The Third Movement Page 13

  Swinging open the front door of his house, Theo was greeted by his siblings, who were about to leave for another afternoon hike. “Come with us!” said Leo. “We’re going to have a little music session in the woods.”

  How could Theo say no? He was happy to get lost in his violin for as long as he could.

  By the time the family had reached the far side of the pond, Fiona said, “Oh, by the way! We signed up for that talent show tomorrow. You’re going to join us, Theo, aren’t you?”

  It surprised Theo how quickly he came to a decision: “Yes. Yes, I will.”

  TWENTY

  The next morning started out unusually hot and only got worse from there.

  Leila answered the shop’s door when Theo knocked.

  “Hellooooo,” Presto squawked from her perch.

  Carter waved from the back of the shop, where he was entertaining Change-O by making a small red ball appear and disappear from his palm. The monkey screeched and slapped at Carter’s hands.

  It was the first time Theo had been back here in several days, and instead of the happiness the shop usually brought him, right now all he felt was dread.

  He heard the bell chime as the door opened again behind him, and Ridley came in. When she saw Theo, her face turned pink beneath her freckles. But all she said was “The twins are on their way. Is everyone ready for tonight?”

  “Can’t wait!” said Leila, almost too enthusiastically.

  “More than ready,” Carter answered.

  Change-O took one look at Ridley, hissed, and then dashed out of sight as Ridley hissed back. “Where’s my Top Hat?” she asked.

  Leila lifted one of the shop’s top hats off a nearby table and revealed Ridley’s pet rabbit sitting underneath. The creature greeted them, as usual, by scrunching up his nose.

  Feeling a sudden need to smooth things over, Theo raised his bow over the rabbit. Top Hat floated off the table and landed in Ridley’s lap. She snuggled the creature to her chest. “Thanks, Theo,” she said quietly.

  Somewhere, a clock went tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.

  From the balcony, there came a deafening crash. Everyone shrieked and then looked up to find the Golden twins peering down at them from the railing, wearing wide smiles. Izzy held a giant pair of metal cymbals. “I thought I’d take up a new hobby,” she said. “I’m getting pretty good.”

  “Don’t scare us like that!” Ridley scolded.

  “How did you get in here?” asked Leila.

  Olly pointed toward the entry to the Vernons’ apartment. “Didn’t you leave the side door open for us?”

  Leila bit her lip. “Poppa must have forgotten to lock it when he left for work this morning.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” said Carter, grabbing the trick sword from behind the counter. Holding it up, he added, “Can’t be too careful.”

  You do not know the half of it, Theo thought. Izzy descended the staircase, her brother following on her heels, but Theo waited patiently for Carter to return as the others buzzed about Wendel Whispers and his canceled show.

  “Last night, Mr. Arnold looked like he might blow a gasket,” said Olly.

  “Mom and Dad said he was going to have to give all the ticket-holders refunds,” said Izzy.

  “I sure hope he doesn’t find out it was our fault that the ventriloquist left town,” said Olly. “He might make us tap-dance without our tap shoes!”

  “Ouch!” said Izzy. “That would be worse than the time he made us do ballet wearing gorilla costumes!”

  “That… didn’t happen,” Ridley guessed.

  “But wouldn’t it have been neat if it had?”

  “But it wasn’t our fault that Wendel left,” Leila interrupted. “Someone at the resort put that code in the poster and wanted us to confront him. To show him the radio transmitters inside the doll heads. Someone wanted us to learn it wasn’t him. They want us to be frightened.”

  That is only half-true, Theo thought. Someone at the resort, yes. But also, someone right here in town. Mick Meridian. And Emily. He wondered what would happen if he spoke these thoughts aloud.

  “All clear!” Carter called from up above. He came down the steps and carefully placed the sword back inside the display case. “Don’t tell your dads I took that, okay?” he said to Leila, and she pretended to zip her lips.

  “Right!” said Ridley, petting Top Hat softly. “Now that we’re all here, I’d like to call this meeting of the Magic Misfits to order.”

