cousin. He go to warehouse for me.â
âDid you take the transmitter out?â
âThe what?â
âThe transmitter,â I said. âThe thing Frank went all the way to Florida to get?â
âI donât know about no transmitter. I didnât take anything out.â
I was speechless. The transmitter we had gone through so much to get was barreling down the highway in the opposite direction from where it was needed. I looked at Zach in horror.
âWeâll find it in time, Wes,â Zach said.
âWeâll need wheels to find it,â I said. âWith room for a transmitter.â
âMr. Elliot has a truck,â Zach offered.
Mr. Lee shook his head. âMr. Elliot taking load of stones up north. Some crazy lady wants to make pond with them.â
Daryl.
Daryl had a truck. And besides, I still blamed him for all of this.
Mr. Lee said he would go and get Frank. Zach and I would go get Daryl and his truck and come back to Leeâs. All I needed now was for Daryl to be off somewhere blowing something up. But finally some luck was with us. Darylâs truck was parked in his driveway, and Daryl himself was just coming out the front door.
âNo, no, no and no!â he said before I could even explain to him why we were there. Obviously he was still upset with us about that last little episode with Mr. Elliot.
âJust listen, Daryl,â I said.
âNo. Iâm not listening. Youâre nothing but trouble.â
Okay, that was a bit much. Daryl calling someone else trouble.
âWe just need a lift, Daryl,â I said. âEveryone elseâs truck is being used. Youâre our last hope.â
Daryl tilted his head to one side. âJust a lift?â
âYeah.â
âWhere to?â
âUh, we just need to find an ice-cream truck,â I said.
Daryl folded his arms. âYou guys are just foolinâ with me, arenât you?â
You know, I couldnât blame him. It sounded ridiculous, even to me. Blowing up foundations, getting snow in the summer and chasing down runaway ice-cream trucks. Who wouldnât think this was a joke?
âI know it sounds crazy, Daryl,â I said. âBut we really need the transmitter thatâs inside that truck. Itâs for Mrs. Minton. Itâs practically a matter of life and death.â
That last bit might have been a bit of a stretch, but I knew there was no way Daryl was going to let himself be responsible for old Mrs. Mintonâs health. He was in.
We picked up Frank at Leeâs and headed down the highway, scanning the horizon for the Niceân Icy truck.
âThere it is,â Frank said calmly, pointing up ahead.
âWhere? Where?â I asked. I couldnât see anything. The highway curved out of sight.
âSee that cloud of black smoke?â Frank asked.
I could just make out a dark gray smudge hanging above the road up ahead.
âThatâs it. Iâd know that smoke anywhere.â
Sure enough, as we sped up and rounded the curve, we saw the Nice ân Icy truck limping along in the slow lane, spouting gray smoke.
âThat thing should be put out of its misery,â Daryl muttered. His eyes glinted.
âThereâs nothing wrong with that truck that canât be fixed with the right parts,â Frank said, a bit of tension in his voice.
It suddenly occurred to me that I was sandwiched in the cab of a pickup between one guy who lived to blow things up and another who lived to fix them. And they were both eyeing the truck. It made me more than a little uneasy. I didnât want to be in the middle of a fight.
A man keeps the peace, Wes.
How was I going to prevent a world war without getting caught in the crossfire?
âWell, itâs Mr. Leeâs truck,â I said, âso I guess he gets to decide what to do with it.â
âBah,â said Daryl on my left.
âHmpfh,â said Frank on my right.
We pulled
Sharon Kleve, Jennifer Conner, Danica Winters, Casey Dawes