Chapter 12

The branch jerked and dropped lower. In another few seconds, it would break free completely.

Flaky was already halfway across the lawn, screaming at Flippy to stop. It was useless. Flippy couldn't hear her over the sound of the saw. Nobody could hear her.

The lawn seemed as wide as a football field. Flaky knew she was running fast, but it felt like she was moving in slow motion.

Finally, she reached the terrace. She bounded up the steps and tripped, scraping her knee on the rough stone. Jumping up, she raced along the terrace and around to the back of the wheelchair.

She gripped the rubber-covered handles and shoved.

The chair didn't move.

She shoved again. This time it lurched forward. But not nearly enough.

Why wouldn't the stupid thing move?

Frantic, Flaky looked down to see if there was a rock or something blocking the wheels. And finally, she saw the lever on the side. A brake. Mrs. Joy had put on the brake.

She gripped the handles again and pushed hard, shoving the chair as fast as she could.

Cuddles was running toward them now, his mouth open, shouting. Mrs. Joy was in the open windows, holding something yellow in her hands.

When she reached the end of the terrace, Flaky stopped and turned.

The branch jerked again and dipped lower. Even over the roar of the saw, Flaky could hear the shriek of the splintering wood.

The branch dipped and shrieked one last time, then crashed to the stone floor of the terrace. It bounced when it hit, scattering leaves and dust and pieces of bark.

The saw rumbled like a car engine revving at a stoplight.

Then, suddenly, everything was quiet.

Flaky put her arms around herself to try to stop trembling.

Before Flaky could catch her breath, Cuddles and Mrs. Joy were at Giggles.

"Giggles, are you alright?" Cuddles shouted.

"What happened?" Mrs. Joy demanded. Staring at the fallen branch but not at Giggles.

Flaky wanted to tell Cuddles to stop shouting. Obviously, Giggles was alright. And she felt like telling Mrs. Joy to use her eyes and figure it out herself.

But before she could say anything, Flippy walked around the corner of the house with a chainsaw in hand.

Cuddles flew at him "You stupid jerk!" he yelled. He jabbed his fingertips against Flippy's chest. "What do you think you were doing? Look at that branch, if it hit her it could have killed her!"

Cuddles kept jabbing with his fingers, forcing Flippy to step backward. "What's the matter with you? Didn't you even look before you started with that saw? Didn't you even think to warn anybody?"

In a lightning-quick motion, Flippy stuck out his free hand and grabbed Cuddles' wrist.

From where she was standing, Flaky could see Flippy's eyes. They were narrowed in anger and darker than ever.

Flippy didn't say anything, he just looked at Cuddles for a moment. Then he dropped Cuddles' hand and looked at Flaky and Giggles and Mrs. Joy. "I'm sorry," he said. "I was up on a ladder against the tree trunk. The tree's around the corner of the house, so I couldn't see onto the terrace." He put the saw down and stepped up to the fallen branch. "Cuddles is right, I should have called down before I started. I'm glad no one was hurt."

"You're lucky no one was hurt," Cuddles said.

Flippy ignored him and grabbed hold of the thick end of the branch. "I'll get this branch out of the way."

"He's fired, right?" Cuddles said to Mrs. Joy, "I mean, you're not letting him get away with such a dumb move, are you?"

Mrs. Joy finally came to life. "Calm down, Cuddles," she said. "I'll handle this." She draped a yellow shawl over Giggles' shoulders and wheeled her towards the open doors. "I'll speak to you in a few minutes, Flippy." She pushed the wheelchair inside and shut the windows.

Flippy had the branch off the terrace now and he dragged it around the corner of the house. He was back in seconds. Without another word, he picked up the saw and walked across the lawn toward his truck.

Cuddles stood with his hands on his hips, watching Flippy walk away. "Can you believe that guy?" he said to Flaky. "Sweet Joy better fire him, that's all I've got to say."

Flaky wondered if she would. According to what she had heard, Mrs. Joy didn't trust Flippy. What just happened with the branch would be the perfect excuse to get rid of him.

Flaky started to go inside with Giggles, but Cuddles' next words stopped her.

"I thought it was an accident," he said. "Now I'm beginning to wonder."

Flaky had already thought of that, the minute she heard the saw. But it didn't make sense. "How could it not be an accident?" she said. "If you're going to chop a branch down on somebody, you don't give them a warning."

"He didn't give a warning."

"Yes, he did," Flaky said. "With the chainsaw. That's a pretty loud warning if you ask me."

"What are you doing defending him?" Cuddles said. "Oh, right, I guess you are. I heard you went out with the guy."

Flaky frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I just wondered how well you really know him, that's all."

