Taffy Sinclair 005 - Blackmailed by Taffy Sinclair Read Online Free
Author: Betsy Haynes
What on earth would he think of me if I were accused of being a thief?
I held my breath all evening waiting for the police to knock on the door, but they never did. I didn't tell Mom about my problem, either. How could I w hen she was so upset about my father? Finally, just before bedtime, I got up enough nerve to call Christie. Fortunately she answered the phone.
"Mom hasn't said a word about Wiggins's wallet," she assured me after I had gone through my story about Taffy Sinclair for the fourth time. "I really don't think Taffy told on you."
We talked a while and Christie finally convinced me that Taffy probably didn't notice that I had the wallet in my hand.
"I'll bet she was too busy looking at herself in the mirror to notice anything," said Christie. "I'll also bet that if you just forget about it, it will all blow over. After all, you put it back where you found it, didn't you?"
I felt a lot better. Maybe it will all blow over, I thought as I climbed into bed. But of course it didn't. Taffy was waiting for me the next day when I got to school .
CHAPTER FOUR
In the morning I felt a little more confident. After all, Christie was right. I had put the wallet back in the girls' bathroom where the custodian would find it and give it back to Wiggins. Since Taffy Sinclair hadn't told on me, she must not have seen me. I was safe. Then I saw Taffy standing beside the gate to the school ground, and I could tell by the look on her face that I WASN'T safe at all.
" Come here, Jana." She wasn't even bothering to use her icky sweet voice this morning. "I have something IMPORTANT to talk to you about."
" What do you want?" I demanded.
"You'll find out, and so will the whole school if you don't come closer."
I kicked a rock off the sidewalk and moved just close enough so that she wouldn't have to shout.
"I said, what do you want?"
Taffy smiled her nasty smile again. "I didn't tell," she said cheerfully.
"What do you mean, you didn't tell?" I tried to keep the panic I was feeling from creeping into my voice, but I knew it did anyway.
"About what you were doing in the girls' bathroom after school yesterday. Aren't you even going to say thank you?"
"You listen to me, Taffy Sinclair. I didn't steal Wiggins's wallet. I found it. I found it in the girls' bathroom before school. When W iggins said somebody stole it, I was afraid she'd thin k it was me. So I put it back w her e the custodian would find it w hen he cleaned up. That way I knew she'd get it back. You can think anything you want to, but that's the truth!"
"So you confess!" she challenged gleefully. "You did have Wiggins's wallet all the time. You're the thief, and I'm the ONLY one who knows it."
I stared at her, dumbfounded. She had tricked me. She had made me say that I had Wiggins's wallet, and now she was saying that I confessed. I thought I'd die. I almost wished she had told on me yesterday and the police had come to my apartment and taken me away. At least then I'd get a trial.
Taffy started to walk away. Then she stopped for an instant and narrowed her eyes, looking at me with another one of her nasty looks. "I'll talk to you some more later," she said with a warning sound in her voice. "And like they say in the movies—don't leave town." She was laughing her head off when she turned away again.
My knees felt wobbly as I hurried toward school. I could see my friends standing together near the front door. They had been watching Taffy and me, and I could tell that they were about to explode if they didn't find out what had been going on.
"Do you know what I think?" asked Beth after I had repeated our conversation. "I think she's going to blackmail you."
"Blackmail me?" I almost whispered the dreaded word. Only real criminals did something like that.
" I think she is, too," said Katie. "Otherwise, she would have told on you yesterday. She had this planned from the very moment she saw you with that wallet in your hand."
"But what if Wiggins already has her
I held my breath all evening waiting for the police to knock on the door, but they never did. I didn't tell Mom about my problem, either. How could I w hen she was so upset about my father? Finally, just before bedtime, I got up enough nerve to call Christie. Fortunately she answered the phone.
"Mom hasn't said a word about Wiggins's wallet," she assured me after I had gone through my story about Taffy Sinclair for the fourth time. "I really don't think Taffy told on you."
We talked a while and Christie finally convinced me that Taffy probably didn't notice that I had the wallet in my hand.
"I'll bet she was too busy looking at herself in the mirror to notice anything," said Christie. "I'll also bet that if you just forget about it, it will all blow over. After all, you put it back where you found it, didn't you?"
I felt a lot better. Maybe it will all blow over, I thought as I climbed into bed. But of course it didn't. Taffy was waiting for me the next day when I got to school .
CHAPTER FOUR
In the morning I felt a little more confident. After all, Christie was right. I had put the wallet back in the girls' bathroom where the custodian would find it and give it back to Wiggins. Since Taffy Sinclair hadn't told on me, she must not have seen me. I was safe. Then I saw Taffy standing beside the gate to the school ground, and I could tell by the look on her face that I WASN'T safe at all.
" Come here, Jana." She wasn't even bothering to use her icky sweet voice this morning. "I have something IMPORTANT to talk to you about."
" What do you want?" I demanded.
"You'll find out, and so will the whole school if you don't come closer."
I kicked a rock off the sidewalk and moved just close enough so that she wouldn't have to shout.
"I said, what do you want?"
Taffy smiled her nasty smile again. "I didn't tell," she said cheerfully.
"What do you mean, you didn't tell?" I tried to keep the panic I was feeling from creeping into my voice, but I knew it did anyway.
"About what you were doing in the girls' bathroom after school yesterday. Aren't you even going to say thank you?"
"You listen to me, Taffy Sinclair. I didn't steal Wiggins's wallet. I found it. I found it in the girls' bathroom before school. When W iggins said somebody stole it, I was afraid she'd thin k it was me. So I put it back w her e the custodian would find it w hen he cleaned up. That way I knew she'd get it back. You can think anything you want to, but that's the truth!"
"So you confess!" she challenged gleefully. "You did have Wiggins's wallet all the time. You're the thief, and I'm the ONLY one who knows it."
I stared at her, dumbfounded. She had tricked me. She had made me say that I had Wiggins's wallet, and now she was saying that I confessed. I thought I'd die. I almost wished she had told on me yesterday and the police had come to my apartment and taken me away. At least then I'd get a trial.
Taffy started to walk away. Then she stopped for an instant and narrowed her eyes, looking at me with another one of her nasty looks. "I'll talk to you some more later," she said with a warning sound in her voice. "And like they say in the movies—don't leave town." She was laughing her head off when she turned away again.
My knees felt wobbly as I hurried toward school. I could see my friends standing together near the front door. They had been watching Taffy and me, and I could tell that they were about to explode if they didn't find out what had been going on.
"Do you know what I think?" asked Beth after I had repeated our conversation. "I think she's going to blackmail you."
"Blackmail me?" I almost whispered the dreaded word. Only real criminals did something like that.
" I think she is, too," said Katie. "Otherwise, she would have told on you yesterday. She had this planned from the very moment she saw you with that wallet in your hand."
"But what if Wiggins already has her
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