Read Who's Sorry Now? for Free Online

if he might have known all along. Maybe he has the key, come to think of it." She paused and said, "What did you mean when you said 'not exactly'?”
    Robert confessed. "I took a day off to go to New York—"
    “I remember that."
    “I bought a set of lock picks from a bum in Central Park."
    “Lock picks! Aren't they illegal?"
    “I didn't inquire," Robert said.
    “We must tell Mr. Prinney about this."
    “Why?"
    “Oh, Robert. Don't be silly. These fake books are part of Great-uncle Horatio's estate. Mr. Prinney is the executor. He must be informed.”
    Grudgingly, Robert admitted that she was right. "But do I have to admit to the lock picks?"
    “How else could you explain opening the door to the shelves?”
    They were interrupted by an extremely loud grinding noise from the front of the house. Lily yelped, "Put the books back, close the door, and hide the lock picks. Whatever is that racket?”
    Robert did as she asked and inadvertently closed the door to the shelves. Lily wasn't there to hear the expletive he voiced. Oh, well, he thought, I got it open once. I can do it again. He followed Lily and discovered that it was the Harbinger boys. They were almost concealed behind the bushes in front of the mansion.
    “Yo!" Robert bellowed. The noise stopped an dHarry came around carrying the scariest saw Robert had ever seen.
    “What is that thing?" Robert shouted.
    Harry turned off the machine. "What did you say?”
    “I asked what that is," Robert said.
    “It's my new Stihl gas-powered chain saw. This is the first time I've used it. Cuts through like a hot knife through butter," Harry said proudly.
    Harry's younger brother, Jim, came struggling through the prickly bush that remained. "Isn't that the bee's knees?" he asked.
    Robert considered telling the truth—that this was the most frightening gadget he'd ever seen.
    Harry was twenty-nine and two years older than his brother Jim, as well as being taller, sturdier, and smarter. Their father had been a general contractor and taught them how to roof, paint, make furniture, and a variety of other skills. But their dad warned them about doing electrical things. "Electricians get killed more often than any other trade," he said. "Still, rich or poor, there are always people needing repairs they don't know how to do."
    “So were the bushes diseased?" Lily asked, looking at the stumps. She hadn't joined the men until the noise had stopped.
    “No. But look up," Harry said.
    Both Lily and Robert did as he said. "There's a roof up at the top that overhangs the house," Lily said. "Is that what you're pointing out?"
    “Yes," Harry said. "They were dying of drought.”
    “But the bushes look ancient. How did they suddenly die of drought?"
    “Miss Brewster," Harry said very politely, "haven't you noticed how little rain we've had the last couple years?"
    “We never knew. We haven't been here for decades like some people in Voorburg," Robert said. Thinking this might have sounded surly, he amended, "I wish we had."
    “Why did you cut off all the branches and leave the trunks?" Lily asked.
    “Because we're going to take the trunks out by themselves," Harry said. "Hook them up to the truck with ropes and pull them out. We'll bring some gravel in for drainage when it starts to rain again. If you want new shrubs here, plant them farther away from the foundation so they get more water."
    “Good advice," Lily said.
    “What's that smell?" Jim said, looking at Lily as he stood beside her.
    “Me," Lily said. "Or rather my dog. She rolled in some dead creature and I just bathed her, but I haven't washed the stench off myself yet.”
    Harry said, "Jim, quit embarrassing Miss Brewster and help me with digging out around these stumps, tying a chain around them so we can haul them to the dump.”
    Lily and Robert stood back to watch as the first stump was jerked out of the ground.
    “Oh, how horrible!" she exclaimed as the big root ball was dragged a few feet away. "That's the skeleton