Shirley, Blake, and Bo eventually arrived at the Bautistas' house.
Shirley noticed how dirty the doormat was and spotted the old cigarette
butts on the ground.
She rang the doorbell. A minute later, the front door opened,
and a tall, muscular boy in a white T-shirt and jeans stood in front
of her.
He had long red hair and he was sweating.
Shirley noticed the dirt spots on the boy's shirt and jeans.
"Yeah?" he asked, looking at Shirley.
Shirley made a loud sniffle. "Hi, there!" she said in her
high-pitched voice.
"You're Arthur Brock, right?"
The boy wiped his sweaty brow. "Yeah, that's me. Who wants to know?"
"I'm Trisha Brown and I represent the Kids for a Better World
organization,"
Shirley introduced herself.
"Never heard of them," Arthur responded.
"Well, we're not exactly a big organization," Shirley responded.
"Anyway, I'm here to tell you that you're a candidate for our 'Teen-ager
of the Year' Award."
She adjusted her red-tinted glasses.
"We've heard about your charity work with the orphans and the elderly."
"What exactly is the award?" Arthur asked.
"Oh, not much. About $1000 in cash," Shirley said.
Arthur's eyes lit up. "I'm just trying to do my part," he
said modestly.
"These days, most people have a 'me first' attitude. I believe
in a 'people first' attitude."
"Right," Bo muttered under his breath.
"Well, I need to interview you so that you'll still be in the running," Shirley explained.
Arthur looked at Bo and Blake. "Who are these guys?"
"Oh, two of my colleagues," Shirley answered. "They're with me to confirm that I interviewed you."
"That's right," Blake said.
"Gotta make sure Trisha does her job," Bo said, patting Shirley on her shoulder.
Arthur motioned toward the door and smiled. "Come on in. I'm taking a break from working in the backyard."
Shirley, Blake, and Bo followed Arthur into the living room.
As they
walked through the hallway, they saw the pictures of the Bautista family
that lined the walls.
A table with statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, rosaries, prayer
books,
and a Bible was located next to the hallway closet. The floor
was covered with red carpeting.
The living room was lit by sunlight streaming through the open blinds
of the windows.
Arthur showed Shirley and the others to the couch.
"I'll be with you in a sec," Arthur said as Shirley and her friends
sat down in the couch. He wiped his sweaty brow.
"I need to take a shower. Don't want to offend you with my bad
smell," he said with a grin.
"No prob," Shirley answered.
"Make yourself at home." Arthur picked up a nearby plastic
bag filled with spare clothes.
He went upstairs and a few minutes later, the sounds of the shower
running and off-key singing were heard.
Shirley got up from the couch. "Shall we do a little investigating?"
she asked Bo and Blake.
Shirley spotted a black leather jacket hanging on a nearby chair.
She walked up to the chair and examined the jacket. "Hmmm...what
do you think?"
Blake touched the jacket. "Very expensive. I'd say
$500 tops.
No way he could've gotten that from a part-time job."
"I'd say the same for this," Bo said, pointing to a portable stereo on the ground.
Shirley looked at the stereo. "Brand new," she remarked.
"So are these," Bo said, showing the others a pile of CDs.
Blake let out a whistle. "Somebody's a big spender."
Shirley walked up to the back glass panel sliding door and looked
at the backyard.
The backyard was surrounded by a tall brown wooded fence.
A lawn mower stood in the middle of the lawn along with a small pile
of cut grass.
The ground near the edge of the fence was dug up; a shovel leaned against
the fence near piles of uprooted weeds
and dirt and a large bag of fertilizer.
Bo and Blake joined Shirley at the door.
"Well, the guy likes doing yardwork," Bo commented as he looked at the backyard.
"Should we check out the back?" Blake asked Shirley, who was walking towards the downstairs bathroom.
"Hmmm..." Shirley looked inside the bathroom and found a
sink, toilet, and a bathtub with a shower nozzle and curtain.
She reached for the light switch and flipped it on. Nothing happened.
"Shirley?" Bo asked as Shirley stepped out of the bathroom.
"Find anything?" Blake asked.
"Maybe..." Shirley started walking around, looking at the carpet underneath the hallway light. "Hmmm..."
Both Bo and Blake watched as Shirley walked up to the hallway
closet and opened it.
She tested the light switch for a moment, then closed it.
"Any idea what she's doing?" Bo asked. Blake shrugged.
"What did you find?" Bo asked Shirley.
Shirley was about to say something when she heard the shower turn
off.
She motioned to the couch and just as Arthur came down the stairs
dressed in clean clothes,
Shirley, Bo, and Blake were back on the couch.
"So, shall we begin?" Arthur asked as he sat down in the chair with the jacket.
Shirley took out her pencil and notepad and started to ask Arthur
some questions she made up.
She listened as Arthur told her how he turned his life around, how
he got into his charity work, and how he loved
gardening. She quickly jotted down his answers. The interview
ended after three minutes.
"Is that enough?" Arthur asked.
"That's enough," Shirley said as she put away her pencil and notebook.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Arthur. We'll let you
know if you won."
"No prob." Arthur rose from his seat. "I've got to get back to my yardwork."
"Didn't you just take a shower?" Blake answered.
Arthur shrugged. "I can take another. I'm really doing
some heavy work in the backyard.
Mowing, removing weeds. Heck, I'm planting some flowers for the
Bautistas."
Shirley, Bo, and Blake got up from the couch. As they were
about to leave, Shirley slapped her forehead.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" she exclaimed. She turned to Arthur.
"Arthur, I have a message from your mom."
"A message from Mom?" Arthur said. "What did she say?"
"She said that the Bautistas will be back later this afternoon,"
Shirley reported.
"She wanted to call here and tell you that, but she decided to have
me tell you instead."
She slapped her forehead again. "I can't believe I nearly forgot..."
Arthur thought for a moment. He looked around the house,
then at the backyard.
"Guess I'd better tidy up quickly, huh?"
"I'd recommend that," Shirley said as she and her friends went out the front door.
"By the way, nice jacket," Bo cried out.
"Oh, thanks," Arthur replied.
As soon as they were away from the house, Shirley commented, "He's a clever one, that Arthur Brock."
"Definitely lives up to his reputation," Bo added. "He sounded so fake during the interview."
"He's got to be the thief," Blake said. "That stuff he's got is good proof."
"Plus the proof of his buyers," Shirley said.
"What proof?" Blake asked.
"The doormat is dirty, showing that there have been people over.
Also, the cigarette butts. Arthur didn't smell of tobacco smoke,"
Shirley explained.
She took out her cellular phone and handed it to Blake. "Do you
know your dad's work number?"
"Got it memorized," Blake said, pointing to his head. "So what's the plan?"
"Tell your dad to first get a search warrant for the Bautista
residence," Shirley instructed. "Then have him..."
-End of Part 4-