Free Broke: by Kaye George Page A

but only succeeded in locking it. "Did we lock it when we left?" she asked Ralph.
    "Yes." His voice had turned grim. "I'll go in first. You wait on the porch."
    Immy wished he had his gun. He didn't even have a hammer this time . I t sat in his toolbox in his truck at the curb.
    Ralph pushed the door open silently. Immy heard a squeaky voice oohing and aahing.
    Ralph took a step inside . Immy heard the voice say, "Be still, my heart."
    She and Ralph gave each other puzzled looks. Ralph backed out and closed the door as soundlessly as he had opened it . Then he banged on it, hard . "Open up. Police , " he said in his official voice
    Immy loved it when he did that.
    "Oh my," said the squeaky voice.
    Ralph shove d the door wide open. Immy saw a small, squat man with thick glasses, holding a corner of a dust cloth. The m an eyed the trio and the worry left his face. "Where's your badge? And your gun?" His voice still squeaked, but a note lower, and Immy figured that was his natural sound.
    "I'm off duty," said Ralph.
    "What are you doing in my house?" asked Immy.
    "Are you a toad man?" asked Drew.
    "Hush," said Immy. "Well? Who are you?"
    "Are you off duty too?" asked the toad man. He really did resemble one. His face was warty and his body spread out as it went from this shoulders to his hips. "Vance said it would be okay ."
    "Said what would be okay ?" asked Ralph, taking a menacing step toward him.
    The man dropped the corner of the cloth and shrank so that he was even shorter than he had been .
    "How do you know Vance?" asked Immy.
    His little toad head swiveled between them , then he decided to answer Ralph. Immy didn't blame him. Ralph looked kinda fearsome at the moment.
    "Vance told me I should inspect the antique furniture in this house. For our business."
    "You're Vance's partner," said Immy, finally putting it together. "Did he give you a key?"
    "Well, yes," the man said.
    "What's your name?" asked Ralph.
    "Quentin."
    "That's his name," said Immy.
    "He says it is," said Ralph to her. "How do you know he's telling the truth?"
    "Vance told me he had a business partner named Quentin, and that he'd like to see the furniture." Immy addressed Quentin. "The furniture is not for sale. I'll thank you to leave my house."
    Quentin 's head still jerked from Ralph to Immy, back and forth , licking his lips . Immy pictured a fly buzzing by and his tongue darting out.
    "Now," said Ralph.
    Quentin scurried out, giving them a wide berth.

 
    Chapter Eleven
     
     
    On Sunday Ralph, true to his word, finished the gate for the backyard fence and they installed Marshmallow in his new yard. Ralph had put together a temporary ramp so the pig could get up and down from the kitchen door to the ground.
    "I'll get something more stable put together next weekend," he said, eyeing the wide plank that lay on the steps. "This should last till then. Call me if it breaks."
    Marshmallow, having reached the back porch in his explorations, trotted up the ramp as if he'd been using a bare plank his whole life. The porch was wide enough for furniture and a swing if Immy had had those. Marshmallow sniffed the length of the porch, then turned around and trotted down to the yard.
    The wood bowed a bit, but if Marshmallow didn't gain twenty-five pounds before next weekend , Immy thought it would hold.
    "Good, it's not too s lick for his hooves," said Ralph. "If it rains, it might get slippery. M aybe you should cover it with something."
    "One of those old drop cloths ," said Immy.
    Ralph inspected his gate and gave it a squirt of WD-40, then waved and left.
    Immy and Drew spent the rest of the day cleaning and putting their things away. This involved a lot of trips to the attic to store the ancient stuff that had been left by old Mrs. Tompkins and were in the ir way . They were both ready for bedtime much earlier than usual.
    After Drew helped Immy scrub the large claw foot bathtub to within an inch of its ancient life, even though it wasn't the one Lyle had