Chapter 1

Mart brushed a bead of sweat from his forehead before opening the screen door to the Crabapple Farm kitchen.  The last basket of tomatoes from the garden was picked, at least for this week.  He was surprised to find his mother sitting and fanning herself at the table. 

“Thanks, Mart.”   She gave a wave towards the counter next to the sink.  “Just sit those over there.  If that's it ...” She paused and quirked a questioning brow at her middle son, who nodded affirmatively in response.  “Great!  Then I might just get these done tonight after all.  What do you and Brian have planned?”

“An Asian feast at the Red Moon Café with Jim and Dan followed by the latest superhero movie at the Cameo,” he replied.   A faint feeling of guilt fluttered his stomach and he added diplomatically.  “Unless you need us to stay and help?”

Helen shook her head.  “Thanks, but not tonight.  Your dad is already picking up to-go orders for us from Red Moon as well.  Once I've finished these tomatoes, I'm crawling in bed.  I never realized what a difference it made having Trixie help me with the canning.”

Mart grinned.  “I'll deny that I said it as well, but I almost forgot exactly how many tomatoes you planted each year.  No wonder Trixie wanted to work as a summer camp counselor so much.  Those kids will drive you crazy, but in terms of hard work, it's nothing compared to picking and canning tomatoes!”

The summer before her senior year of high school, Trixie had finally persuaded her parents to let her apply for a job at a summer camp.  She and her best friend, Honey Wheeler, had both been accepted to work at Camp Sequoia and were currently leading a group of eight- to ten-year-old girls in the various crafts, camping, and cookouts associated with a resident summer camp.  The grueling work of gardening had Mart fleetingly wishing he had done the same instead of electing to stay home and mow lawns for the summer.

Helen laughed.  “I thought your Dad was paying her entirely too much allowance, but now that I have to manage without her, I’m fairly certain she earned every penny.”  She paused for a moment and set down the gardening magazine she had been using as a fan.   “At least I don't have Bobby to worry about.”   The youngest Belden had also made his first trip to summer camp, one of the reasons that Helen and Peter had agreed to let Trixie apply for her job.  Without keeping one eye out for the mischievous adventures of her youngest child, Helen had little to distract her from her garden, not to mention the sudden decrease in laundry. Her oldest was already doing his own laundry, a holdover from the college experience.  Good fortune had accidentally found her that summer when Brian convinced Mart to do the same in preparation for Cornell.  She smiled as she recalled the wisdom imparted from brother to brother.

“Dude, trust me on this one.  You need to get this down while you’ve got Moms to ask questions.  Otherwise you’re going to be finding a job to earn the money to replace all your clothes when you end up with nothing but pink clothes!” 

Mart had taken the advice to heart and with the Belden family laundry down to her own and her husband's, Helen was amazed at how much less frequently she was required to run her high-capacity, energy efficient washing machine. 

Realizing her husband would be home soon, and knowing she wanted the last batch of tomatoes blanched, packed and heating while they ate dinner; Helen stood and crossed to the sink.  “It's a shame you won't be home this winter to enjoy the fruits of your labor, but you know I'll happily send a few jars of these tomatoes off to school with you.  Doesn't your dorm have a kitchen?”

“I'll probably just wait and see how it all works the first semester,” Mart answered reluctantly.

Both Jim and Brian had already warned him and Dan about the food.  Home-cooked meals were something they both appreciated more than ever now.  In fact, it was tough at first to get either of them to agree to make the weekly trip to eat at the Wong’s Red Moon Cafe.  The fact that it was now a regular weekend treat for the four male Bob-Whites was a testament to just how good the food was.  The quality was something they attributed to the Wong family who ran the restaurant.  Searching for better public schools for her kids, Cindy Wong had chosen to relocate from New York City to Sleepyside.  The market research—for which she had paid dearly—indicated the location was ripe for a Chinese Restaurant. 

“You know they require all freshmen to purchase a meal plan,” he reminded his mom.  “I'll just see how it goes.”

“Hmmmm...” was Helen's noncommittal answer.  She knew full well there was no college meal plan available that would fill up the bottomless pit that was better known as Mart Belden.  “What time are you planning on going to eat?”

Mart glanced at the clock and headed for the stairs.  “Sooner than I realized,” he replied over his shoulder as he bounded up the steps.  “Brian will be here in a minute and I'm supposed to be done with the bathroom before he gets here.”

Helen smiled.   The bathroom was another chore that had come off her list for the summer, or actually Trixie's list.  Brian and Mart kept their bathroom spotless and with far fewer arguments than when Trixie and Bobby were both home.  She quickly spilled the basket of tomatoes into her sink and started washing and pulling off stems, humming as she worked.  Maybe I won't be too tired to stay up after dinner, she thought to herself as she debated the advantages of a child-free home for the evening.

