh, and Ruth Rose were visiting Ruth Rose’s grandmother. She lived on an island called Key West.
    Dink’s mother told him to have a wonderful time. “And remember your manners!”
    Dink grinned into the phone. “What manners? Just joking, Mom! See you in a few days.”
    Dink hung up the phone. As he bent over to pick up his backpack, he saw a pair of feet in the next booth. They were tan and in sandals. One hairy ankle had a tattoo of an eagle’s head.
    Dink heard the man’s voice. He was whispering, “…then we take the dough and split. They’ll never find us!”
    Take the dough and split? Was this guy planning a robbery? Dink wondered.
    He leaned toward the other booth so he could hear better.
    “Those old cookies are loaded,” the man whispered. “We get in and out, then we drown the goose and disappear!”
    Dink blinked. Loaded cookies? Drown the goose? What was going on here?
    Suddenly, Josh snapped his fingers in front of Dink’s face. “Earth to Dink,” he said.
    “Come on, we have to go find my grandmother,” said Ruth Rose.
    Dink stepped away from the phone. He peeked into the next booth, but it was empty.
    Dink hurried after Josh and Ruth Rose.
    “You guys aren’t gonna believe what I just heard!” he said. “I think some guy is planning a robbery!”
    Josh and Ruth Rose looked at Dink. “Are you kidding?” Ruth Rose asked.
    “No, honest!” Dink said.
    Dink tried to imitate the way the man had whispered. “He said, ’take the dough and drown the goose!’”
    Josh looked at his friend. “That’s it?”
    Dink nodded. “Well, he also said something about loaded cookies.”
    “Maybe he said ’bake the dough and brown the goose,’” Ruth Rose said. “Sounds like he was a chef, not a robber.”
    Suddenly, they heard someone call, “Yoo-hoo, kids. Over here!”
    “There she is,” Ruth Rose said excitedly. “HI, GRAM!”
    The kids hurried over to a smiling woman with white hair.
    “Honey, how you’ve grown!” Ruth Rose’s grandmother said. She gave Ruth Rose a hug. “Merry Christmas!”
    Ruth Rose blushed. “Thanks, Gram. These are my best friends, Dink and Josh. Guys, this is Gram Hathaway!”
    Gram Hathaway was short and tanned. She wore shorts, a purple T-shirt, and a baseball cap—backward!
    Gram shook hands with the boys. “I’ve heard a lot about you two.” she said. “Got your bags? Let’s go home and have a nice supper.”
    Ruth Rose’s grandmother led them through the exit doors. The evening was hot and humid. Everyone wore shorts and sandals.
    “Boy back home we had a foot of snow!” Josh said. “I can’t wait to see the ocean!”
    “There’s a lovely beach not far from my house,” Ruth Rose’s gram said. “I think you’ll find the water pretty warm for December.”
    They piled into her small white car. “Buckle up, everyone,” she said.
    Dink and Josh climbed in the back. Dink almost sat on a pair of in-line skates. “Just dump those on the floor,” Gram said.
    Josh snuck Dink a look. “Do you skate?” he asked Ruth Rose’s grandmother.
    She winked at Josh in the rearview mirror. “Only on Tuesdays and Fridays. The rest of the week I jog or swim!”

    A few minutes later, they were zooming along a busy street. Dink watched the tall palm trees as the car whizzed past them. Through rows of neat houses, he caught glimpses of blue sea and nearly white sand.
    “Look, a pelican!” Josh cried, pointing out the window.
    “You’ll see plenty of those here,” Gram Hathaway said. “And they aren’t afraid of people. I saw one swoop down and snatch a girl’s ice cream cone!”
    “They better not try that with me!” Josh said.
    “Here we are,” Gram Hathaway said. She pulled her car into a