  Since the shop was closed and the lights were mostly off, the group stayed near the counter, leaving their secret room behind the bookcase for another day.

  Theo let them go on for a bit, but when they started to discuss a final rehearsal for the talent show that evening, he stood up and raised his hand. “May I please say something?” he asked, his voice on the verge of breaking.

  His friends looked at him as if he had just announced that he was slowly turning into an iguana. (Which, I imagine, would have been preferable to what he was actually about to say.) “I… I am not going to perform with you tonight.”

  There was a quiet moment while this information sank in, before Theo’s friends all looked like he had just stabbed them in the chests with the great fake sword in the glass case.

  “What?” Ridley exclaimed, practically tossing Top Hat off her lap. “Why not?”

  Theo wanted to say, Because Kalagan has been watching us. He is mad that we have been interfering in his schemes, and if we go on like this, I fear that one, or all, of us will get hurt. He wanted to say, I know this because Mick and Emily revealed everything to me yesterday. They were trying to get us to fight with each other. This is for the best.

  Mostly he wanted to say, You are my friends, and I am sorry.

  Instead, he answered, “My brothers and sisters need me to play my violin with them.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” said Ridley. “You’re a Magic Misfit.”

  “Am I not allowed to be something else sometimes?”

  Ridley opened her mouth, obviously about to shout no, but Leila held her hand between them. “Theo, why can’t you just do both?”

  “I checked the rules,” he answered. “Participants are only allowed to perform once.”

  “But we’ve already incorporated you into our routines,” said Ridley, taking a different tack. “Even if you’re not performing-performing, we’ll still need your help.”

  She was right, but that was the point, was it not? To show that the Misfits could fall apart. To prove to Kalagan that he had nothing to worry about. That the Misfits were not heroes after all, but only a bunch of kids.

  “I get it,” said Carter with a sad smile. “You don’t want to disappoint your family.”

  “I am so sorry,” Theo answered finally. “But it is not only about my family.” He needed to drive in the stake. He knew that Mick and Emily had been right, in their own twisted way. He needed to finish this. “We have been fighting too much. I think… I think I need to take a break.”

  “Breaks are good,” said Izzy. “We always take breaks between our performances.”

  “I was thinking about a longer break,” Theo clarified. “My brother told me a while ago that I have been neglecting my violin. I am beginning to agree.”

  No one spoke. Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.

  There were tears in Ridley’s eyes. And since they were accompanied by the further flushing of her cheeks, Theo could not tell if they were tears of sadness or of rage. He looked to the others. They gaped at him in shock—everyone except for Olly, who was staring at the front door.

  “When did Mr. Vernon get home?” he asked.

  Carter shook his head. “We haven’t heard from Mr. Vernon since—” He stopped when he noticed the figure standing in the shadowed vestibule just outside. This person was tall, made even taller by the top hat perched on his head. A long black cloak draped from his shoulders, flapping slightly in the breeze—a bit of its red silk lining winking at them. A cloud of smo
ke swirled, and a flicker of orange glowed from the end of a cigarette.

  “Dad?” Leila asked, heading for the door.

  “Leila, shh!” Theo whispered. “When have we ever seen Mr. Vernon smoking?”

  Leila froze, her hand almost on the knob.

  “But then… who?” Carter whispered back.

  The Misfits stood in stunned silence, their own personal dramas suddenly shrinking down into nothing.

  “Whoever that is, he’s been listening to us,” Ridley said in a hush. She glanced around the group in disbelief. She gulped. “Do you think he might be—”

  The figure took off then, racing away from the vestibule and into the street. A car honked as it barely missed hitting him. He dashed across the lawn and headed around the corner near the barbershop.

  “What are we waiting for?” Ridley asked, pushing toward the door and swinging it open. “After him!”

  “It’s not safe!” said Carter. “We should call someone.”

  “He’s getting away!” said Leila, rushing after Ridley.

  Already, the two were outside at the curb.

