later, something flew over the wooden fence and fell to the ground in front of Ridley’s chair. A yellow-and-green-plaid duffel bag. Two faces appeared at the top of the fence—Izzy and Olly, full of smiles.
“Howdy!” said Izzy, pulling herself up and swinging her legs over.
Olly followed, landing on the pebbly ground with an oof. “I meant to say that,” he said, brushing himself off.
“And I meant to say howdy,” said Izzy.
Ridley realized that the brick in her belly had suddenly eased, that wondering if her friends would still come despite the danger was at least half the reason she was so anxious all day. “What’s in the bag?” she asked.
“Our disguises, of course,” offered Izzy. She zipped the bag open and revealed a treasure trove of clothes, hats, sparkly accessories, and assorted trappings. “Our old disguises didn’t make it out of the rubble at the magic shop, so we dug through our storage space at the resort and found costumes from our grandparents’ old Golden Family Revue. Some of the stuff in there was golden indeed!”
“Good enough for us to put on a show!” said Olly.
“Oh, we’re gonna put on a show, all right,” said Ridley, feeling impatient to get started. “But it’s not going to be one that will end in applause.”
“Then maybe it should start with some!” said Izzy. She began to clap and hoot.
Ridley dashed forward so quickly, she almost ran over Izzy’s toe. She tried to cover Izzy’s mouth. “We’re trying to be discreet!”
“Oh, right,” said Izzy. “Sorry!” She covered her mouth herself.
They divided up the costumes, then took turns inside the old shed. When Carter came out, he looked the very picture of Dandy. His blond hair was slicked down with black shoe polish, his eyes shaded by giant dark circular sunglasses. He wore a slim black-and-white-striped suit and shiny shoes. Around his neck, he’d draped a brown cashmere scarf, fluffed out to cover his chin.
Leila had pulled her hair up underneath a white handkerchief. She was draped in a long white apron tied at the waist and stained pink in a few small spots. Under one arm, she’d tucked several parcels, wrapped in brown paper, dripping with a gory-looking juice. “I’m a butcher’s assistant!” she claimed with a grin, as if she had finally achieved a life goal. When the others stared at her in shock, she said, “There was some pink paint in the supply shed. I thought we were going for realistic?”
Theo wore overalls and a train engineer’s striped cap. “I have been working on the railroad?” he offered rather meekly.
“Aaaaaall the live long daaaaay!” Olly and Izzy chorused as they reappeared looking very much like themselves.
“Where’re your costumes?” Ridley asked.
“We’re wearing them!” said Olly. “I’m her.”
“And I’m him!” Izzy finished.
“Considering that you two already dress exactly alike, maybe you could try again?” Ridley suggested.
Crestfallen, the twins went back into the shed and came out a few minutes later looking like a pair of bird-watchers, wearing vests with several pockets and Indy fedora hats. They both held large binoculars before their faces and pretended to gaze at the sky. “Hey, look!” said Izzy, pointing to the roof of the shed. “Doves!”
When it was Ridley’s turn, she pulled an old burlap sack out from a dusty corner of the shed and draped it over the back of her chair to hide all the features that might give her away. From the twins’ duffel, she removed a gauzy cloth and wrapped her hair, tying it in the back so that it looked like a turban on her head. She put on a pair of thick rimmed lenses that made her look like she was wearing a pair of magnifying glasses. They hurt her eyes, but she was willing to suffer for the cause. For a dress, she found a piece that reminded her of something Sandra Santos might have worn, all tassels and stars and fringe.
The group gathered at the rear of the shed to check one another out. “We look ridiculous,” said Ridley.
“The question is,” said Theo, with a grin, “do we look like ourselves?”
ELEVEN
“We’ll leave the parking lot separately,” said Ridley. “Take different routes. Remember, it can’t appear as though we know each other.”
“I won’t even look at you,” said Izzy.
“I won’t even look where I’m going!” said Olly.
“Well, don’t step into traffic!” said Ridley. “Just be careful, everyone. Let’s meet in the lobby of the library. Ten minutes?” She glanced at her watch.
“Ten minutes,” said the others. They left the lot