Trash Read Online Free

didn’t mind working next to him, which meant we’d talk a bit, and I’d listen to his chit-chat-singing. A lot of kids would just throw things at him and laugh.
    I sat down, but Gardo stayed on the step, squatting. ‘You gotta hide something,’ I said. I put the bag on the cardboard, and put my candle next to it. He found another and lit it, and all three of us sat in silence.
    ‘OK,’ he said. ‘What’s in it? Who’s it belong to?’ He had a thin, breathy little voice like he was six years old.
    I opened the flap and unzipped it. I took out the items and laid them down. The wallet. The key. The map.
    ‘You happy to hide it? You didn’t hear the police come, did you?’
    ‘I didn’t see any police,’ said Rat. ‘But I can hide it if you want. See that brick? That comes right out, and the next one too. Won’t last long, though – it’s gonna get eaten, OK?’
    ‘Wait,’ said Gardo. ‘I’m thinking about this. It’s not the bag they want, is it? It’s what’s in the bag.’
    ‘We’ve still got to hide it,’ I said.
    ‘Why don’t we just sling it?’
    ‘If we sling it,’ I said, ‘and they find it … then they’ll know someone’s got what’s inside, maybe. If they know what they’re looking for.’
    ‘Who’s looking?’ said Rat. ‘What did the police want?’
    I told him quickly, and his eyes widened. ‘Ten thousand, Raphael!’ he said. ‘You’re crazy! Give it in and get the cash.’
    ‘Oh yes,’ said Gardo, sneering. ‘You really think they’ll give it? You taken in by that? And if they do, boy – you think he’ll hold onto ten thousand?’
    Rat looked from me to Gardo and back again.
    ‘Look,’ I said. ‘We’ve got to hide it. They come back tomorrow – they say they’re going to pay everyone to work. We all get a few days’ work, maybe – give it up next week.’
    ‘Everyone’s happy,’ said Rat. ‘That’s a good idea, maybe.But you got to ask, why do they want it so bad, OK? How much was in this?’ His thin fingers opened the wallet and pulled out the ID card.
    ‘Eleven hundred,’ I said.
    He smiled right at me. ‘Anything for using my house?’
    ‘I’ll give you fifty,’ I said, and he grinned even wider and touched my arm.
    ‘You promise, OK? That’s a promise?’
    ‘Promise.’
    His hands went to the map. ‘We ought to find out what they want,’ he said. ‘What is this – buried treasure?’
    ‘There’s nothing on it,’ I said. ‘It’s just a city map.’
    He looked harder at the ID then, staring at the photograph. ‘Who is this?’
    ‘José Angelico,’ I said.
    I knew Rat couldn’t read. He turned the paper over and over, looking at the face.
    ‘José Angelico,’ he said slowly. ‘You think the police want him? You think he’s a wanted man? He looks nice enough. This his little girl?’
    He was looking at the child, putting the faces next to each other.
    ‘Maybe,’ I said. ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘He’s rich enough to send her to school,’ said Rat. ‘That’s a school dress.’
    ‘What if he’s been murdered?’ said Gardo. ‘Maybe they’re looking for his body – looking for the murderers too. This could be part of something bad.’
    ‘Who lost the bag, though?’ I said. ‘How do you lose a bag in the trash?’
    ‘Not by accident,’ said Rat. He was staring at the photos again. ‘We ought to find out who he is, OK? He might give more than the police.’
    ‘And what’s the key?’ said Gardo, pointing to it. ‘That’s his house key, maybe. Maybe he’s locked out of his house? Find out where he lives—’
    ‘Oh no, that’s not a house key,’ said Rat, staring. He hadn’t noticed the key in the darkness. Now he picked it up and put it next to my candle. He looked up at me again. ‘Oh my. You don’t know what that is, do you?’
    ‘Could be to a safe,’ I said. ‘What is it, a padlock key? What’s the one-oh-one?’
    ‘You don’t know what that is!’ said Rat slowly. He was teasing us. ‘I