  Theo took off after them, leaving the twins behind with Carter.

  It did not take long to make it across the town green to the barbershop corner. Theo rushed by Ridley and Leila and raced around the bend, then he skidded to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk, his heart creeping into his throat.

  A few feet ahead, the figure in the top hat and cape seemed to be hovering just over the ground. But there was something strange about the man’s appearance now. Theo could not see his neck. And there was a stick of a shadow where the feet should have been.

  For almost five seconds, the figure did not move.

  “You there!” Theo called out and then stepped forward. Leila came from behind and clutched at his arm, but Theo went on. “Who are you?”

  The figure did not answer. The breeze fluttered the hem of the cape.

  Ridley and Leila followed Theo as he approached the floating figure, terrified. But before he could get close, the cape slid slowly off a coat hanger and then dropped to the bluestone sidewalk below. Theo let out a ragged breath. The hat was perched atop a wooden coatrack. There was no floating figure. Someone had placed the rack for them to find.

  This had been a disappearing act.

  Theo spun, looking for anyone who might have been watching them. He caught a whiff of smoke. Not far from the base of the strange coatrack were the remains of a cigarette that had been stomped out. Carefully, he picked it up. Small words printed on its filter caught his eye.

  Good choice, Theo.

  He held back a gasp and then pocketed the filter. He could not let the others see what he had found.

  Carter and the twins appeared from around the corner.

  Leila snatched the hat off the coatrack. “This is my father’s,” she said, holding it up and showing them the label. She bent down and picked up the cloak. “This too.”

  “Whoever did this must have taken them from our house,” Carter answered.

  “Why, though?” Leila asked.

  Theo sighed, growing more certain about his talent show decision. “To let us know that he can.”

  The Misfits slowly returned to the magic shop with Mr. Vernon’s items.

  “That was really stupid of you guys not to follow us immediately,” said Ridley to Carter and the twins. “We need to stick together.”

  The word stupid smacked Theo’s forehead like a stray mechanical dragonfly. “Do not talk to them like that,” he heard himself say. “Just because you are scared does not give you the right to be mean.”

  Ridley’s face turned fuchsia. She puffed out her cheeks. “You’re a… a jerk, Theo Stein-Meyer!” she shouted. “I’m not sad that you’re quitting the Magic Misfits. I’m happy!”

  “Well, I feel that you have not been particularly friendly these last few weeks, Ridley Larsen. And I am not quitting,” Theo scrambled to answer. “I am merely performing with—”

  “We know exactly what you’re doing,” Ridley said. She faced the others. “Listen, I’ll see you guys here tonight before the show.” Looking at Theo, she added, “I don’t care if I ever see you again.” Then she barreled through the doorway of the magic shop and out onto the sidewalk.

  Theo sighed. Leila squeezed his shoulder. “She didn’t mean that.”

  “I think she did, actually,” he answered. His head felt hollow. “All this is for the best. See you tonight. I will be cheering the Misfits on.”

  He left them and did not look back.

  Instead of going home to meet up with his siblings, Theo turned toward the music shop. The closer he got, the angrier he felt. By the time he reached the entrance, he was so upset that his hands were actually shaking.

  He found Emily just inside. “That was not okay,” he said to her, trying to keep his voice low.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” she said, shaking her head. Theo held out the cigarette butt for her to see. She scowled. “What am I looking at?”

  “A message from your father,” he answered as evenly as he could.

  Her blue eyes seemed to pale as she read the words printed on it. Good choice, Theo. “My father doesn’t smoke.”

  “That is not the point,” Theo said. “He wanted to let me know he is happy that I decided not to perform with the Magic Misfits tonight.” He shared the story of the figure in the vestibule of the magic shop. And the chase. And the coatrack in the middle of the sidewalk. “He was listening to us.”

  Emily shook her head. “My father’s been working in his office all morning.”

