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Back A Penny for Your Thoughts Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. A PENNY
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-One
  26. Twenty-Two
  27. Twenty-Three
  28. Twenty-Four
  29. Twenty-Five
  30. Twenty-Six
  31. Twenty-Seven
  32. Twenty-Eight
  33. Twenty-Nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-One
  36. Thirty-Two
  37. Thirty-Three
  38. Thirty-Four
  39. Thirty-Five
  40. Thirty-Six
  41. Thirty-Seven
  42. Thirty-Eight
  43. Thirty-Nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-One
  46. Forty-Two
  47. Forty-Three
  48. Forty-Four
  49. Forty-Five
  50. Forty-Six
  51. Forty-Seven
  52. Forty-Eight
  53. Forty-Nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-One
  56. Fifty-Two
  57. Fifty-Three
  58. Fifty-Four
  59. A Sample Chapter of Don’t Take Any Wooden Nickels
  60. About the Author
  61. Other Books by Mindy Starns Clark
  62. About the Publisher

“That’s why we want to get it into the museum right away. We want everyone to be able to see it. Right now, only a few people know, but soon it’ll probably be in the newspaper and everything.”

I looked at Carlos, whose rapt attention was given over to the collection in front of him. He was such a beautiful child.

“We need to talk, Carlos,” I said. He tore himself away from the collection and let me pull him back to the chairs across the room. We sat across from each other, and then I eyed the boy in front of me sternly.

“Now Carlos,” I said. “You think this spy stuff is all a bunch of fun and games. But we’re not kidding around here. This is serious, serious business.”

I scolded him for a while, trying to impress upon him the fact that his grandfather had been murdered, and that the murderer had not yet been caught. He nodded, but I could almost see the wheels turning in his mind.

“This isn’t the movies, Carlos,” I said. “The hero doesn’t always come out okay at the end. And the more you pass me secret notes and whisper about spying and poke me under the table, the more danger you put yourself and me into. Do you understand?”

He nodded, looking down at the floor, properly chastised. I was just glad he would be going back to school the next day. If Harriet and I found the proof we needed in the morning, I might be able to get the ball rolling with the police, and they could wrap up the matter before Carlos arrived at home at the end of the day.

“Sorry, Callie,” he said, his eyes meeting mine. He looked suddenly tired, and I knew that he had been operating all day on even less sleep than I had.

“I think it’s time we both went to bed, don’t you?” I said.

“It’s only eight!” he cried, glancing at the large grandfather clock against the wall.

“But you, my dear, were up all night on spy duty,” I said, rising from the chair and walking with him to the door. “Even James Bond needs a good night’s sleep after something like that.”

Thirty-Six

Thirty-Six

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It was 8:30 by the time I slipped under the covers, dressed in a loose cotton nightshirt, my teeth brushed, my alarm clock set. I was exhausted, ready to fall into a deep sleep.