Chapter Seven – Who Are They Really?
Carter released his handful of dirt and watched it drop back to the ground again. Once it had settled he scooped up another handful and repeated the action. He and Caroline were camped out under the bushes, watching, but the Campbells still weren't doing anything. It was starting to get a little boring. Even Caroline, who had been so adamant about watching them and making sure they didn't miss anything, looked bored. He was really tempted to tell her they should just give up. When Caroline suddenly shifted position he thought she was thinking the same thing until she reached through the fence and started playing in the dirt. A moment later she began pushing the dirt around a little more frantically and then turned to stare at him.
"There's something here."
"What do you mean?"
"Look. See?" She pointed toward the spot she'd been digging in.
"What is that? A box or something?"
"I think so. I want to find out."
She reached out to start digging again, but Carter grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Not now! We have to wait until they aren't anywhere near here! We're digging through their yard, and if they hid it we don't want them to see us digging it up."
"I didn't think of that."
"Of course you didn't. We'll come back when they aren't so close by. Right now we need to try and find some shovels."
They both scrambled out of the bushes and ran toward the house. Their parents had gotten them both sand pails and shovels for their vacations. If they could find where they were in the garage the shovels would probably work to dig the box out. In the end, it didn't take them long to find the tools.
"Should we bring them inside?" Caroline asked.
"Mom and dad might get suspicious if we do. Let's leave them in here where we can find them. When we want to dig the box up we can come get them."
"They're going to think it's weird that we're bringing them into the backyard."
"So bring some of your dolls out too. They won't ask then."
"I don't want them to get dirty!"
"Do you want to dig up the box or not?"
"Of course I do!"
"Then bring one. If it gets dirty, oh well."
Caroline glared at him angrily but had to agree. She really wanted to know what the Campbells had hidden and playing pretend with her dolls and the pails would be the perfect way to distract her parents so she could find out. Whatever was hidden had to be something really cool. Why else would someone hide something in a box and bury it in the ground?
Two days later they finally had the opportunity to try and dig up the box. Joan and Arthur were nowhere to be seen, though the kids had seen them come home. With the neighbors busy inside their house, the coast outside was clear. Now if only Carter would finish his homework.
"Come on, Carter!"
"I'm almost done. And you're not helping. Get the stuff and pretend like you're playing outside while I finish."
Caroline huffed, not happy that he was bossing her around, but headed to her room and then the garage anyway. What he'd told her to do made sense, and she was impatient. If he took too long she would dig the box up herself. She'd been the one to find it after all.
She'd been outside pretending to play for about fifteen minutes when Carter finally joined her.
"Took you long enough," she grumbled.
"Mom wanted to check it all before I left. There wasn't anything I could do. Now come on or we won't have time to finish before dinner."
"You're the one that took forever," she complained as she grabbed the shovels and buckets and started scooting beneath the bushes.
Carter followed after her, and they settled down on their knees and started digging. The more dirt that piled up in the buckets the more of the box was revealed. Caroline dropped the shovel and reached through the fence to grab the box. She turned it sideways to try and pull it between the bars, but it hit them with a clang and got stuck. They both flinched at the loud noise and held perfectly still. Someone could have heard that, and at any moment they could be coming over to find out what Caroline and Carter were up to. After a few more moments of silence and no sign of anyone coming they relaxed with a sigh of relief.
"Turn it more sideways."
"I am!"
"Then give it to me."
"I can do it!"
Caroline shifted the box and tried a few more times before finally getting it to slide through. She grinned triumphantly and set the box down. Slowly she popped both clasps and lifted the lid, but Carter reached around her and snagged the contents of the box before she could.
"Hey!"
"Shh! Someone could hear you."
She glared at him but dropped the volume of her voice.
"Let me see."
Carter held both IDs out in front of him so Caroline could see too. They stared at the pieces of paper for a long time. Both pictures were familiar and easily identifiable as Joan and Arthur Campbell. What they didn't understand were the names associated with each picture.
"What are they?"
"Driver's licenses, I think," Carter answered.
"Those don't look like their names though, right?"
Caroline wasn't completely sure she was reading the first names right, but she knew the last name written on both IDs wasn't Campbell. That didn't make any sense though. She didn't know all that much about her neighbors, but one thing she did know for sure was that their last name was Campbell.
"They're not."
"But those are their pictures."
"I know."
"Then why are the names wrong?"
"Maybe they're not. Maybe those are their real names. If they're really spies they might need fake names."
"Then why would they hide these here? They weren't very safe."
"Why would they think someone would look under the bushes? It's not a place people usually go and you wouldn't be able to see the box unless you were under here."
"I wonder what their real names are."
"Dunno. No way to tell either."
The sliding glass door opened, and their mom called them in for dinner.
"Coming!" Carter called out before whispering hurriedly to Caroline. "Put it back, quick!"
Caroline scrambled to toss the IDs back into the box and shoved it through the bars of the fence. Once it was returned to the hole she started dumping dirt back over it.
"Get it covered and clean off the bars. Don't leave anything in here. I'll stall mom," Carter told her.
She nodded and kept pouring the dirt on as her brother crawled out of the bushes. After she'd smoothed down the dirt and brushed off the bars she gathered the buckets and followed after him. Hopefully neither her parents nor the Campbells (or whatever their real name was) would realize what they'd done. She really didn't want angry spies or angry parents turning their eyes on her.
Author's Note: Only two chapters left!
