Death Drop Read online

  I realized why. Smythe had been busy trying to wrestle the tube back into the elevator. He hadn’t thought to belt himself in. Now it was too late.

  “Yowzers,” I said under my breath. The image of Smythe being tossed around like a vegetable inside a blender wasn’t pretty.

  Soon, from a distance, we heard a different type of screaming. Police sirens, summoned by the 9-1-1 call Coach had made.

  From the tube, Coach pulled out the canvas Dante Rossetti had painted almost a century and a half ago. He unrolled it.

  For once the Deet didn’t say a word. The three of us gazed at the sad-faced woman, whose only mistake had been eating a few pomegranate seeds.

  Persephone’s blue eyes shone out at me. And reminded me of a girl with green eyes.

  A girl with a notepad. Except it hadn’t been a notepad. I wasn’t taking notes, pitcher boy.

  I started back down the passage.

  Coach called, “I bet you get a medal for finding this portrait. And Zeke?” He gave me a thumbs-up. “Stellar shot, buddy.”

  “See you at practice,” I called back.

  My gaze went to Dieter. I thought of how fast he’d run. Coach wasn’t a coach for nothing. He’d have noticed it too.

  I grinned. “See you both at practice.”

  She was sitting in a canvas chair on the sidewalk. A man was buying a seagull sketch from her.

  I waited till the man left. Then I approached.

  “Hey.”

  She brightened. Her eyes were just as green as I remembered. “Hey, pitcher boy.”

  “Sell many Death Drop posters today?” I asked.

  Her smile faded. “A few. But now it seems I’m out of business. Smythe just hobbled by. One foot seemed to be sprained, and he was cradling his left shoulder. Between moans of pain he told me that Death Drop was closing. That I’m out of a job.”

  I knelt beside her. “You’ll get to draw more. That’s a good thing. And maybe you’ll have time to come to a baseball game.”

  That got her smiling again, kind of shyly. “Could be, pitcher boy. Anyhow, I won’t mind being free of Sherry. She was a miserable boss. And Smythe! Whine, whine, whine.”

  I glanced around. “Where’d Smythe go?”

  “He waved for a cab and limped into it. He kept glancing back like somebody was after him.”

  The sirens wailed closer. I said, “I think a whole bunch of somebodies will be after him, very soon.”

  I picked up another sketch. I studied the airplane signature. “I’m Zeke. And let me guess. Your name is 747.”

  She laughed. “It’s Jett. And I’m betting you’re the one who bought my sketch of the little girl reaming you out.”

  I nodded. “You nailed us. Gracie, stubborn and scared. Me, not wanting to be bothered with her.”

  “You did bother with her though,” said Jett. “I could see that. I could see you were going to take care of her. That’s why I had to draw you two.”

  I remembered something. “In the gift shop, you started to tell me something. My buddy Dieter interrupted.”

  Jett nodded. “You asked me if I’d seen a lost blond kid. I said no. Then I wondered if you meant the little girl who’d been yelling at you. Did everything turn out okay? That’s what I wanted to ask.”

  A police car screamed to the curb, lights blazing. Two officers barged out. They hurried to the Death Drop. Jumping over the turnstile, they ran inside.

  “The kid’s safe,” I assured Jett. “On her way to London. To her parents.”

  Jett looked wistful. “I’d love to go to London. All those art galleries.”

  I thought of Sherry and Gracie arriving in London. Of Sherry greedily seizing the kid’s mailing tube.

  I pictured Sherry opening the tube. Dollar signs would be dancing in her eyes.

  She’d slide out the artwork, only to see—

  “Imagine showing your work in London,” Jett was saying.

  I grinned. “That may happen a lot sooner than you think.”

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to express my gratitude to editor Melanie Jeffs for all her guidance over the years. Hugs and best wishes for your new adventures to come!

  Death Drop is Melanie Jackson’s fifth mystery in the Orca Currents. Her other titles, The Big Dip, Fast Slide, High Wire and Eye Sore, all feature thrilling forms of amusement. Melanie lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. Visit www.melaniejacksonblog.wordpress.com.

