The Great Bike Rescue Read Free Page A

expression on Riley’s face shifted. He’d figured it out. He knew who she was. He waited for me to say something.
    I couldn’t. Emily was the last person I wanted to see. I didn’t want to be reminded of one thief—even if it was little-kid stuff—when I was trying to catch another! What was she doing here? What kind of weird coincidence was this? It was so weird, I couldn’t have thought of what to say even if I wasn’t already steamed.
    But Emily had no such problem. She was bobbing her head around, looking between the posters, this way, that way, up and down.
    â€œThis is a pretty good place to hide,” she said. “Who thought of it?”
    No way was I going to answer. But Riley had become interested. He decided to jump right in.
    â€œLevi did,” he said.
    â€œHuh,” said Emily. “I guess he’s smarter than he used to be.”
    Riley grinned. I scowled.
    â€œExcept you’re using the red bike for bait, aren’t you?” said Emily. “That part’s not so smart.”
    â€œIt isn’t?” asked Riley.
    â€œNope,” said Emily. “But I guess you come up with all sorts of crazy ideas when someone steals your bike.”
    â€œYup,” Riley agreed. “How did you hear about it anyway?”
    Good question, Riley! But Emily answered without missing a beat.
    â€œYou guys told everyone,” she said.
    â€œWe didn’t.” I tried to say it softly, so only Riley would hear.
    â€œWe kind of did,” he answered in a normal voice. “We told the store clerk and the garbage crew and that AJ guy at the service station, and I told my cousins, who all said they’d spread the word. And we told the perfect sisters. They’ll tell at least a hundred people, and…”
    Emily smiled as the list grew longer, but her eyes were also scanning the street.
    â€œ Sssst! ” she hissed suddenly. We followed her gaze and immediately saw what had got her attention.
    Steve Morrow and three of his friends were strolling along the sidewalk like they owned it. If they were the thieves, we were in big trouble. Actually, we were in trouble anyway. Steve likes picking on kids younger than him, and here we were, already cornered.
    It was too late to get out of the way. All we could do was hope they didn’t glance sideways as they passed. All three of us froze in place and held our breath. Their strides brought them closer and closer. One, two, three, four, five…
    Whew. Strides six and seven took them directly past our doorway, but they were too busy joking among themselves to bother glancing sideways. They went right on by. They passed the rest of the storefront as well. They didn’t steal The Flame.
    But at the last moment, just when I thought we’d escaped completely, Steve gave a quick backward kick. It expertly caught the tip of the little bike’s back tire. The Flame crashed to the ground. All four sniggered as they stepped out to cross the street.
    â€œJerks,” muttered Riley a few moments later, when we were sure they were gone and we had emerged from our hiding spot.
    I picked up The Flame. It wasn’t hurt, but I was surprised by how fast it had all happened.
    â€œMaybe this isn’t such a great idea after all,” I said. “Come on, Riley. Let’s grab your bike and head out.”
    â€œGood plan,” said Emily. She followed us around the corner toward the alley. “You could have lost that little bike. I mean, you might have caught someone walking by who tried to ride away. But what about someone in a pickup truck or a van? All they’d have to do is throw the bike in and drive off.”
    Okay. I hadn’t thought of that. Suddenly, I knew the answer. For once I was going to get the best of Emily Grimshaw.
    â€œEven better,” I said, stopping to talk to her directly. “We’d have gotten a license plate number from the vehicle!”
    Emily