Page 103 of Sky Song
Snoopy liar. Sulys, not his pet. At least Hipper wasn’t locked in the cupboard. She wondered if Sulys fixed the handle that Lyle had broken. “Well, I can’t help you.”
“I worry about you, Emma,” Mr. Sulys said, shocking Cricket.
“Worry, Mr. Sulys? About me?”
She must have sounded really incredulous because he blushed so hard that even the darkness couldn't conceal the reddened hue of his face. “About myself, too, and about our entire neighborhood. You see, I finally solved a riddle.” He came closer and spoke in a quiet, rushed tone. “My thing that you helped me bring back?” He pointed at the window. “It alerts me when aliens are near.”
Well, drat. Hehadsolved that puzzle. “What does it have to do with Paloma?” she asked.
“I think…” He stopped and looked around to make sure no one was listening. “I think aliens come to see her.”
“Really?” Cricked infused the word with as much disbelief as she could.
“Yeah.” Mr. Sulys bobbed his head.
“You’ve seen her with an alien?”
“No, I haven’t. She’s cagey, that one. They slink in through the shadows to avoid detection.”
“And why should we care, Mr. Sulys?”
He gave her a look like she should know better than to ask. “Because they’re aliens, Emma. They can’t be here. They violate our rules and cause mischief. Why would any human fraternize with aliens? She’s up to mischief, too.”
“Mr. Sulys, what if you’re… mistaken?”
His face got that self-righteous mulish expression she’d come to associate with him. “I know it’s hard to believe, Emma. I shared it with you because… well, because you know about my thing.Itcan be quite noisy around the aliens.”
You didn’t even think to name him.
“So, I have a plan,” Mr. Sulys announced.
This sounded like a threat to Cricket. “What plan, Mr. Sulys?”
“The next time Paloma has an alien over, my thing will alert me, and I’ll alert the authorities and bring this nonsense to an end. I want to snap some pictures, too. Maybe they will put me in the news!” His giddy laugh sounded a bit maniacal. “I’m a responsible citizen. No one can say I’m not. I must warn you to be careful. We’re no longer safe.”
Shaking both his dirty index fingers in warning, Mr. Sulys backed into his home and finally left Cricket alone in the street.
She shook her head as if it would help the recent events and their sequences settle in her brain. Mr. Sulys’ newfound awareness was another complication they could all do without.
Stealthily, she knocked on Paloma’s door.
“Yo! What’s up?”
“Shh! Be quiet.” Cricket squeezed inside the door past Paloma and shut it quietly behind.
“Okay, that was weird. Why are you acting so weird?”
“Mr. Sulys!” She told Paloma what had just transpired.
Groaning, Paloma fell on the coach in a perfect imitation of an attack of vapors. “But that traitorous creature, Hipper! How could he?”
“Oh, stop it. It isn’t his fault.”
Paloma sat up. “But in all seriousness, he’s a problem.”
“I know.”
“Sulys is already glued to his window. With Hipper as his alarm, it’s only a matter of time before he sics peacekeepers on Ren or Lyle.”