  Titles in the Series

  orca currents

  121 Express

  Monique Polak

  Ace’s Basement

  Ted Staunton

  Agent Angus

  K.L. Denman

  Alibi

  Kristin Butcher

  Bad Business

  Diane Dakers

  Bear Market

  Michele Martin Bossley

  Benched

  Cristy Watson

  Beyond Repair

  Lois Peterson

  The Big Apple Effect

  Christy Goerzen

  The Big Dip

  Melanie Jackson

  Bio-pirate

  Michele Martin Bossley

  Blob

  Frieda Wishinsky

  Bones

  John Wilson

  Branded

  Eric Walters

  Bungee Jump

  Pam Withers

  Cabin Girl

  Kristin Butcher

  Caching In

  Kristin Butcher

  Camp Disaster

  Frieda Wishinsky

  Camp Wild

  Pam Withers

  Caught in the Act

  Deb Loughead

  Chat Room

  Kristin Butcher

  Cheat

  Kristin Butcher

  Chick: Lister

  Alex Van Tol

  Cracked

  Michele Martin Bossley

  Crossbow

  Dayle Campbell Gaetz

  Daredevil Club

  Pam Withers

  Death Drop

  Melanie Jackson

  Destination Human

  K.L. Denman

  Disconnect

  Lois Peterson

  Dog Walker

  Karen Spafford-Fitz

  Explore

  Christy Goerzen

  Eyesore

  Melanie Jackson

  FaceSpace

  Adrian Chamberlain

  Farmed Out

  Christy Goerzen

  Fast Slide

  Melanie Jackson

  Finding Elmo

  Monique Polak

  Flower Power

  Ann Walsh

  Fraud Squad

  Michele Martin Bossley

  Hate Mail

  Monique Polak

  High Wire

  Melanie Jackson

  Hold the Pickles

  Vicki Grant

  Horse Power

  Ann Walsh

  Hypnotized

  Don Trembath

  In a Flash

  Eric Walters

  Junkyard Dog

  Monique Polak

  Laggan Lard Butts

  Eric Walters

  Leggings Revolt

  Monique Polak

  Living Rough

  Cristy Watson

  Lost

  John Wilson

  Manga Touch

  Jacqueline Pearce

  Marked

  Norah McClintock

  Maxed Out

  Daphne Greer

  Mirror Image

  K.L. Denman

  Nine Doors

  Vicki Grant

  On Cue

  Cristy Watson

  Oracle

  Alex Van Tol

  Out of Season

  Kari Jones

  Perfect Revenge

  K.L. Denman

  Pigboy

  Vicki Grant

  Power Chord

  Ted Staunton

  Pyro

  Monique Polak

  Que
en of the Toilet Bowl

  Frieda Wishinsky

  Rebel’s Tag

  K.L. Denman

  Reckless

  Lesley Choyce

  Rise of the Zombie

  Scarecrows

  Deb Loughead

  See No Evil

  Diane Young

  Sewer Rats

  Sigmund Brouwer

  The Shade

  K.L. Denman

  Shatterproof

  Jocelyn Shipley

  Siege

  Jacqueline Pearce

  Skate Freak

  Lesley Choyce

  Slick

  Sara Cassidy

  The Snowball Effect

  Deb Loughead

  Special Edward

  Eric Walters

  Splat!

  Eric Walters

  Spoiled Rotten

  Dayle Campbell Gaetz

  Stolen

  John Wilson

  Storm Tide

  Kari Jones

  Struck

  Deb Loughead

  Stuff We All Get

  K.L. Denman

  Sudden Impact

  Lesley Choyce

  Swiped

  Michele Martin Bossley

  Tampered

  Michele Martin Bossley

  Taz’s Recipe

  Diane Tullson

  Three Good Things

  Lois Peterson

  Vanish

  Karen Spafford-Fitz

  Watch Me

  Norah McClintock

  Windfall

  Sara Cassidy

  Wired

  Sigmund Brouwer

  orca currents

  For more information on all the books in the Orca Currents series, please visit

  www.orcabook.com.