Kate Dunlap

It was two-o-clock in the morning. Kate woke up feeling hot and thirsty. That was an unusual feeling, she thought, because she never was thirsty in the middle of the night. I hope I am not getting sick, she thought. This would be a terrible time to get sick – right after the twins get here! Nevertheless, she was thirsty, so she went to get a drink. She also thought that maybe a drink of water would help her to feel cooler. After coming back from the kitchen she was still warm, so she decided to open the bedroom window to get some fresh air. As she opened the window she noticed that it was not raining anymore. There was still water dripping off the roof, but the rain had stopped. Good, she thought. That way rain will not come in the window.

She was about to turn to go back to bed, when she saw a car turn the corner onto the street where the Dunlaps lived. It was going way too fast, she noticed. Kate watched in horror as the car turned too late and smashed directly into the cement brick retaining wall that she, Emilie and Edward had walked on two days ago (the wall extended all the way out to the street). The front of the car was badly damaged, and Kate wondered if it would still run. She also worried that the person in the car was seriously injured.

Kate was just about to go get her father when she saw something else that made her stop and stare. She could not believe what she was seeing! The driver of the car got out of the car quickly. He looked around carefully and then, quick as a flash, he grabbed Edward’s watch off the wall (his watch was at the end of the wall toward the street), jumped back into his car and got out of there as fast as he possibly could. Kate was surprised that the car still worked, but she was even more surprised that the man had stolen Edward’s watch! She decided that she needed to go tell her dad what she had seen.

Kate tiptoed out of the room and down the hall to her parents’ bedroom. Though Emilie had not even stirred through the whole episode, Mr. Dunlap had awakened when he heard the smash and the squealing tires of the robber’s car as he got away. He was coming out of his bedroom to investigate and met Kate in the hall.

“What’s the matter?” he whispered sleepily, noticing that Kate was upset.

“Did you see it?” Kate gasped.

“No, but I heard it,” her father replied. “What happened?”

“Oh, it was terrible!” Kate exclaimed. “This car came around the corner and smashed into our wall. I was afraid the driver was hurt, but he jumped out of the car, grabbed Edward’s watch that he left on the wall yesterday, jumped back into his car, and sped off! The front off his car was all smashed up; I thought it was smashed far too badly to run anymore, but I was wrong. Now you can’t even tell he was here. At least not in the dark.”

“You say he stole Edward’s watch?” Mr. Dunlap inquired, shocked.

“Yes, I saw it clearly. He got out of the car and looked around like he didn’t want anyone to see him! Then he picked up Edward’s watch!”

“Did you catch the license plate number?” Mr. Dunlap said, still flabbergasted.

“No, I didn’t even think of it! Besides, it was too dark to have been able to see it anyway. I did notice that the car was a fairly new silver Toyota. The guy that jumped out was tall and thin. He had dark hair – black, I think, but that’s all I could see. He just looked like a normal man, I guess. Are you going to call the police?”

“No, I’m not going to call the police just because Edward’s watch was stolen. We can definitely get him another watch!” Mr. Dunlap was quiet for a moment, and then he said, “Well, there is nothing we can do about it, especially in the middle of the night! Try to go back to sleep, and we can tell Edward in the morning. Did Emilie wake up?”

“No,” Kate answered. “I guess she’s a sound sleeper. I don’t know how anyone could have slept through all that racket!”

“Good. Let’s not wake her up, or anyone else tonight, then,” Mr. Dunlap replied. “We can tell them all about it in the morning.”

“Okay. Good night again, Dad!” Kate tiptoed back to her room and climbed into bed. She didn’t go back to sleep right away, though. She was thinking about the robbery. Was the accident done on purpose to get close enough to the wall to steal the watch? And did the robber plan on taking the watch before this, or did he crash by accident and then notice the watch? Kate had no idea. She hoped that she would get some answers soon, but she also realized that she would probably never see the robber, or Edward’s watch, for that matter, again. Finally she went to sleep with questions still circling in her brain.

		*		

The next morning Kate did not say anything to Edward or Emilie about the accident. She waited until breakfast when Mr. Dunlap would be there, too. She didn’t want to be the one to break the news to Edward about his lost treasure.

When the children got downstairs, Mr. Dunlap was already there, eating breakfast. “I wondered if I would see you before I left for the auto license bureau,” he said. “I need to get new license tags for the cars. Did you sleep late?”

“Yes,” Emilie answered. “I think Kate, or maybe it was I, forgot to set the alarm clock last night when we went to bed. I don’t think we slept too late, though.”

“No, you didn’t. Hey, I have something to tell you, Edward and Emilie, but Edward especially. Go get your cereal and sit down and I’ll tell you.

The children obeyed. Emilie and Edward were extremely interested in what it could be that Mr. Dunlap had to say to them while Kate already knew what it was. Finally they had their cereal and were sitting down at the table. After praying, thanking the Lord for the food, they began eating.