Flaky didn't want to hear this. Not from Cuddles. "I know what you think about Flippy," she said. "That he took Giggles' necklace. And now you think he deliberately tried to hit her with a tree branch." She crossed her arms. "But I don't know you any better than I know Flippy," she added. "so why should I believe you?"

Cuddles lifted his sunglasses and stared at her. "Good point," he said with a little laugh.

Flaky was mad and still shaken by what had just happened. And she remembered what Petunia had said, that Cuddles could have sent her those messages.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked. "You ought to know by now that this is when I read to Giggles. How come you always show up when I'm ready to read?"

Cuddles laughed again. "What are you trying to say?"

"That maybe you're still jealous because Giggles is trying to tell me things instead of you," Flaky said. "And maybe you sent me that note. And called me on the phone and wrote on my door. To scare me to stop reading to her."

"Hold it a second," Cuddles said, shaking his head. "You told me about some note you got. You said Lammy wrote it."

"I thought she did."

"And now you think I did?" he asked. "And you think I called you and… what? … wrote something on your door?" He shook his head again as if there were a fly buzzing around his ears. "You're not making any sense. I admitted I was a little jealous when you told me about Giggles and the book. But scare you? That's crazy."

His eyes were wide, and he looked completely baffled. Either he was telling the truth, or he was a great actor.

Flaky looked toward the parking area by the garages. Flippy was standing by his truck, and Mrs. Joy was talking to him.

Flaky's thoughts were interrupted by Cuddles' talking. "What?" she said.

"I said if someone doesn't want you reading to Giggles, maybe you ought to take another look at your gardener friend." Cuddles jerked his chin toward Flippy. "You know what you said about the chainsaw being a warning?"

Flaky nodded.

"Giggles was the only one on the terrace then, remember?" Cuddle said. "Flippy could have seen her there, alone. So even though she heard the saw, there wasn't a thing she could do about it. And he knew it."

"Dropping a branch on someone because of a stolen necklace is a pretty drastic thing to do, Cuddles."

"Yeah, it is," Cuddles agreed. "But maybe it's not just the necklace he wants her to keep quiet about."

Flaky looked across the lawn at Flippy again. Cuddles is jealous of him, she thought. And he thinks Flippy stole the necklace.

Maybe Flippy did.

But what happened with the branch was as an accident.

Wasn't it?

When Flaky went inside, Giggles raised her eyebrows in a questioning look.

Probably wondering what Cuddles and I were talking about, Flaky thought. She would have told Giggles, except Mrs. Joy was back in the house, listening. And who knew where Cuddles was? Or Flippy.

"I guess we'll be reading inside today after all," Flaky said. "It would have been nice to be out in the sun, but we'll do okay without it." She meant, 'you can still signal me while I read. I'll figure it out somehow.'

Giggles hummed softly for a couple of seconds.

Flaky picked up Giggles' copy of 'Jane Eyre'. She must have dropped hers when she was running toward the terrace before. It didn't matter. She wouldn't be reading the quotes and asking about them, like she'd planned.

Flaky found the place where she'd left off. "Okay. Jane heard a horrible cry, and then a big struggle going on in the room above hers. And then she heard somebody yell 'Help, help, help!'"

Giggles lifted her finger from the arm of the wheelchair.

"Right. There were guests at Thornfield, including the obnoxious Miss Ingram. They all heard the cry for help and came running out of their rooms to see what was going on. Jane left her room, too, and saw everybody dashing up and down the hall, calling for Mr. Rochester. And the door at the end of the gallery opened, and Mr. Rochester advanced with a candle;" Flaky read, "he had just descended from the upper story. One of the ladies ran to him directly; she seized his arm: it was Miss Ingram.

'What awful event has taken place?' said she 'speak…'"

Pretending to pause for breath, Flaky nodded at Giggles. Giggles had just raised her finger on the line: "What awful event has taken place?"

Then Giggles signaled Flaky on the line: "And dangerous he looked; his black eyes darted sparks."

Flaky read three more sentences. Then she stopped again. But not because Giggles had raised her finger.

Something about Giggles' last signal reminded her of something… of what? She couldn't remember. She shook her head and went on reading.

Flaky paused again, still thinking about that last signal. Rochester looked dangerous, and his eyes darted sparks. She kept coming back to it, like a dream she knew she'd had but couldn't remember.

What did it remind her of?

Giggles was watching, her eyebrows raised again.

Questioning what Flaky was thinking.

But Flaky couldn't tell her. She bent her head to the book and went on reading.

In the middle of Jane's description of how quiet Thornfield Hall got after all the commotion, Flaky stopped a third time.

She'd finally remembered.

Jane Eyre was talking about Edward Rochester.

But Flaky was thinking of Flippy.

She was thinking of the way his eyes looked when Cuddles was yelling at him.

Narrowed to slits, furious, and darker than ever.

"And dangerous he looked; his black eyes darted sparks."