“What's going on?”   Mart stretched to look over the shoulder of his brother and friend at the crowd around the doors of the Red Moon Cafe.  “Are they closed?”

“It looks like something's going on,” Jim replied, blinking to help his eyes adjust to looking through the large plate glass windows into the dimness of the cafe.  “I see Spider and another cop talking to Cindy Wong.”

“Are they open?” Mart asked again.

“Give it a minute, dude,” Dan answered.   Mart tended to get anxious on matters related to eating or cooking, in fact anything related to food.

Mart sighed, but waited a few moments to see if some of the crowd would disperse.  In the meantime, a young male teen-ager approached the crowd and cried out in dismay when he noticed the police officers talking to Cindy Wong.  The Bob-Whites recognized Zane Wong, the owner’s son. 

“Is Mom okay?” Zane cried.  He began to push his way through the crowd.  Jim and Brian wisely stayed close behind him as the crowd seemed to part to let him through.  He yanked the door open without any hesitation.

“Mom!  What's going on?  What are the police doing here?”

“Excuse me, ma'am, but the customers will need to wait until we're done here before they can come in.”   Spider's eyes narrowed as he took in the four Bob-Whites standing right behind the distraught young man.  “Your son is going to need to wait outside as well.”

“Why?” he cried.  “I work here!  You're talking to my mom.”

Cindy Wong placed a hand on her son's arm.  “Its okay, Zane.  We were robbed earlier tonight.  Everyone is okay, but ---”

“Robbed!  Here?  Are you crazy, Mom?  The whole reason we moved here was to get away from that crap.  I can't believe it!”

The Bob-Whites listened and did not move, not wishing to draw any further attention from Spider, who seemed to be distracted for the moment by the excited teenager. 

“Everyone is okay, Zane.  You need to calm down and wait outside like this police officer has asked.”

“Detective,” Spider corrected automatically.  His eyes narrowed.  “I'm a detective, ma'am, not an officer.”

“Officer, detective, investigator -- who the hell cares about that?  My mom was just robbed and you're worried about what she calls you?”

“Zane!”   Cindy Wong admonished her son.  “There is no excuse for your language or your disrespect.”

To his credit, the young man reddened and immediately apologized to the police detective.  His acknowledgment of the particular tone his mother had used caused both Brian and Mart to shift uncomfortably in sympathy with him. They all recognized that she had mustered “the voice” :  the unique combination of tone, inflection, pitch and volume that let the listener know -- in no uncertain terms -- exactly where they stood.

Spider nodded acceptance of the apology and made a valiant effort to explain to Zane in a tactful and compassionate manner why he needed to wait outside.  While his explanation seemed to soothe the teenager, it had the opposite effect on a mousy, middle-aged woman who was waiting nearby.  The small progress made was suddenly negated when she joined the conversation.

“When are you going to let me leave?” she demanded, taking a few steps closer to Spider and the Wongs.  ” I've given you my story twice now, and it's not going to change.  I'm just the bookkeeper, and you seem to have no idea of the trauma of having a gun pointed at you!  I have other appointments.  You've kept me waiting here for hours now.”   She didn't even stop to take a breath.  “Will you please tell him, Cindy?  I really need to go!”

Spider held up his hand.  “If you'll just be patient Ms., uh, .... “  He stammered as he failed to recall her name.  He took a deep breath and glanced at his notebook.  “Ms. Ashby, if you'll just be patient, it's not going to be much longer.”

“A gun!”   Zane cried.  “Mom, are you sure you're okay?  What about Zack and Zoey?  If it's not going to be much longer, then why can't I just wait here?”   Zane interjected.

His interjection seemed to tip Spider’s composure over the edge.  He slammed his notebook shut and held up a hand.  ” You're going to need to leave,” he informed the young man.  ” Now!”   His piercing glance caught the Bob-White boys as well, and they nodded as they stepped back towards the door.

“Your brother and sister are fine,” his mother told him.  “They weren't even here.  Tammy and I were going over the books and it was very slow.  Just go home and wait for me.  I'll tell you everything when I get home.  It doesn't look like we'll be opening tonight.”   With this last comment she directed a questioning brow towards Spider.

“That's up to you ma'am,” he said politely.  “If we can get this restaurant cleared out where I can finish my investigation, then we won't be much longer.”  

“Yeah, right,” Ms. Ashby added sarcastically.  The Bob-Whites exchanged looks as they noticed Spider's expression.  None of them would've wanted to be on the receiving end of the look he directed towards her.

Jim and Brian decided that the situation could be vastly improved with some minor intervention by the Bob-Whites.   Brian reached to touch Zane's arm, but Jim was the first to get his attention.   “Why don't you walk out with us?” he suggested.  “It seems like that would help your Mom the most right now.”

Dan focused his attention on Cindy Wong.  “If you'll tell us if you plan to reopen, we'll let the crowd outside know what's going on.”