“I’m afraid I have some bad news,” Mr. Dunlap said to Edward. “I’m sorry to say that your watch was stolen last night.”

“What?!” Edward cried. “How can that be? Did someone just come by the wall, pick up my watch and keep going?”

“Well, yes, that’s pretty much what happened. Kate saw the whole thing.”

“Yes, it was scary!” Kate responded. Then she told the twins what she had witnessed the night before. Emilie’s mouth dropped open in astonishment as Kate told the story.

“So did someone plan the accident on purpose to steal Edward’s watch?” she asked, stunned.

“I wondered the same thing myself,” Kate responded. “I guess we’ll never know, though.” The children and Mr. Dunlap talked about the theft for a little longer.

Then Mr. Dunlap said, “Well, I’m off. I’ve got to go to the auto license bureau.”

Edward said, “Can I go with you, please?”

Mr. Dunlap smiled. “That would be fine. You girls want to go?”

Kate spoke for them. “No, that’s okay. We’ll let you and Edward be together by yourselves.”

“Okay, then.” Mr. Dunlap winked at Edward. “Let’s go get our shoes on and get ready to go,” he said.

		*		

It did not take long for Mr. Dunlap and Edward to drive over to the auto license bureau. When they got there the parking lot was packed. “Oh, great,” Mr. Dunlap groaned. “We are going to be standing in line forever!”

He was right. They had to stand in line for a half and hour. Every five minutes the man behind the counter would say to all the people waiting in line, “I’ll be right with you.” Apparently he was having some problem with the customer he was serving. Finally, it was the Dunlaps’ turn. Business was transacted quickly, and soon Edward and his dad were back out in the parking lot.

“Now, let’s run over to the store and get you a new watch like the one that was stolen last night,” Mr. Dunlap said after he and Edward were back in the car.

“Wait,” Edward exclaimed. “Did you notice the man that worked behind the counter? He was tall and thin and was wearing a watch just like mine!”

“Look, just because a man has the same watch as yours doesn’t mean it’s the one that was stolen,” Mr. Dunlap replied, knowing what Edward was thinking. “Probably lots of guys have that watch. In all probability, lots of tall, thin men have them, too!”

“Well, couldn’t we just go back in there and ask where he got his watch?” Edward proposed. “It couldn’t hurt. And look – you can tell from here – the line is much shorter.”

Mr. Dunlap knew that even if the man had stolen it, he wouldn’t admit it. But he felt like humoring his son, so he said yes. Besides, he thought, it won’t hurt. And maybe it will make Edward understand that a lot of men have the same kind of watch. Also, even though he wouldn’t have admitted it to Edward, he was a little bit curious himself whether the man behind the counter had stolen his son’s watch. He wanted to see if the man would act guilty when he was questioned.

So Mr. Dunlap and Edward walked into the auto license bureau for the second time. This time they only had to wait in line for five minutes! Business had definitely slowed down. “Do we have a problem here, gentlemen?” the man behind the counter asked, recognizing the Dunlaps.

“No, everything’s just fine,” Mr. Dunlap responded. “My son just wanted to know where you got your watch.”

The man grinned. “Oh! My wife gave it to me. It’s not anything really expensive, but I really liked it. I said so to my wife once while we were at the store together, and she got it for me for our anniversary. I got her a watch, too. It was funny! Oh, well, sorry, I guess I didn’t tell you what store I got it from! I totally forgot. Well, it was Target.”

“Thank you,” Mr. Dunlap said. “I’m sorry to bother you,” he added apologetically.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” the man replied. “I’m just glad to answer your question and be of any help I can. Are you going planning on getting a watch like this?” he asked Edward. Edward nodded.

“We’re thinking about it,” Mr. Dunlap said.

“Well, it’s a good watch! It’s even waterproof. Tells the date and everything! Well, I better let you gentlemen go,” he said as the door opened and some people came in.

“Thanks for your time,” Mr. Dunlap said. He and Edward went back outside to the car.

“Whew!” Edward said. “He sure liked to talk! I was wondering if we would ever get out of there!”

Mr. Dunlap chuckled. “That’s for sure.” He was totally convinced that the man behind the counter had not been the one to steal Edward’s watch.

Edward, however, was not. What if he just made all that up? he thought. It would be easy to come up with that story! But on the other hand, why would he have talked so long and been so friendly about it if he was the thief?

“What are you thinking about?” Mr. Dunlap’s voice cut into Edward’s thoughts.

“Oh, I was just thinking about the guy we just talked to,” Edward replied.

“So are you ready to go to Target now?” his father asked.

“No, let’s not.”

Mr. Dunlap was surprised. “Look,” he said after a pause. “There is no way you are going to get your watch back from whoever stole it. You may as well give up. If you are planning on solving the mystery you are bound to be disappointed!”

“I know,” Edward said. “You’re right. Let’s go to Target.”