  Theo remembered the feeling of the afternoon he had first met her—how he had been drawn to her by an invisible thread. He thought of the connection he had felt while walking back down from the resort with her. Of the dreams of them flying high over Mineral Wells. “How can I believe you?” he asked.

  Emily frowned. “He’s back there now. You can ask him yourself.”

  “But how can I believe him?”

  She sighed. “Look, Theo, I know we deceived you.”

  “That is just another way of saying We lied.”

  “Call it what you want. But I followed my father’s instructions because I knew it was the right thing to do. To keep you guys safe. To keep the town safe. It was a hard decision because… I like you, Theo. I really do. And I didn’t mean to hurt you. Or your friends. I hope someday you all can find a way to forgive me.”

  “I did not tell the others about what you did. They do not know they have anything to forgive.”

  Emily nodded at the cigarette remains in his palm. “The message was right,” she answered, “no matter who delivered it. You made a good choice, Theo. Kalagan will stop seeing you as a threat. He’ll leave you alone now.”

  “I hope you are correct,” Theo said quietly. “For all our sakes.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  At seven o’clock, Theo left his house with his brothers and sisters. Carrying their instruments, they made their way to the town green, where they found a large crowd gathering for the talent show.

  Picnic blankets were spread out, covering the grass like a patchwork quilt. Some people had brought folding chairs. There was a buzz in the air as the townspeople passed around the printed lists of performers and placed bets on who was the favorite to win the competition. The Magic Misfits were on everyone’s lips, and Theo felt a pain in his chest knowing that he would not be a part of their group tonight. Looking toward Vernon’s Magic Shop, he watched his friends through the window as they fixed one another’s costumes and readied themselves to come outside and cross the street.

  He clenched his teeth and mentally told himself to Buck up, Theo. This was not forever. It was only until they caught Kalagan and stopped him from tormenting the town of Mineral Wells. And yet, how would they stop him if they could not work together?

  It felt like a mystery with no solution.

  Leo waved Theo over to where the list of performers was posted at the back o
f the gazebo. “We’re up first,” he said. “Are you ready, little brother?” Theo pressed his lips together and nodded. He feared that if he spoke, his voice would crack, and his eyes would tear up. He clutched the handle of his violin case and then felt for the folded bow in his pants pocket—the one that could do magic, make things float and fly, make people smile and gasp and clap. But then he remembered he had left that one at home. Tonight, he only needed the bow that could play music.

  A few minutes later, Mayor McFadden, dressed in a sharply cut blue-checked suit, took the stage, shifting his feet in front of the microphone stand. “Hello, Mineral Wells! Welcome to the Thirty-Third Annual Talent Show and Competition!” The crowd whooped and hollered, proud of their little town. “The talent here this evening is sure to knock your socks off. Now sit back, relax, and let’s give a nice round of applause for our first act.” He glanced at a small piece of paper in his palm, then announced: “The Stein-Meyer Family Band!”

  In the gazebo, Fiona stood in the center and the rest of the siblings formed a half circle around her. She motioned for Theo to play an A. The others tuned their instruments. A hush fell over the crowd. The sky was darkening, and the streetlights began to glow.

  Theo glanced again at the magic shop, but the lights were now dim. As he prepared to play, he told himself that it was for the best. He followed Fiona’s lead, drawing his bow across the strings, making them sing and hum, causing the air itself to vibrate and dance. His brothers and other sister joined in, and before long, the audience was clapping in time, just like the metronome Mick Meridian had gifted him.

  When the Stein-Meyers were finished, the crowd applauded generously. So generously that Theo wondered if he and his siblings had not already sealed the win. They left the stage excitedly and gathered on the large blanket that Mr. and Mrs. Stein-Meyer had earlier placed in the center of the lawn.

  Other acts performed well, but people seated nearby continually whispered to Theo that he and his family had done better. One thing that stuck out to him was the number of Darling Daniels he saw in the crowd. None of these people knew yet that each of the dolls contained a radio transmitter broadcasting their conversations to a hidden receiver. What would they do when the Gazette printed the truth?