She shook her head.  “Not tonight.  We'll reopen for lunch tomorrow.  I don't think any of us are going to be able to handle opening tonight.”

“That makes sense,” he agreed nodding. 

“We'll be back to eat tomorrow night instead,” Mart offered by way of reassurance.

“If you have a sign or something we could put up, that would help with the crowd.  Could she make a quick sign, Spider?”   Jim suggested.

Spider nodded.  “If you have a sign or want to make one, I'll have these guys hang it up and then we could lock these front doors. That will speed things up for you, your employees and ...” He paused as flipped his notebook opened and checked for the name.  “Tammy Ashby.  I can finish up with her while you take care of it.”

Paper and tape were quickly produced and Jim carefully lettered a brief sign while Dan made a brief announcement to the crowd that had gathered.  Brian had a quiet conversation with Zane Wong that he finished just as Mart was taping the “Closed” sign to the front door. 

“Well, that's that,” Mart turned and looked at his friends.  He noticed Zane leaving.  “Do we need to give him a ride home or walk with him?”

Brian shook his head.  “He's fine.  They live just a few blocks away.  He just wanted to be with his mother; he was more concerned about her.  Apparently one of the reasons they left the city and relocated was crime in New York.  He's more disillusioned than anything.”

Dan shook his head.  If anyone understood the concern about crime in New York City, he was the one. His background supplied plenty of exposure to the seedier side of the city that was often promoted as sexy and exciting. 

“What are we going to do about dinner?” Mart asked.  He looked at his watch.  “We don't have that much time left before the movie starts.”

Jim shook his head, thinking entire incident had been more than a little dramatic.  He fleetingly wondered what Trixie would have made of it all before answering Mart’s question.  “Wimpy's, I guess.  That's the only place close enough and quick enough to get us to the movie on time.”

“There's no way I can stay awake for the late showing,” Dan reminded them.  “Not to mention, Saturday is always our busiest day and there isn't a drop of rain in the forecast.”

Mart nodded in agreement.  Unless foul weather kept them from working, both boys worked from daylight to dusk every day except Sunday on their lawn care business.  The work was physically exhausting, but they were both in excellent shape and the money was more than either of them could have made doing other jobs that summer.  Both needed the money for college in the fall.  Mart was heading to Cornell to major in Agriculture Science and Dan to White Plains Community College, still undecided on the career direction his eventual major might take him.

“Wimpy's it is.  Tell the future Mayor of Sleepyside we need to go.”   Mart nodded towards Jim.  A natural leader, the red head had automatically taken charge of the situation, almost as well as Spider could've taken care of it himself.

Within ten minutes, the guys had made their way down the street to Wimpy's and placed their orders, although half that time was spent waiting on Jim to make additional explanations to other potential customers who had arrived at the Red Moon.  

“I wonder what Dad's going to do about dinner,” Mart said as he took a sip of his icy soda.  “Moms said he was bringing home take-out from Red Moon for supper tonight.   There's no way she's going to cook after canning tomatoes all day.”  

“There's your answer,” Dan said with a grin nodding toward the door.  Peter Belden had just pushed through the door of Wimpy's.  “Guess everyone is having burgers instead of Chinese tonight.”

Peter nodded toward the quartet, but waited to place his order before making his way down the diner to speak.  “I understand the Red Moon was robbed,” he said after greeting his sons and their friends.

“That's about all we know,” Brian admitted.  “We did hear there were only a few people in the restaurant when it happened.  Cindy seemed to think that was a positive.”

Peter nodded.  “I'm sure it is.  Patrons have been known to sue restaurants when something like that happens.  The Wongs are struggling enough to make a go of their business without having to deal with a lawsuit.”

“Why do you think they're struggling, Mr. Belden?” Jim asked, curious as to why the usually busy restaurant wasn't doing well.

Peter shrugged.  “Most new businesses struggle the first year to find their rhythm,” he explained.  “The Wongs have run restaurants in the City, but Sleepyside would represent a different business model for a restaurant.  They could likely still be learning the adjustments they need to make to accommodate for that.”

The boys nodded.  “The most important thing is that no one was hurt in the robbery.” Peter stood as Mike signaled to him.  “Looks like our order is ready.  I'll see you boys later.”

The Bob-Whites only had to wait a few more moments until their own order was served.  After passing ketchup, salt and other condiments the table was quiet as the quartet focused on eating.  Mart broke the silence after his second swallow.  “I meant to ask Dad if he knew that Tammy Ashby woman,” he remarked as he picked up a fry.

“Ask him tonight,” Brian replied before taking another bite of his burger. 

“Don't worry, I will,” he assured them.  “After all, she was acting just a little bit mysterious, wasn't she?”

“Hey!” he cried as he was hit by a barrage of French fries.  ” I take it back!  I take it back!”